Special Olympics West Hawaii powerlifters Adrian Cleintuar, Ray Donager, Patrick Dungate and Isaiah Wong flew to Maui on Saturday, May 2, for the regional meet that qualifies them for competition at State Summer Games. They were accompanied by coaches Denise Lindsey and Steven Strand, as well as family.
The day-long event was held at Baldwin High School in Wailuku, following the Maui leg of the Troy Barboza Law Enforcement Torch Run. Police officers participating in the 3-mile run graciously stayed on afterwards to serve as loaders and spotters for the meet. Loaders and spotters are the hard working, indispensable crew who the load weights onto the bars. They are close at hand throughout each lift, watching closely to catch a bar if necessary to ensure the safety of the athletes.
Special Olympics Hawaii Vice President of Sports Dan Epstein was announcer and scorekeeper. SOHI Director of Powerlifting Winston Ho served as head official.
More than 20 lifters representing Hawaii Island, Maui and Molokai vied for honors in the squat, bench press, deadlift and combo events at the competition.
Even for the uninitiated, powerlifting is one of the most satisfying sports to watch. The pace is fast and with each lift there is potential for a moment of intense drama.
The athletes have been training for months. They know what they can do in practice, but until they are tested in competition it is impossible for them to know how they will stack up.
In fact, the excitement doesn’t let up until the very end of the meet. Because of complex scoring factors, it is not uncommon for an athlete to find out who is actually in his division until he finds himself next to that competitor on the awards stand.
Because West Hawaii’s Isaiah Wong and Patrick Dungate, both age 17, were experiencing their very first powerlifting competition, the anticipation was especially high for the West Hawaii team. Special Olympics rules stipulate that an athlete must be age 16 or older to train and compete in powerlifting.
Wong and Dungate proved to themselves and everyone present that they had the hearts, souls, muscles and dedication to be top notch powerlifters.
Veteran lifters Ray Donager, 42, and Adrian Cleintuar, 25, also displayed their “Westside Pride” with outstanding performances.
A big mahalo goes out to Head Coach Denise Lindsey and Assistant Coach Steven Strand. For without their wealth of knowledge, skill, patience and tireless commitment to our athletes, the SOWH powerlifting program would not exist.
Please enjoy the following photos taken during the competition. To see the entire album created by Denise Lindsey, SOWH coach, and Nikki Cleintuar, SOWH volunteer, click here.
From left to right: Patrick Dungate, Ray (Kealoha) Donager, Isaiah Wong & Adrian Cleintuar.
Ray Donager deadlifts 275 pounds.
Patrick Dungate deadlifts 210 pounds in his first powerlifting competition.
Isaiah Wong deadlifts 405 pounds.
Adrian Cleintuar does the deadlift, a weight training exercise where one lifts a loaded barbell off the ground from a stabilized bent position.
SOWH’s powerlifting team displaying their “Westside Pride.”
After practice, the SOWH powerlifting team celebrated Ray Donager’s birthday.
