Dekalb sophomore wins state powerlifting meet
DEKALB, Texas — Dekalb High School sophomore Talisha Ingram won first place at the Girls State Powerlifting Competition on March 14.
Ingram, who participates in softball, track and volleyball, as well as powerlifting, said she gets pumped up by listening to hip-hop and R&B, along with receiving hype from her classmates.
“The girls in athletics will see me in the hallway and pump me up, making jokes and pushing me: ‘Oh you think you got this one?’ and I’m like, ‘I got this,’” Ingram said.
Last year’s championship meet ended with Ingram in second place, but athletic director Troy Zerengue said he thought she would be successful this go-around.
“I’m extremely proud of her,” Zerengue said. “She works hard, and she’s a great kid.”
The athletic director said Ingram, who he and classmates affectionately refer to her as TT, is a quality kid who likes to talk but is mature.
“I watched her and her brother grow up,” Zerengue said. “They’re awesome kids, awesome family and really high character people.”
Ingram said her brother, 12th-grader Cory, got her into powerlifting.
“We’re very, very competitive. I also just like to lift weights,” Ingram said.
Ingram said she prepares for a meet by lifting heavier weights two weeks prior and going lighter a week before so she doesn’t wear herself out, as well as doing sprints and running on bleachers.
“I can squat 455 pounds, I can bench 240 pounds, and I can deadlift 450 pounds,” Ingram said.
The athlete said she finds deadlift to be the most challenging since she is still working on her grip strength. Other qualities that assist her during her lifts are her mentality and her ability to keep going.
“I’ve grown a lot from my freshman year to my sophomore year. I’ve improved all of my lifts,” Ingram said. “But I’ve also improved my men
“I can squat 455 pounds, I can bench 240 pounds, and I can deadlift 450
pounds”
— Talisha Ingram
tality. I didn’t fail at all my freshman year, but my sophomore year, I had to fail and regroup after a meet I knew I should have won.”
Ingram said she has learned that she can’t always go into a meet thinking she will win, which helps her try her best even more.
The sophomore said her friends are happy and often say they have the strongest person in East Texas going to their school.
“My family is so supportive. They know the effort I put into this. They’ve seen me cry after a meet,” Ingram said. “They’ll tell me, ‘You know you can do it. Just go fix it.’ And I’ll go fix it.”
Ingram said she plans to continue powerlifting in college and hopes to become an Olympic lifter.
“If that doesn’t really work out, I want to become a physical therapist,” Ingram said.