Powerlifting

Sixteen lifters from the Niobrara-Verdigre powerlifting team traveled to Peru State College this past Saturday, January 22nd for the Peru State Powerlifting Meet. It was another large meet with 192 lifters. And, again, there was a line-up of very stiff big school competition from around the state. The Cougar lifters were ready for the challenge and competed VERY WELL as they continue to build momentum with each meet. We can be very proud of our kids on how they conducted themselves in representing our schools and communities. Other schools are taking notice of these lifters and their efforts.

The Niobrara-Verdigre Co-ed team finished in 4th place. Co-ed Team standings… 1st place Columbus; 2nd place Lexington; 3rd place Omaha Gross Catholic; 4th place Niobrara-Verdigre; 5th place Omaha Skutt; 6th place Lexington JV; 7th place Columbus JV; 8th place Johnson-Brock.

The Cougar Girls’ Team also finished in 4th place. Girls’ Team standings… 1st place Lexington; 2nd place Columbus; 3rd place Omaha Gross Catholic; 4th place Niobrara-Verdigre; 5th place Columbus Scotus; 6th place Lexington JV; 7th place Columbus JV; 8th place Lincoln High; 9th place Omaha Skutt; 10th place Johnson-Brock.

The Cougar Boys’ Team finished in 7th place. Boys’ Team standings… 1st place Columbus; 2nd place Lexington; 3rd place Omaha Gross Catholic; 4th place Grand Island; 5th place Omaha Skutt; 6th place David City Aquinas; 7th place Niobrara-Verdigre; 8th place Bruning-Davenport-Shickley; 9th place Nebraska City; 10th place Summerland; 11th place Lexington JV; 12th place Auburn; 13th place Johnson-Brock; 14th place Columbus JV.

We had one individual gold medal winner… Gabrielle Pavlik in the 198 lb class. Taylor Pavlik finished with the silver medal in that same weight class.

Other medal winners… Chelsey Rohrer 4th place (148 lb class), Anna Rudloff 4th place (181 lb class), Gavin Rardon 4th place (275+ lb class), Wyatt Shabram 5th place (123 lb class), Gunnar Shabram 5th place (220 lb class), and Isaac Pavlik 5th place (242 lb class). Other Niobrara-Verdigre lifters who competed were Taylor Teadtke 13th place (132 lb class), Olivia Holz 7th place (198+ lb class), Joseph Pavelka 7th place (132 lb class), Jase Kotrous 14th place (148 lb class), Ethan Uhlir 8th place (148 lb class), Daniel Pavelka 10th place (165 lb class), Tanner Robinette 10th place (181 lb class), and Dylan Davidson 10th place (198 lb class). Heidi Hollmann also traveled as our student manager. All sixteen lifters competed hard and each set all new personal bests. Every N-V record that was set last month at Lexington was broken! For the girls… Gabrielle Pavlik set new school records in squat, bench press, total (615 lbs), and biggest gain. Chelsey Rohrer broke her own strength index with a new record of 4.01. Chelsey, along with Anna Rudloff, tied for the new deadlift record. For the boys… Gunnar Shabram set new school records in squat, bench press, and total (975 lbs). Gavin Rardon set the new deadlift record along with biggest gain. Daniel Pavelka broke his own strength index with a new record of 5.16.

We are excited to announce that the Verdigre High School gymnasium will be rocking at the end of February, as the next powerlifting meet on the schedule is the inaugural Verdigre Powerlifting Meet to be held February 26th! The Cougar lifters are looking forward to the opportunity to lift in their home gym and put on a show for the local fans. We have a nice line-up of seven schools planning to compete at that Feb. 26th meet. Should be a fun day! Lifting begins 10:00 am.

Looking ahead… the Class D State Meet is on Saturday, March 26th at Harvard High School. And then the Orchard AAU Powerlifting Meet is set for April 9th. GO COUGARS!

Thirteen lifters from the Niobrara-Verdigre powerlifting team traveled to Lexington this past Saturday, December 18th for the Lexington Powerlifting Championships. It was a large meet (190 lifters!) with a line-up of very stiff competition. The Cougars competed as the smallest school with this being the first meet for all but two of our lifters. They were all up to the challenge, eager to compete and learn. We can be proud of the manner in which our students represented our schools and communities! The kids are working hard, and powerlifting momentum is growing each week.

The Niobrara-Verdigre Co-ed team and Boys team each finished in 5th place in their respective divisions. Losing only to Lexington, Columbus High, Columbus Lakeview, and North Platte. And the Cougar girls team finished in 4th place, only 8 points short of the 3rd place team trophy which was earned by Columbus Lakeview.

Final team standings:

Co-ed: 1st place Lexington (81 pts); 2nd Columbus (67); 3rd Columbus Lakeview (58); 4th North Platte (31); 5th Niobrara-Verdigre (24); 6th Adams Central (17); 7th Lexington JV (16); 8th Columbus JV (13); 9th North Platte JV(0).

Boys: 1st place Lexington (76 pts); 2nd Columbus (67); 3rd Columbus Lakeview (37); 4th North Platte (21); 5th Niobrara-Verdigre (14); 6th Lexington JV (13); 7th Adams Central (10); 8th Columbus JV (8); 9th North Platte JV (0).

Girls: 1st place Lexington (76 pts); 2nd Columbus (45); 3rd Columbus Lakeview (19); 4th Niobrara-Verdigre (11); 5th North Platte (10); 6th Lexington JV (9); 7th Columbus JV (9); 8th Adams Central (7); 9th North Platte JV (0).

We had one individual silver medal winner… Gabrielle Pavlik (198 lb class).

Gunnar Shabram (220 lb class) and Wyatt Shabram (123 lb class) were bronze medalists .

Other medal winners: Scotty Klinetobe 4th place (114 lb class), Taylor Pavlik 4th place (198 lb class), and Joseph Pavelka 5th place (132 lb class). Chelsey Rohrer (148 lb class) and Gavin Rardon (275+ lb class) each finished in 6th place in their respective weight classes. Daniel Pavelka (165 lb class) and Ethan Uhlir (181 lb class) each totaled over 700 lbs lifted but just missed medaling. Our other lifters who competed in extremely deep and difficult weight classes were Jase Kotrous (148 lb class), Dylan Davidson (198 lb class), and Taylor Teadtke (148 lb class). All lifters set personal bests in each lift. This outstanding effort led to every team record being set. For the girls… Gabrielle Pavlik set the team record in squat, bench press and three-lift total (535 lbs). Taylor Pavlik set the record in deadlift. Chelsey Rohrer set the record in strength index (3.68). For the boys… Gunnar Shabram set the team record in squat, bench press, and three-lift total (945 lbs). Gavin Rardon set the deadlift record. Daniel Pavelka set the record in strength index (5.12).

The next powerlifting meet currently on the schedule for Niobrara-Verdigre will be the Peru State Powerlifting Meet on January 22nd. We then have a meet February 26th (site TBD), followed by the Class D state powerlifting meet scheduled for March 26th at Harvard High School. The Orchard AAU Powerlifting Meet is set for April 9th. GO COUGARS!