CHAPMAN — Iola High School junior Ean De La Torre is a state powerlifting champion after taking gold in the 181 lbs. weight class.
De La Torre let his overall body of work speak for itself in Saturday’s KSHSAA championship. He took third with a 270 lbs. bench, then finished second with a 415 lbs. squat. The clean was his weakest event, where he tied for fourth place. He also had the second highest weight-to-body ratio of the group, lifting 5.25 times his total mass.
IHS freshman Cameron Findley took second in the 114 lbs. weight class. He had the second-highest bench while lifting 31 lbs. over his body weight. Findley also took second in squat with 205 lbs. and second in clean at 125 lbs. He had the second-highest lift to mass ratio with 475 pounds lifted or 4.167 times his total weight.
As a team, the Mustangs finished 11th overall.
In girls’ action, junior heavyweight Lainey Oswald took second. Heavyweight may be a bit of a misnomer as Oswald gave up 67 pounds to the state champion, but in doing so had the highest lift-to-bodyweight ratio with 610 pounds lifted or nearly three times her body weight. Oswald finished second in the clean at 175 lbs.; fourth in the squat at 280 lbs. and second in bench at 155 lbs.
Senior Faith Warden wrapped up her high school career after taking fourth in the 165 lbs. weight class. She took fourth in the bench with a 140 lbs. lift; fifth in the squat at 215 lbs. and had the fourth-highest clean at 150 lbs. Warden also had the fourth-highest ratio with 505 total pounds while weighing in at 162 lbs. — 3.117 times her body weight.
As a team, the Iola girls finished eighth overall.
