Sports Spotlight March 13th, 2013: Rider Sends Power Lifters to State
By: Alex Zannes
Updated: March 13, 2013
Bill Davison is used to being in the weigh troom. He spends the entire season there with Rider's football team. But at ten a.m. Monday morning, there were only two people in that weight room that were practicing their lifts for the state power lifting competition, Rider seniors Tiffany Nguyen and Bailey Stanfield.
Coach Bill Davison says, "when i came in and took over we went to regionals the first year with both of them, and they did a good job there. So last year we went to state with both. We were able to work our way up. Both finished in the top ten in the state last year. So we had high hopes coming into this year. The way they work and as hard as they work and the fact that their weights keep going up impresses me sometimes with the weight that they're doing."
Impressive might be an understatement. Stanfield, who has been in gymnastics most of her life and also is on the cheer leading team, as won "outstanding weightlifter" in her weight class in every event she's entered this year. And Nguyen, who lifts in the 97 pound weight class, has just as many honors as Bailey. Not to mention being a soccer player and a member of the cheer leading squad.
Coach Bill Davison says, "when i came in and took over we went to regionals the first year with both of them, and they did a good job there. So last year we went to state with both. We were able to work our way up. Both finished in the top ten in the state last year. So we had high hopes coming into this year. The way they work and as hard as they work and the fact that their weights keep going up impresses me sometimes with the weight that they're doing."
Impressive might be an understatement. Stanfield, who has been in gymnastics most of her life and also is on the cheer leading team, as won "outstanding weightlifter" in her weight class in every event she's entered this year. And Nguyen, who lifts in the 97 pound weight class, has just as many honors as Bailey. Not to mention being a soccer player and a member of the cheer leading squad.
"I never really knew about power lifting until i heard about it from my mom and she told me my brother was doing it. So as my brother was graduating coach Gar asked me if i wanted to do it. I was just joking around and told him he could get me a small shirt. Then when i actually went in to do it it was different. It was really fun. And i enjoyed it so much i just kept doing it."
Stanfield set the squat record this year at the regional competition at 315 pounds. In case you were wondering, she lifts in the 132 pound weight class. It's not unusual for people seeing her lift for the first time to be a little surprised.
"We'll be loading up our weights to work out or just for fun and guys will say you can't pick that up or you can't do that. Then they'll try to do it and they'll mess up or fail. Then we come in and do it and they just stare at us. And then run away."
Both Bailey Stanfield and Tiffany Nguyen will compete in the state power lifting competition this Friday in Corpus Christi, both with a strong chance to medal.
