LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Hesston College powerlifting team added four gold medals to their collection over the weekend at Powerlifting America Bench Press Nationals. Beth Whitney (Maize, Kan.), Macayla Cano (Orange Grove, Texas), Misty Grimaldo (Wichita, Kan.) and John Patterson (Newton, Kan.) each posted the top mark in their respective weight classes to emerge as national champions, qualifying for the World Bench Press team.
Grimaldo was the first medalist for the Larks winning the national championship in the junior 84kg+ weight class with a push of 90kg (198.4 lbs) on Saturday. The rest of the team competed in the equipped session on Sunday. Cano took down the 57kg weight class with a bench of 80kg (176.3 lbs). Cano’s mark set her apart from the competition as the second-best lifter in the competition by body weight.
Whitney also pushed 80kg on her way to winning the 69kg weight class, hitting her top weight in her first attempt. Patterson brought home the gold in the 83kg weight class with a bench of 140kg (308.6 lbs).
“I am very proud of how the team competed this weekend,” said Powerlifting Head Coach Chase Ohm. “It is awesome to see our lifters have high levels of success on the national stage.”
Corbyn Oden, who competed with the Larks in the fall before joining the military, also took home a national championship and a spot on the Worlds team with a 205kg (451.9 lbs) push in the 105kg equipped class.
The Lark powerlifting team has accumulated eight individual and one team national championships in less than two full seasons of competition. The Larks will head home and begin preparing for Powerlifting America University Nationals, which will take place April 9 to 12 in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they look to add to their already impressive trophy case.
