OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Friends University Men's and Women's Falcon Powerlifting Teams traveled to Oklahoma City this past weekend to compete in the USA Powerlifting Collegiate National competition. There were over 1200 lifters and out of 104 teams, the women placed seventh and the men finished ninth. They improved upon last year's podium placers (three) by placing four in the top five this year, including:
Grace Chatelain 2nd in the 90kg
Gennie Vitt 4th in the 75kg
Senior Jacob Castellanos 5th in the 125kg
Christian Landeros 4th in the 140kg+
Notable Performances
- Sophomore Makenzie Buyno competed at her first Nationals after starting powerlifting just seven months ago. She had platform bests on every single lift and placed 16th in a stacked 56kg class.
- Senior Paul Herrera had a great day with platform PRs in both squat and bench, which pulled him into position to pull for Top 10 by his third deadlift, where it came up just short.
- Though struggling a bit on squat, Maddie Perez came back with a vengeance after placing 39th last year. Her strong bench press and deadlift performances landed her in 16th place out of 27 lifters.
- Sophomore Micah Barron went 7/9 in a stacked 75kg weight class where he placed just outside the Top 10, adding 44lbs to his total.
- Sophomore Macey Kress added 22lbs to her platform best deadlift and placed just outside of the podium at sixth after missing the Top 10 last year.
- After being disqualified last year at Nationals, Sophomore Bradan Balman had a banner day going 8/9 and adding 88lbs to his total, placing him 13th out 71 lifters in the competitive 82.5kg weight class.
- Senior Jacob Castellanos finished his final season off with a bang. Needing his third attempt deadlift to pull into fifth, Castellanos made it happen. He added 38lbs to his platform best total which was 121lbs better than at this same meet last year.
- Sophomore Christian Landeros had massive PRs as well with a 700lb squat & 424lb deadlift.
"The team faced a lot of adversity this weekend," said Friends powerlifting head coach Kate Jones. "I'm very proud of how they showed up for themselves and their teammates. They always represent Friends University well and that is the most important thing to me as a coach. Having both teams place in the Top 10 out of 104 teams that include NCAA D1 schools and schools much larger than ours, we put up a heck of a fight. Our young roster is a good omen for more years of improvement and proving we can be competitive and near the top each year."
With the totals from this year's competition, 15 lifters are already qualified for next year's Nationals to be held at the Pontchartrain Convention Center in Louisiana.
Individual Results
Makayla Gonzales 5/9 245kg/540lbs 14th out of 15 lifters
Squat = 85kg/187lbs
Bench = 42.5kg/93lbs
Deadlift = 117.5kg/259lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 48KG & 52KG
Jocelyn Cardona 5/9 247.5kg/545lbs 22nd out of 23 lifters
Squat = 77.5kg/170lbs
Bench = 57.5kg/126lbs (PR Match)
Deadlift = 112.5kg/248lbs (Platform PR) +6lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 52KG
Makenzie Buyno 8/9 322.5kg/711lbs (Total PR) +39lbs 16th out of 42 lifters
Squat = 117.5kg/259lbs (Platform PR) +28lbs
Bench = 70kg/154lbs (Platform PR) +6lbs
Deadlift = 135kg/297lbs (Platform PR) +5lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 56KG
