More than meets the eye when it comes to the girl’s powerlifting program at Wylie High School. After visiting with some of the team members and head coach, it is easy to see why the program is flourishing.
The Sport for Real
Powerlifting is a sport of threes and persistence. Each athlete gets three chances per lift – squat, bench press and deadlift – to measure their absolute strength and technical ability to lift.
“The only thing you need to be good at powerlifting is consistency. Just show up. Your body – biology – takes care of the rest, and you see growth easier than other sports because growth is exponential. Time spent is time earned,” said Head Coach Cort Arthur.
It is also a sport organized by weight-class, requiring the lifters to weigh in so they compete against others with common physicality. Arthur said this can be difficult for some, but its a non-issue for his athletes because they know it’s beneficial.
Junior Kylie Landeros and freshman Victoria Rhodes said powerlifting can come with misperception. Rhodes says the idea of turning into a bodybuilder was an initial concern of her parents. “When I first started, my family thought I was going to get huge, bulky muscles, but at least for me so far, I’ve only been building and maintaining muscle,” said Rhodes.
Landeros finds most don’t think they have enough strength to even try. “I feel like…people, in general, don’t think they are strong enough, and this is for girls and boys,” Landeros added. “I get asked all the time, ‘Hey should I try powerlifting?’ I always say absolutely, it’s hard on your body but it’s 75% mental and 25% physical, and the memories that come out of powerlifting are unmatched.”
The Building Blocks
When Coach Arthur came to Wylie in 2022 to head-up powerlifting and Wylie’s strength and conditioning program, he had three girls in his powerlifting class. A humble beginning. Now, that’s not an issue.
“There is a big want just to powerlift,” said Arthur. He has two classes on the schedule and believes he could fill more. “As far as the growth of the sport in Texas, said Arthur. “It’s absolutely wild!”
Coach Arthur said records from the Texas High School Powerlifting Association show this. According to Arthur, there were 1,017 female lifters competing at the state competition in 2021, and in 2025 there were 1,618. The increase never decreased in the five years. At Wylie, the girls powerlifting team reflects this growth and is doing it with success.
“In 2022, ten girls qualified for the regional meet with six of them medaling,” said Arthur. “We placed fourth as a team and sent four to state. Then in 2023, we had 15 regional qualifiers with six medals and finished second as a team. We had eight qualify for the
state meet.”
The program kept moving forward increasing athletes at regional and state competitions and winning the title of Regional Champions in 2024 and 2025 as a team. Arthur said individual success has also increased and believes Wylie will have its first state champion in the coming years.
“In 2023, we had our first state medalist. Brylee Ross placed first in the 97lb class. Since then, Joelyn Hardy (165lb) finished third in 2024,” said Arthur. “Ary Perez Rivera (97lb) finished fourth this year, while Kiley Landeros (114lb) finished second. Our first girls state champion is right around the corner, as both of those girls are underclassmen.”
The True Power of Lifting
Coach Arthur describes powerlifting as an activity of “shared suffering or when you learn what the other person is experiencing and can empathize with what they are going through.” So, why is there growth and a rise in popularity?
Getting stronger is definitely a draw to powerlifting, but Landeros did not expect how that would look. “Powerlifting surprised me by making me so much more mentally stronger,” she said. “Self- discovery is a huge part of powerlifting. It tells you a whole lot about yourself, like if you are honest and committed,” said Arthur.
For junior Hylan Atwood, powerlifting brought personal growth. “Growing up, I had never really been good at any sport, always mediocre, but when I tried something out of my comfort zone, I truly fell in love with it,” said Atwood. “I learned there is something out there for everyone when I really didn’t believe there was.”
By Kristen Johnson
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