From March 26 to 29, Boston Latin School’s powerlifting team competed at the USA Powerlifting High School Nationals in Killeen, Texas, where they won their second national championship. The team title was determined by combining the top scores from both the varsity boys’ and girls’ team, with the girls’ team winning their division outright. Aidan Mak (I), Fabiana Polcaro (II) and Emmanuella Gustave-Paul (III) each won their national championships for their respective weight classes, with many other students medalling.
Over the course of four days, BLS students participated in various powerlifting events, including deadlift, squat and bench. Judges score athletes based on how much weight each person lifts while also taking into consideration their weight class.
The national competition differs from local tournaments in several ways. BLS students note that nationals is much more fast-paced and nerve-wracking because of the high level of the competitors there. Nationals, however, also provides students with the opportunity to connect with other powerlifters from around the nation. CJ Klinman (III) adds, “There’s a kind of energy at nationals that can’t really be replicated. The crowds, the screaming, the music — everything is such a rush.”
Competing at the national level requires intense physical preparation. Athletes undergo intense weight training, along with strict weight cuts to qualify for a certain weight class, an especially frustrating and tedious process. Paris Do (III), a four-year member of the team, spent much of the season wrestling with a difficult decision. After two years of harsh weight cuts, she realized her progress had slowed down. “I accepted that it was okay not to win back to back national titles,” she says, “and took this year as a learning block.” Four weeks out from nationals, she decided to stop cutting weight, shifted weight classes, ate whatever, and focused on building muscle. She placed fourth. It was, she says, “the time of my life.”
Members of the team also faced mental challenges in addition to physical ones. As with many sports, mental blocks and comparison are among the obstacles that athletes might face. Students, nevertheless, were able to persevere and overcome these challenges with the support of their coaches and teammates.
The powerlifting program has been years in the making. Beginning as a club where students mostly trained on their own and at the local YMCA, BLS history teacher Mr. Eric Cordeiro took over as coach in 2017 with prior experience at East Boston High and Brighton High. Cordeiro himself is an accomplished powerlifter, having won 5 national titles and 2 North American titles; he still actively competes and is now President of the International Drug Free Powerlifting Association. Four years ago, BLS math teacher Ms. Rachel Kelly joined as a coach, which Mr. Cordeiro credits as being a central part of the team’s explosive growth in the past few years.
Community is also a major force behind the team’s success. While powerlifting is an individual event, the BLS powerlifting team has become a remarkably tight-knit community, which many members note is their favorite part of powerlifting. The team supports each other not only when training but also at competitions, pushing everyone to do better. When the team competes together, everything that they have been working towards becomes worth it. Mak remarks, “I think that being surrounded by so many people who have similar goals and mindsets, helps the training process a lot more. The biggest reward from the sport is definitely the permanent bonds that form with others. Even after I graduate, I know I’ll still have a community behind me in this sport.”
As for the future, many of the powerlifting athletes hope to sustain their love of powerlifting, some striving to take their talents to the collegiate level as well. Their goals include winning more titles and for the overall community to grow and get stronger.
Gustave-Paul concludes, “I want to just continue, have fun and not let it consume my life!”