Weight lifting: Gross, Deason highlight Sertoma Liftathon

BRAINERD — Dylan Gross and Brenna Deason were the top male and female lifters in the 33rd annual Sertoma Sunrise Warrior Liftathon on March 7-9 in the Brainerd High School weight room.

Gross, a junior, had the top boys’ Most Pounds Per Ounce rating at 5.75. Competing at 219 pounds, Gross bench-pressed 390 pounds, which broke the all-time bench press record of 365 pounds set by Josh Wilson in 2001. He followed that with a power clean of 355 pounds, which broke the all-time power clean record of 345 pounds set by Nathaniel Staehling in 2022. Gross added a parallel squat of 515 to give him a total combined lifts poundage of 1,260, breaking the all-time total poundage record of 1,165 set by Pete Hiltner in 2005.

Deason, a senior, had the top girls' Most Pounds Per Ounce at 3.75. She also took the top spot in the 2022 Liftathon as a junior. The three-sport athlete bench-pressed 155 pounds, power-cleaned 145 pounds and had a parallel squat of 195 pounds.

Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

As MPPO champions, Gross and Deason are recipients of Stephen G. Nunnink MPPO scholarships, which are given to the top male and female MPPO performers each year. Nunnink was the founder of the MPPO concept in 1975 as the coordinator of the Warrior Strength and Conditioning Program.

Participants were divided into nine fundraising teams, with each team captained by a Sertoma member as the fundraising coordinator. Teams raised money for local charities and those in need in the Brainerd area and also competed for T-shirts based upon MPPO guidelines, which measure a lifter's overall body strength in relation to body size.

MPPO is determined by adding a lifter's one-repetition maximum lift in the bench press, power clean and parallel squat. The three-lift total poundage is divided by the lifter's body weight to determine MPPO.

Of the 66 male participants, 25 met or exceeded the MPPO standard necessary to earn a T-shirt, which was 4.00 or greater for boys with a body weight under 250 pounds, and 3.50 or greater for boys with a body weight of 250 pounds or more.

Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

Of the 30 female participants, 14 met or exceeded the MPPO standard necessary to earn a T-shirt, which was 2.75 or greater for girls with a body weight under 180 pounds, and 2.50 or greater for girls with a body weight of 180 or more.

The Sertoma Club will also select at-large scholarship recipients. To be eligible, applicants must be a senior and a minimum two-year Liftathon participant. Recipients will be announced in May.

The top three fundraising teams and their Sertoma captains will be announced in April.

The event involved 96 Brainerd students in grades 8-12.