On April 5, 2024, the Oxford High School girls powerlifting team dominated in Jackson, Miss. to earn their first ever state championship title in school history. The Chargers are led by head coach Issac Boose and assistant coaches Logan Dodson and Chris Moore.
Boose explains his emotions after being able to win the state championship and bringing the first state title home to Oxford.
“It is an indescribable feeling to win a state championship,” Boose said. “The best part is watching the athletes and coaches hug, cry and celebrate one another. What makes it even better is to be the first girls powerlifting state champion in school history, as well as the first ever 7A state champion. We were able to see how much joy we brought to others in the community and how they were all proud of our accomplishment.”
Starting their season in January, the team has a lot of time to prepare and grow for the championship in April. Boose shares how he has seen the team grow together and create a special bond with each other.
“The special family bond that this team has exhibited is beyond anything that anyone can imagine,” Boose said. “This season was about the team and not individual success. That’s what made all the difference.”
To go along with the team state championship, sophomore Lexi Wilks was awarded with an individual state championship title at the meet. Wilks shares what it meant to her to win an individual state title.
“To win a state championship this season was an incredible feeling that I wish I could feel every day,” Wilks said. “My workout partner and I had been looking forward to that day for a a while, and without her I wouldn’t know where I would be individually. I thank her a lot.”
In any sport, challenges get in the way throughout the course of the season. Boose explains what challenges they’ve faced and how they overcame them.
“One of the biggest challenges we had this season actually came at the state championship, we got red-lighted for depth on squats over and over, which was not characteristic of us,” Boose said. “Some girls only successfully got 1 or 2 of their squats. We were able to compose ourselves and use that as motivation to dominate every lift we had left. We were able to turn that negative into a positive and the result was a state championship.”
Following success, one of the hardest things for a team to accomplish is to continue on and begin to work towards the next season. Boose shares how he will use these accomplishments to help motivate his teams in the future.
“Next season’s team will be a new team, we will have six of the twelve lifters returning which is huge,” Boose said. “They all have experienced some sort of failure which I believe is the best medicine to not get complacent. Several of these girls didn’t place where they wanted to at state and have a chip on their shoulder. We just have to use that in a positive way and be who we are.”
Moving into her junior season, Wilks explains how she wants to use this success to help bring a new spotlight on girls powerlifting.
“One of my goals for the future of our program is to have powerlifting, especially girls‘ powerlifting, be recognized and respected as a sport and not just a hobby,” Wilks said. “A lot of blood, sweat and tears go into this sport just as much if not more than any other major sport does. Another goal I have is to hopefully pack out the gym at least one meet because I think if they gave it a chance, people would really enjoy them.”
