When Kera Root was in the eighth grade, her track and field coach took the throwers down to the weight room. It was love at first lift. “I fell in love with it right away,” she says. “It was obvious to me that Coach Whittaker was a great resource and ran a great program.”
Now a sophomore at Dexter HS, Root has been lifting to great heights both in competitions and to help her prepare for not only other sports but her very busy schedule as well.
At the recent Michigan High School Powerlifting Association (MHSPLA) State Finals, held March 2, Root finished third in her weight class with a total weight lifted of 635 pounds: squat – 230 pounds; bench – 150 pounds; and deadlift – 255 pounds. She competed against 21 girls in her weight class.
Root’s results are impressive on their own, but especially so when you factor in that she wasn’t at peak performance.
“The week before States I was dealing with some sort of illness so I was not feeling the best,” she said. “The pressure of wanting to perform well at States didn’t help. I just tried to have the right attitude and knew that although I couldn’t control how things would turn out, I could choose to be the best version of me.”
Now that’s an impressive way to approach the bar – and life in general.
Root, 16, qualified for States last year as a freshman year, but did not make weight and could only compete as a guest.
Before we “press” on, let’s look at Root’s busy schedule. Kera, the daughter of Kathleen and Lee Root, has a 3.76 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society. She also participates in track and field (discus and shot put), trap shooting, band, the equestrian team and powerlifting.
And despite only being a sophomore, Root has had quite an impressive resume of success as a Dreadnaught. On the equestrian team, she received high point/most valuable rider during her freshman and sophomore years; in trap she received third in conference as a freshman; and in shot put/discus, she set school records for both shot put (4kg) 31’ 1” and discus (1kg) 90’ 9” as a freshman.
Which leads us back to powerlifting where she tied the state record for bench (155 pounds) her 181 weight class as a sophomore.
“I not only do powerlifting as a member of the high school’s powerlifting team, but I also continue to power-lift year round,” she says. “I believe that lifting all year has helped enhance my performance in my other sports and has allowed me to perform at my best.”
After high school, she hopes to attend West Point Military Academy. “A backup plan, because everyone needs that, would be Michigan State and join the Army ROTC Program,” she says.
But that’s still a few years away. Right now she plans on continuing with her current sports/activities throughout high school.
As far as powerlifting?
“I likely will continue this in some way my entire life,” she says. “I believe it has been really beneficial for not only my physical being but also my mental being. I don’t know if I will compete in the future, but there is always that possibility.”
