Rivalry put aside at OU, OSU mock powerlifting meet

ship, community, awareness and a friendly environment for lifters, new and old.

Hayden Alexander Staff Reporter

The bar is loaded, and the stage set.

Everybody is watching as the last lifter of the day steps onto the podium. He is shirtless and sporting a cowboy hat in Oklahoma State. The 6 feet 2 inches tall, 242 pound giant stares down the 578 lbs weight. He gets into starting position with both hands on the bar. He pulls on it, his muscles straining against the bar’s weight. His face turns red, his veins become visible and he clenches his teeth. His teammates scream for him to continue encouraging him to give it everything.

Finally, his knees lock, and the official’s hand drops, signaling a clean lift. As the final lifter of the day, Rocky Hensley secured a Bedlam win for the Oklahoma State Powerlifting team.

Last weekend the Oklahoma State and the University of Oklahoma powerlifting teams organized a mock Bedlam meet at Brewhouse Barbell in OKC. After a morning of lifting, OSU came out on top with the best overall team total, the top male lifter, and the top female lifter for the day.

The meet is not the first mock Bedlam meet in OSU and OU’s history.

“We have done this event in years past, and it has been a while, so we decided to bring it back,” sophomore, and Vice President of OSU powerlifting, Rocky Hensley, said.

It has been a minute, but it’s also not the first time OSU has won. Hensley said OSU has five other times in the past. However, the meet had little to do with who won and everything to do with building an atmosphere to foster sportsman-

“We decided to put on the event to get the members that can’t afford to compete but have the desire to compete involved with something that is fun, friendly and importantly competitive,” President of OSU powerlifting, Ethan Winn, said.

President of the OU powerlifting team, Daniel Malone, said he was more than happy to help put on the meet if it meant removing the obstacles of travel, money and equipment for his lifters.

“The starting cost in your first competition is $155,” Malone said. “We recognize as college students this is not realistic for a lot of individuals, so we sought other avenues to help our members compete without this financial burden.

The two clubs shared a strong relationship and were excited to bring the rivalry to OKC.

“While there is certainly a rivalry between our two clubs, we have an incredible relationship with each other,” Malone said.

Planning for the event included organizing equipment, coordinating with Brewhouse Barbell, putting together a tech setup, finding volunteers, figuring out awards and other things. Still, the two clubs got the job done.

“We shared a mutual desire to get our lifters involved,” Winn said. “I believe the relationship we have with the club in Norman allowed us to hold this meet.”

The ‘mock’ setting of the meet allowed for all members of each club to have a shot at experiencing the regular proceedings of a USA Powerlifting certified meet without paying entry costs. Junior Tommy Hosty from OSU said the lack of fees made a difference.

“I think the fact that the meet is free helps out because that’s a big barrier to entry,” Hosty said. “ Normally, it’s $50 for a USA PL Membership and then about $85 for a meet fee.” The opportunity to compete for fun without the fees or the pressure brought in a lot of new lifters wanting. With three meets already in the books for the year, Senior Kate Tickle added a couple of new personal records to her list of accomplishments and took home the award for best female powerlifter of the day. Tickle is proud to set the standard for women looking to join the sport.

“We got to show up for both our gender and for our school,” Tickle said. “As the only female lifter at most competitions, I take it very seriously.”

Tickle is not the only one looking to impact the sport of powerlifting. Members from both OSU powerlifting and OU powerlifting are excited about what the mock meet means for the teams and the respective schools.

OU sophomore Joey Talaoc, having competed in the recent national competition, coached and encouraged several of his teammates through their lifts. He said he hopes the teams will work to foster a healthy environment and community for college lifters.

“I think, on each school, it’ll help grow the community and hopefully entice more members to come and be part of our clubs,” Talaoc said. “We’re actually making an impact within each other and trying to grow each other’s physical and mental health.”

The infamous rivalry between OSU and OU is one for the ages, but these lifters know it’s all in good fun. Sophomore Cole Hunter, like all fans on both sides, said he loves to trash talk, but when it comes down to it, he understands that it’s more than just a sport.

“As much as I like to say ‘I hate OU,’ I love the broth- erhood between us,” Hunter said.”It’s great to compete against them.”

Both teams want to bring the community of powerlifting and what their members do to the forefront of the athletics conversation.

“I think this could have a really big impact because powerlifting isn’t a very wellknown sport,” Tickle said. “Bringing it into a Bedlam setting has the potential to expose it to the rest of the student population.”

The teams plan to take the sport to the next level by hosting the event annually and bringing in more colleges.

“We have talked about creating a separate, sanctioned event in the form of a Big 12 Championship or Oklahoma Collegiate championship,” Malone said. “Either would require extensive planning, but I know we can accomplish whatever we set our minds to.”

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