BY RACHEL CHARLTON, Staff Reporter

Each competitor stared down the bar as they sauntered towards the platform. Clouds of chalk rising from their palms as they clapped their hands together. Varying in age, size and weight, all six participants in this year’s Aaron Harrison Memorial Powerlifting Competition possessed grim determination to beat their previous record and ultimately become “Best Lifter” of the contest.

The annual Powerlifting competition was in honor of the late Aaron Harrison, a University Recreation employee and avid powerlifter, who passed away last summer.

“It was a great chance for the students, staff and friends of Aaron to come together, meet in a place that he called home for a number of years and participate in an activity that he was so passionate about,” Eric Scott, director of University Recreation said. “For the people that attended the service and competition, it was a great opportunity to share stories and remember the best parts of Aaron’s time with us.”

The lifts consisted of bench press and deadlift, with each contender attempting to better their previous lift.

Participants chose their starting weight and how many pounds they would add for the next round.

Those who made it to the third round had the option of competing in a final fourth round.

During the first attempt, the deadlift weight ranged from 385 pounds to 550 pounds. Four participants chose to compete in the final round, with weight spanning 445 pounds to 650 pounds.

For the light-weight bench press section, Jason Civich placed first, with Ryan Nelson coming in second. Colin Gould placed first in the overall deadlift section and Civich placed second.

Of the six participants, Central senior Daniel Herrera was a formidable presence in the weight room, commanding the attention of the audience as he stomped his feet on the platform to gain footing before attempting each lift.

Herrera dominated the heavy-weight group, placing first in both bench press and deadlift.

The most impressive performance of the day came from Herrera, as he deadlifted 650 pounds, 90 pounds more than the next highest weight for that lift.

Herrera, a bio-chemistry major, had never competed before but had been inspired by Harrison.

“We barely started talking and we were going to start deadlifting and working out together, but he passed away,” Herrera said. “I thought I should come and do it.”

Herrera’s outstanding performances throughout the day earned him the coveted title of “Best Lifter.”

After the competition, Herrera was given the opportunity to participate in a powerlifting competition next month in Kennewick.

Larry Bush, the Washington state chairman for the National United Powerlifting Association, also participated in Sunday’s competition in honor of Harrison, who he had known for roughly four years before Harrison’s death.

Harrison “came to one of the contests that we host in the Tri-Cities and he was just kind of a quiet guy in the back. He had that little smirk on his face,” Bush said. “I thought, ‘You know, there is something going on there, I got to meet that guy.’ Being quiet like he was, I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but when he got on that platform it was obvious that he had passion and enthusiasm.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, the turnout was roughly half of what it has been previously. Scott attributed the lack of numbers to the absence of Harrison.

“It is entirely because we don’t have Aaron that the event was smaller. Aaron made a personal connection with most of our powerlifters last year and encouraged them to compete,” Scott said. “Without him in the weight room every evening encouraging students to sign up, we were not as successful sharing the information.”