Two years ago, Justin Verner was a self-proclaimed “chubby” kid who was trying to master powerlifting techniques.
Only a sophomore, Verner knew he had the potential to accomplish big things in the sport. His strategy for realizing those goals was simple: He was going to listen to his coaches and work as hard as he could.
Two years later, the weight of three championship medals around his neck feels pretty comfortable. Those awards feel equally as good as a nice round number and a state record Verner earned for his latest title.
On Saturday at the Mississippi High School Activities Association State meet in Jackson, the Columbus High School senior set a state record in the 275-pound weight class with a bench press of 365 pounds. That lift was part of a combined total of 1,600 pounds that helped Verner win his weight class and capture his third consecutive championship.
Verner said 1,600 was a number he had in his mind in the weeks leading up to the event. He added marks of in the 625 pounds in the squat and 610 pounds in the dead lift to reach the coveted final total.
“It is all the same,” Verner said when asked if he was more proud of winning a third straight title, hitting 1,600 pounds, or getting a state record. “Any way it goes I am going to be in the record books.”
The total in the squat was his best. He said he has maxed out with more weight in the bench press and likely would have been able to lift more weight Saturday but followed the advice of his coaches and went with 365 pounds.
As a junior, Verner won the 242-pound weight class with a combined total of 1,520 pounds.
Verner said he didn’t lift the week before the state meet. He said a track meet that week took up much of his time. He said not practicing actually helped him because he felt rested entering his final state meet.
Verner said it was odd competing because there was an announcement made that he was preparing to go for a state record in the bench press. He said he felt the eyes of everyone at the event on him and knew he had to deliver. In a way, it was fitting he set a record in the bench press.
“My first two years, I didn’t like bench,” Verner said. “I depended on squat to help me, but I saw that bench was really hat kept people in it, and I started working on bench press the past two years.”
Verner started the bench press at 315 pounds. He went up to 350 and then tackled 365.
Columbus High powerlifting coach Brandon Brown has worked with Verner the past three seasons. He said he saw a little complacency in Verner following his first state title as a sophomore. That season, Verner lifted a combined weight of 1,505 pounds in the squat, bench press, and dead lift to win the 242-pound weight class. But Brown said Verner quickly re-focused and set out to reach his goal to get at least 1,600 pounds before he graduated. He said Verner was disappointed by his weight totals in competitions leading up to the overall state meet, but that he realized those numbers weren’t going to prevent him from doing what he needed to do in Jackson to close his high school powerlifting career.
“Just being a senior and looking back at his progression, it is a testament to his hard work,” Brown said. “That’s why I say his last (title) is the most special. … He strived and strived to be greater and greater.”
Verner said he will attend Northeast Mississippi Community College in the fall. He said he plans to try to walk on to the football team and earn a spot as a lineman. When he takes that next step, Verner will bring the confidence gained from a maturation process that has helped transform him from a chubby yet strong sophomore into a young man who has proven he is willing to do the work to reach his goals.
“I didn’t really think I was going to win after my sophomore year because I thought I was going to get too cocky and mess up and not do what I needed to do,” Verner said. “I just kept working and doing what the coaches told me to do.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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