From the gridiron to the court everyone around campus is aware of our student athletes’ achievement, or so they think. Senior Nick Golden, a member of the power lifting team, set a national record with a dead lift of 576 pounds on his first attempt, before breaking it again with a record of 600 pounds.

“We went to a pre-meet at Mount Pleasant, and I tied the record there,” Golden said. “But since I didn’t record a qualifying squat, it didn’t count. I knew I could break [another record].”

In a sport where people lift more than their body weight, most would assume that the students involved are physical beasts. But Golden uses his mental toughness to out lift competitors. Using the same routine every single lift, he prepares his mind to dominate the competition. The typically quiet and reserved Golden keeps to himself during meets, listening to the same song (Running Bear by Johnny Preston) on loop until he needs to perform. When it’s time, the 181 pound Golden turns into a maniac for the less than five seconds he needs to execute the lift. He reaches down, grabs the bar, lifts it up just above his knees, holds it for a count, and then drops it. In those seconds Nick is able to shut down his body and will himself to lift the weight. Nick lifted over three times his own body weight. To have a chance at winning state, Golden must lift over 1350 pounds between the 3 lifts.

“Power lifting is 90 percent mental and only about 10 percent physical,” Golden said.

There was no celebrating for Golden as he went back to work the day after getting home, lifting almost every day after school. For about two hours a day, Golden stretches and pushes his body and mind to the limit. This hard work has paid off for him as the national record puts him in a great spot to contend for the Eagles third ever state title later this year. Along with a state title, he wants to reach a dead lift of 650 pounds as his senior year comes to an end.

“In power lifting while the strong do succeed, the mentally tough are the ones who thrive,” Golden said.