LEXINGTON, Va., Feb. 5, 2025—The Institute hosted the 2025 United States Powerlifting Coalition (USPC) Virginia is for Lifters! powerlifting meet Saturday Feb. 1 in Cocke Hall, and it was a day of excellence for VMI Powerlifting, a club sport for cadets. Seven cadets from the club participated and closed out the day with six championships and one 2^nd place finish.

Dakota Jones ’26 (ACIC) - 1st place Open, 82.5kg weight class, Total: 1,005 lbs.

Aidan Carman ’27 - 1st Place Juniors, 82.5kg weight class, Total: 760lbs

Chin-jen Hsiao ’26 - 1st Place Juniors, 75kg weight class, Total: 845lbs

Colton Shirk ’27 - 1st Place Juniors, 90kg weight class, Total: 1,237lbs

Zachary Rivera ’2 - 2nd Place Juniors, 90kg weight class, Total: 986lbs

Garrett Barber ’25 - 1st Place Juniors, 75kg weight class, Total: 1,242lbs

Heathe Hernandez ’25 - 1st Place Juniors, 100kg weight class, Total: 1,166lbs

The team also broke ten national and state records during the day, reflecting cadets’ home states and nation.

Garrett Barber ’25 (181 lbs.):

• Bench Press, 337 lbs., State Record, Texas
• Deadlift, 456 lbs., State Record, Texas
• Best Lifter of the Meet

Chin-jen Hsiao ’26 (165 lbs.):

• Squat, 308 lbs., National Record, Taiwan
• Bench Press, 220 lbs., National Record, Taiwan
• Deadlift, 326 lbs., National Record, Taiwan
• Total Lift, 854 lbs., National Record, Taiwan

Aidan Carman  ’27 (181 lbs.):

• Squat, 235 lbs., State Record, Georgia
• Bench Press, 180 lbs., State Record, Georgia
• Deadlift, 315 lbs., State Record, Georgia
• Total Lift, 760 lbs., State Record, Georgia

VMI cadets, especially the S9 staff, and employees coordinated, staged, and worked at the event, making it not only a success, but also a showcase of the professionalism and esprit de Corps found at the Institute.

The event is available to view on the USPC YouTube channel.

- VMI -