SHREVEPORT -- If there was any doubt about LSUS’s place in the college weightlifting world as the program entered its first competition in several years, the Pilots and Lady Pilots quickly answered that question.
The LSUS women placed second and the men fifth despite not bringing full teams to the 2024 Southwest Regional University Championships at the University of Texas in late October.
Four of the five women that competed won their weight class with all three males in attendance taking second in their respective weight classes.
“Everyone shocked me,” said LSUS college weightlifting coach Aaron Adams. “I was over the moon with the way we performed, especially in our first meet back with mostly freshmen.
“This was a meet with a lot of established Texas programs, so I didn’t really know what to expect going in.”
Weightlifting isn’t like other sports with divisions based on school size – LSUS chalked their hands right beside schools like Texas, Texas State, Texas A&M, Rice and Texas Christian.
LSUS women that won their weight classes included Hannah St. Gerard (55 kilograms), Kela Kauha’aha’a (71 kg), Enyjai Tyson (76 kg) and Savannah Bolden (81 kg).
Grace Gonzalez-Liz placed second in the 59-kilogram category.
All but Kauha’aha’a are freshmen in their first collegiate semester.
On the men’s side, Luke Bland (81 kg), Dylan Satkunam (89 kg) and Logan Lewis (102 kg) all finished second. Bland and Satkunam are freshmen.
“Every person we brought qualified for nationals,” Adams said. “And these lifters attempted weights that would have won their division had they completed those lifts.
“They weren’t happy to just show up and settle for second place. They went after it, which was cool to see.”
LSUS will continue training throughout the fall before they compete in a local event at a Shreveport crossfit gym during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
That competition sets the stage for the national championships in late February.
“These students are at a new school, in a new program, with a new coach, and going through everything as college students for the first time,” Adams said. “They are going through college classes and what it takes to be a college weightlifter for the first time, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the progress we’ve made.
“We’ve had a lot of support from campus from groups like the Student Success Center, the professors, and the administration. They’ve helped us navigate these waters and see the value in weightlifting.”
For more information about the program reboot, read that story here.
