Nick Seinera

Nick inhaled deeply as he positioned his back to accept the heavy weights making his descent to bended knees. Then pushing smoothly upwards, back slightly arched, he returned to his starting position. Standing amidst the other competitors, Nick was filled with the satisfaction that in just a few short months all his hard work had paid off. Once again he had completed the challenges set before him and came out a champion. Lifting 450 pounds in a squat, bench pressing 385 pounds, and achieving 450 pounds in a dead lift, it is easy to see that this young man has taken hold of the sport of powerlifting and made it his own.

Months ago Nick began lifting weights to prepare for football season. He found that he was lifting some impressive numbers so when he saw the advertisement for a powerlifting competition in Ford City, he decided to give it a try. At the Ford City meet Nick took first place in his weight class overall. At first unfamiliar with the sport, he was fortunate to have Donny Henderson, Burrell High School coach give him pointers about competing. He also gets a lot of support from his parents who attend all his competitions.

Since the first meet, he has attended various Raw Powerlifting meets and won seven times for his weight class and twice overall (weight class and age). In fact Nick has won in every event he’s participated in. He also holds the national record for bench press for the Anti Drugs Athletes United (A.D.A.U) and has qualified to compete in the Junior Olympics. I don’t know much about powerlifting and didn’t realize how different it is from other kinds of lifting, but Nick was patient and explained it to me. “What I do is raw powerlifting. We are drug tested and don’t use gloves, equipment, or enhancement shirts. When you lift it’s all you.” Competitions range from 40-70 individuals competing with the A.D.A.U Although Nick’s career so far has been quite successful, his first love is football. He plays Center for the Burrell football team. This is his fifth year in football and second year on varsity. Since football season will be starting soon he will be temporarily stepping down from lifting to focus on that. Upon graduation next year, Nick plans to attend college but is unsure of his major. He hopes to get a scholarship for football and attend a school with a lifting team as well. But even if it doesn’t work out that way, he said he can’t complain. He has had an incredible past few months with accomplishments that some don’t see in a lifetime.

To watch the video interview of Nick, to http://www.alle-kiskitoday.com/webcasts/1405