Ambitious UCLA powerlifting team rejects stereotypes about its sport

By Jacob Elder

Bulky, robust men with mounds upon mounds of muscle, likely without a strong inclination toward academia. This is the preconceived notion many people possess about bodybuilders and powerlifters.

The members of the UCLA powerlifting team defy this perception with wholehearted enthusiasm.

The majority of the team consists of pre-medical and computer science students, and the group actually came together four years ago as the “Computer Science Powerlifting Team.”

“The sport has an image of big, yoked dudes. But in reality, it actually has a very diverse community of hardworking and competitive people,” team president Greg Darnell said.

Darnell, a fourth-year computer science student, has witnessed just about the entirety of the club’s growth. He has observed it grow from a group of three students to 10, then double to 20, then double yet again to 40.

Prior to its most recent expansion to 40, many members scoffed at the proposition that the team would reach that size.

Now, Miran Park, or “Panda” as her teammates call her, suggests it could double again; she seems to be joking, yet with a hint of optimism regarding the idea.

“By 2030, we’re predicting the entire campus will be powerlifters. Everyone will be freakishly strong,” incoming team president Alex Pakalniskis said jokingly.

Despite its growth, UCLA’s powerlifting team is outshone at times by the better-funded teams it competes against.

In the South and on the East Coast, the sport of powerlifting is supported more enthusiastically, and, according to several team members, is consequently provided with better resources.

While other teams have their own gyms, and their more expensive equipment paid for, UCLA’s team has to cram into the John Wooden Center to work out and has to pay for its own equipment.

David Jurgens, the team’s coach, pointed out that schools such as University of Pennsylvania and Louisiana Tech sent more members of their respective teams to nationals than the total number of members on the UCLA team.

Despite this challenge, Darnell and his squad embrace the competition, hope to see the team rise above its issues and eventually win a national championship.

Among other goals, he hopes to see the sport expand both inside and outside the campus.

Jurgens said that the UCLA team has been contacted by other University of California campuses on how to start powerlifting teams at their respective schools.

The prospect of expanding the sport through the West Coast is exciting, but increasing its own membership is a current priority for the UCLA powerlifting team.

It doesn’t matter who joins, as the sport is pound-for-pound and lifters compete with people in their respective weight class.

“We try to emphasize it’s OK (if you’re not the strongest lifter). You shouldn’t feel discouraged. … I worked my way up,” said Kevin Greene, a third-year computer science student on the team who increased from the 132-pound weight class to the 148-pound weight class within eight months.

Members of the team expressed that they have not necessarily felt very close. However, with the team’s continued growth and further improvement, the dynamic has changed.

“Going to nationals made us really feel like a team,” Park said.

While the team continues to aspire toward improvement, the members remain lighthearted and retain the attitude that this is still a hobby.

Even so, they encourage everyone to try out powerlifting and not to be intimidated by their preconceptions.

Despite stereotypes toward powerlifters, team members remain students first like everyone else on campus ““ even if they may be a little bit stronger than your average Bruin.