By Chris Dertz
Records fell at the 2023 Charger Regional, which officially kicked off the Illinois High School Powerlifting Association (IHSPLA) season on February 28th at Stagg High School in Palos Hills. Brian Buglio (Meet Director) hosted one of the largest meets in regional competition. More than 100 lifters from Lockport, Marist, Romeoville, Sandburg, and Stagg High Schools competed in the annual Charger Regional.
The IHSPLA, a nonprofit organization focused on maximizing the potential of powerlifting as a learning environment, is the fastest growing sports organization in the state at the high school level. Meets, infused with character development lessons, have become popular over the years – we now have 5 regional competitions feeding into a State Championship event.
And we’re off! Records were broken when 100 lifters from Lockport, Marist, Romeoville, Sandburg, and Stagg High Schools competed in the annual Charger Regional (@staggpower)
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Powerlifting is a strength sport in which athletes each have 3 attempts in the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. The heaviest successful attempts are then added together to create the athlete’s total. Athletes are then assigned to divisions based on gender and weight class. The lifter with the heaviest total, along with a formula that takes bodyweight into account, is the winner of each division. IHSPLA meets also feature a unique Team competition.
Results and records below!
Top Two Place winners in the Female Division:
| 98lbs | Olivia Herrera (Marist); Kylie Autullo (Stagg) |
| 105lbs | Camryn Cruz (Lockport) |
| 114lbs | Mia Maglaya (Romeoville); Angelina Diaz (Sandburg) |
| 123lbs | Maya Edrada (Romeoville); Regan Mahalik (Lockport) |
| 132lbs | Karolina Granda (Stagg); Sarah Spatz (Lockport) |
| 148lbs | Madelyn Rudman (Lockport); M.J. Hochgraber (Sandburg) |
| 165lbs | Violet Jackson (Sandburg); Safiya Jebreal (Stagg) |
| 181lbs | Aspasia Drinkos (Sandburg); Aline Alzghier (Sandburg) |
| 198lbs | Maram Makhlouf (Sandburg); Alexis Buckley (Marist) |
| 198+lbs | Gretchen Steenvoorden (Sandburg); Chelsea Ajagu (Romeoville) |
Male Division Results:
| 123lbs | Brian Farley (Romeoville) |
| 132lbs | Joel Flores (Lockport) |
| 148lbs | Josh Rizaldo (Romeoville); Richard Quiroz (Stagg) |
| 165lbs | Nate Biskup (Sandburg); A.J. Macak (Sandburg) |
| 181lbs | John Mazenko (Sandburg); John Composano (Stagg) |
| 198lbs | Colin Kissane (Sandburg); Andrew Wysoczan (Lockport) |
| 220lbs | Ryan Johnson (Sandburg); Cyprian Nowakowski (Sandburg) |
| 242lbs | Eric Mitchell (Sandburg); Tony Galloway (Romeoville) |
| 275lbs | Gavin Shahan (Romeoville); Justin Hernandez (Stagg) |
| 308lbs | Nicholas Alexandros (Lockport); Vince Fennessey (Sandburg) |
| 308+lbs | Rafael Sanchez (Stagg); Christos Alexandros (Lockport) |
A Record for Most Records Broken?
The 2023 Charger Regional might have set the record for most records broken in a single event! The caliber of lifter at this event was national level. Impressive showing by all.
In the Women’s 105lbs Division, Lockport’s Camryn Cruz broke the IHSPLA records for the Squat (195lbs), the Deadlift (245lbs), and the Total (530lbs). In the Women’s 114lbs Division, Mia Maglaya broke the Total record (630lbs). Moving on to the Women’s 123lbs Division, Regen Mahalik tied the Squat record of 255lbs with Ava Maglaya from Romeville while Maya Edrada from Romeoville broke the Deadlift record (335lbs) and the Total record (695lbs). Karolina Granda from Stagg broke the Squat record in the 132lbs Division (260lbs) and the overall total record (700lbs). Romeoville’s Madalyn Rudman broke the record for both the Squat (285lbs) and the Total (715lbs) in the Women’s 148lbs Division. Violet Jackson from Sandburg broke the Deadlift record (380lbs) in the 165lbs Division.
In the Men’s competition, IHSPLA records were broken by Joel Flores (Lockport) on the Deadlift (495lbs) in the Men’s 132lbs Division. Nate Biskup of Sandburg broke the 165lbs Division record on the squat (455lbs) and the Total (1215lbs) while teammate A.J. Macak broke the Deadlift record (505lbs). In the 198lbs Division, Colin Kissane (Sandburg) broke both the Deadlift (620lbs) and the Total (1400lbs) records. In the 242lbs Division, Eric Mitchell from Sandburg tied the record for the Bench Press (345lbs).
The 2023 Charger Regional might have set the record for most records broken in a single day!
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A full list of IHSPLA records can be found HERE (LINK).
One of the unique aspects of IHSPLA competition is a team component. The IHSPLA is a team-based organization, lifters must compete together. 3 team awards are recognized at IHSPLA meets. These are the Top 3 team finishes at the Charger Regional for the Men’s, Women’s, and Combined divisions:
| Women’s Results | Men’s Results | Combined Team Results |
| Sandburg (89 pts) Lockport (59 pts) Stagg (55 pts) | Sandburg (96 pts) Romeoville (83 pts) Stagg (70 pts) | Sandburg (181 pts) Romeoville (137 pts) Stagg (125 pts) |
Looking to get involved? A complete list of upcoming IHSPLA meets can be found HERE (LINK).
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