Times are changing. The quickest way to fill up a gymnasium in East Texas today is to stage a powerlifting meet. Lifters from 17 area schools competed at Lindale High School Saturday in one of the first meets of the season. The gym was packed.

For the Mineola Yellowjackets and Quitman Bulldogs, the sport is experiencing rapid growth. The Bulldogs competed at Sulphur Springs Saturday while the Yellowjackets were in Lindale. Quitman will be hosting a meet on Saturday, Jan. 25, where both schools will compete.

Mineola powerlifting coach Derek Smith lauded the young athletes who lifted at the Lindale meet. It was the inaugural meet for most of his 14 athletes.

“They competed great, and I was very pleased with the effort and fight they all exhibited,” he said. The three veteran powerlifters, Kaitlin Burrell, Kejuan Fite and Izzy Tresca, opened the season with better total scores than with what they finished last year, explained Smith.  

Fite and Tresca each placed third in their respective weight classes. They were the highest finishers from the young Mineola team.

The students who lifted at Lindale were Jackson Anderson, Kaleb Barton, Adam Blalock, Moraylle Brumsey, Kaitlin Burrell, Dawson Elmore, Kejuan Fite, Kobe Kendrick, Joseph Martinez, Renard Mateo, Trevion Sneed, Izzy Tresca, Hayden Wages and Hunter Wright.