K-M girls powerlifting finishes second at Nationals

The Kasson-Mantorville powerlifting team held its final meet of the season by traveling to Appleton, Wisconsin for the USAPL National High School Powerlifting Meet from March 22-25. The four day meet featured 600 lifters from across the nation as well as six females and three males representing K-M.

The girls powerlifting team represented K-M well as it placed second in the competition behind Necedah (Wisc.). Destine Farmer competed in the 114-pound class and totaled 380.3 pounds on her lifts for a fifth place finish. Taylor Goldschmidt finished 10th in the 138-pound class with a total of 320 pounds.

Ashley Hallstrom and Mackenzie Edgar competed in the 158-pound class with Edgar flying by her previous personal record with 622 pounds for a fourth place finish. Hallstrom wouldn’t place, but had a solid effort with 490 pounds.

Meghan Malisheske competed in the 185-pound class and set personal records in all three of her lifts while eclipsing the 600-pound mark from the first time this season. Her total of 622 pounds was good for fifth place in the division.

Daniella Villagrana would be the final female lifter for K-M competing in the 198+ pound class. Although she failed on two of her squats and final deadlift, she still finished in fourth place with a total of 705 pounds.

For the boys, Logan Holmes-Gertner competed in the 130-pound class. He would set personal records in all of his lifts and improved his total by over 20 pounds with a total of 650 pounds to finish in fifth place. Payton Bendickson of the 145-pound class, totaled 611.8 pounds which helped him eclipse the 600-pound mark for the first time this season.

Luke Seljeseth competed in the heavyweight division for K-M and finished in 12th place with a total of 1,173 pounds. He also set personal records in all three of his lifts.

“This was another great meet for us,” K-M powerlifting head coach Cori Ronnenberg said. “We got to face the best lifters in the nation. The lifters did well and most set personal records in their lifts. The future is looking good for the team.”