After winning the 2A state powerlifting title last year, Bishop High School’s weight room has three returners this season accompanied by several lesser experienced competitors.

“We have a very young team this season,” Head Coach George Luna said. “We started working out in November and some of our older guys this year are doing more than what I thought they would up to this point; so there might be some eye-openers. We had one kid, in the 114 lb. division, who broke his collar bone last year as a sophomore and is now looking good as a junior.”

The Badgers won the state title last year mostly through the performances of seniors Albert Guajardo, Victor Caldera and Manny Mechell. Guajardo and Caldera also won the individual state title in their respective weight class while Mechell was a runnerup.

“Replacing those guys is going to be hard; they were all die-hards who loved lifting weights,” Luna said.

“They have been at it together since they were freshman so they have that bond and were always trying to compete against one another.”

Sophomore Travis Charles is the only lifter back from last season’s championship team. As a freshman competing at state last year, Charles finished sixth with the top five places claimed by seniors.

“Travis got a taste of what it feels like to be up there at the state level competing as a freshman which is excellent,” Luna said. “His drive right now is unbelievable, he comes in to workout and puts in extra going full out to get back to state.”

Though most of his lifters are not as experienced as in seasons past, Luna believes a handful of them could still reach the big square dance in Abilene come March.

“We have about three or four boys who could advance all the way to state this season,” he said.

With their first meet at Tuloso-Midway on January 16, the Badgers will have to fight their way through a very stiff Region V.

“Our region is one of the toughest as far as competing in this sport,” Luna said. “The Dallas and Houston regions are also very tough because they have some very good athletes. A lot of it depends on what kind of a year they are having and what kind of a year we are having.”

Powerlifters compete by performing three exercises; the bench press, the squat and the dead-lift. Each male and female competitor is given three attempts - in each exercise - to lift as much weight as possible. The highest quantity in each maneuver is then totaled and the lifters are ranked accordingly.