Bodybuilding Weekly: Young Female Powerlifters Prepared for Nationals

Young Female Powerlifters Prepared for Nationals
================================================================================
Hardbodies News on 13 February, 2009 02:07:00
 
February 13, 2009
If you were to sit down and compile a list of nicknames for Nicole Simonis,
it's probably safe to say "the tank" wouldn't be among the first to jump out at
you.
After all, this is a 5-foot-1, Chenango Forks High senior who has competed in
the past as a flyer on her cheerleading team, meaning she was one of those brave
souls getting tossed high into the night air on the sidelines of football games.
Yet, that's exactly the nickname she earned this past fall, after spending her
spring and summer in the Chenango Valley weight room, working hard to become a
thrower, not a throwee.
"I love being stronger," Simonis said after one such workout Monday evening.
"Because of my size, people are like, 'Oh, you're weak.' And I just love proving
them wrong. Saying that, yes, I can pick that up and I'm not going to break or
anything."
And come this Saturday, Simonis and three Chenango Valley students - senior
Shannon Kane, sophomore Ranata DeGennaro and eighth-grader Liza Hillegas - will
attempt to pick up more weight than they ever have before. They will compete in
the USA Powerlifting Women's National Championships, a competition open to women
of all ages, in Miami.
The four, all members of the Chenango Valley Powerlifting Club, have been
something of a rarity at other meets, being an all-girls squad. But they boast
their fair share of success, from past state records, to a second-place finish
for Kane two years ago at the 2007 USAPL High School Nationals in Louisiana.
Not too shabby for someone who initially hit the weight room to improve on the
softball diamond.
"I wanted to get better and get stronger, and I came in and I loved it," said
Kane, a catcher who will play softball for Binghamton University next year.
Asked what exactly hooked her, she said: "Probably my competitiveness. I love
to get better, and you can always improve. There's always more weight you can
throw on."
Three of the four girls qualified for this weekend's competition by reaching
specific standards at the USAPL Northeastern Regional meet outside of Boston
last November. The fourth, Hillegas, missed that competition while recovering
from elbow surgery but will still compete in Miami because her 12-to-13-year-old
division does not require a qualifying standard.
And so this weekend, they will each compete in their respective age groups and
weight classes over three lifts: bench press, squat and dead lift. They get
three tries in each, with their best weight from each then added together for
their final score. Kane, 17, and Simonis, 18, have also entered the "open"
category, where the winner earns a spot on the U.S. National team.
"You're just on a stage in front of tons of people," Kane said, describing the
scene at the bigger meets. "It's awesome. They're all cheering you on, telling
you to do more weight. The adrenaline is like nothing I've ever experienced. You
pick it up, and it takes every single muscle in your body, and after you do it,
it's just so cool to have accomplished that."
With this being the group's first trip to USAPL Women's Nationals, and
admittedly unsure of who all would make up the competition, head coach Kirk
Simonis wouldn't speculate on where the girls might place. Besides, he's given
them something else to shoot for.
"I tell them to compete against themselves, against one of their other lifts,"
said Simonis, Nicole's uncle, and a Spanish teacher at CV. "If they can (get)
one personal best out of their lifts, I'll be very happy with them. If they can
do more than one, that's tremendous."
And let's talk about those numbers.
In the 97-pound class, Simonis lists her best lifts as 95 pounds for the bench
press, 160 for squat and 225 for dead lift. The others compete in the 132-pound
class of their respective age groups, with Kane notching personal bests of about
125 bench, 180 squat and 240 dead lift, and DeGennaro doing 125 for the bench
and 235 for the dead lift. The squat is her trouble spot, so with a laugh, she
says: "I'm not going to even count squat."
Meanwhile, no one's quite sure just how much Hillegas, 13, can lift, as she
missed the regional competition and has yet to max herself out in the weight
room. In the meantime, then, she's been dubbed "No Limit Liza."
"It's so nerve-wracking, but I'm just so ready," Hillegas said. "I mean, I
don't know what to expect, but I'm going in there strong, and ready to go."
And they're also going in there together.
A close-knit group, the club can be found singing along to the Barenaked Ladies
or Trace Adkins as they lift on Monday and Wednesday nights at CV. Together,
they talk about the confidence the club has given them, and the boost it's
provided for other sports. And away from the weight room - be it at someone's
house, or perhaps a basketball game - they've grown tight as well.
"It's awesome," said 15-year-old DeGennero. "I can't tell you how many times
Shannon's been there for me, to just support me. And even though Nicole and Liza
are brand new to this, they're all behind us. We're all like a big family."
A big family, about to take an even bigger stage.
Source:  Binghamton PressConnects