Thorndale’s Hayden Kylberg had quite the Saturday in Abilene, winning the state powerlifting championship in the 198-pound division with a 375 on bench, 520 on squat and 530 on dead lift for a total of 1,425. The THS junior beat runner-up Daniel Sambrano of La Pryor by 45 pounds.
“Putting in all that hard work, lifting twice a day, trying to watch my weight,” he said. “It all paid off in the end.”
“I always tell myself and try to tell others (that) if you work hard enough for something then nothing is impossible,” he said.
Kylberg also described his journey to the championship meet, saying that he felt good winning the regional with a total of 1,340. However, when Palito Blanco’s Robert Cardenas left the Region 5 meet with a total of 1,365, the Bulldog said it motivated him to work as hard as he possibly could for the two weeks leading up to the state meet. He also established the goal of winning state, which he did by improving his total weight by 85 pounds.
“When the time came, I showed out and brought the gold back to Thorndale.” He said.
THS head powerlifting coach Hudson Evans also had good things to say about Kylberg.
“Hayden puts in all the extra work and it paid off,” he said. “He epitomizes what it means to be a Thorndale athlete. So proud of this young man.”
Kylberg is the first powerlifting state champion in THS history.
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