Maddie Perez 5/9 355kg/782lbs (Total PR) +11lbs 16th out of 47 lifters
Squat = 137.5kg/303lbs
Bench = 70kg/154lbs (Platform PR) +6lbs
Deadlift = 147.5kg/325lbs (Platform PR) +17lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 60KG
Tyelor Rozell 6/9 315kg/694lbs (Total PR) +28lbs 33rd out of 47 lifters
Squat = 122.5kg/270lbs (Platform PR) +6lbs
Bench = 60kg/132lbs (Platform PR) +4lbs
Deadlift = 132.5kg/292lbs (Platform PR) +22lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 60KG
Gilbert Perez 4/9 465kg/1025lbs 22nd out of 36 lifters
Squat = 155kg/341lbs
Bench = 110kg/242lbs
Deadlift = 200kg/440lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 60KG
Paul Herrera 6/9 480kg/1058lbs (Total PR) +28lbs 15th out of 36 lifters
Squat = 175kg/385lbs (Platform PR) +10lbs
Bench = 105kg/231lbs (Platform PR) +16lbs
Deadlift = 200kg/440lbs
SENIOR
Brenndon Rivera 5/9 547.5kg/1207lbs 20th out of 49 lifters
Squat = 210kg/463lbs
Bench = 107.5kg/237lbs (Platform PR) +6lbs
Deadlift = 230kg/507lbs (Platform PR) +6lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 67.5KG
Zoe Mello 3/9 225kg/496lbs 54th out of 55 lifters
Squat = 105kg/231lbs
Bench = 45kg/99lbs
Deadlift = 75kg/165lbs
Chase Martindale 5/9 582.5kg/1284lbs 35th out of 45 lifters
Squat = 215kg/474lbs
Bench = 125kg/275lbs
Deadlift = 242.5kg/534lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 75KG
Micah Barron 7/9 637.5kg/1405lbs (Total PR) +44lbs 13th out of 45 lifters
Squat = 237.5kg/523lbs (Platform PR) +11lbs
Bench = 132.5kg/292lbs (Platform PR) +11lbs
Deadlift = 267.5kg/589lbs (Platform PR) +22lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 75KG & 82.5KG
Gennie Vitt 8/9 460kg/1014lbs (Total PR) +11lbs 4th out of 46 lifters
Squat = 180kg/396lbs
Bench = 102.5kg/226lbs (Platform PR) +6lbs
Deadlift = 177.5kg/391lbs (Platform PR) +17lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 75KG & ALL OTHER HIGHER WEIGHT CLASSES
Alexis Powell 7/9 352.5kg/777lbs 30th out of 32 lifters
Squat = 132.5kg/292lbs (Platform PR) +6lbs
Bench = 80kg/176lbs (PR Match)
Deadlift = 140kg/308lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 82.5KG
Bradan Balman 8/9 690kg/1521lbs (Total PR) +88lbs 13th out of 71 lifters
Squat = 265kg/584lbs (Platform PR) +33lbs & STATE RECORD
Bench = 162.5kg/358lbs (Platform PR) +6lbs
Deadlift = 262.5kg/578lbs (Platform PR) +49lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 82.5KG & ALL OTHER HIGHER WEIGHT CLASSES
Grace Chatelain 5/9 465kg/1025lbs 2nd out of 15 lifters
Squat = 197.5kg/435lbs
Bench = 95kg/209lbs
Deadlift = 172.5kg/380lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 90KG & ALL OTHER HIGHER WEIGHT CLASSES
Macey Kress 5/9 482.5kg/1063lbs (Total PR) +33lbs 6th out of 11 lifters
Squat = 220kg/485lbs
Bench = 85kg/187lbs (PR Match)
Deadlift = 177.5kg/391lbs (Platform PR) +22lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 100KG+
Jacob Castellanos 7/9 790kg/1741lbs (Total PR) +38lbs 5th out of 25 lifters
Squat = 287.5kg/633lbs (Platform PR) +33lbs
Bench = 180kg/396lbs (PR Match)
Deadlift = 322.5kg/711lbs (Platform PR) +6lbs
SENIOR
Ayden Slieter 5/9 635kg/1399lbs 23rd out of 23 lifters
Squat = 242.5kg/534lbs
Bench = 122.5/270lbs
Deadlift = 270kg/595lbs
Christian Landeros 8/9 782.5kg/1725lbs (Total PR) +61lbs 4th out of 8 lifters
Squat = 317.5kg/700lbs (Platform PR) +77lbs
Bench = 192.5kg/424lbs (+22lbs)
Deadlift = 272.5kg/600lbs
NATIONALLY QUALIFIED 2026 IN 140KG+
