By MARY CHVATAL
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – At the University of Nebraska at Kearney, students and faculty in the Weightlifting Club are proving that strength is about more than what you can lift.
The group started about 18 months ago with one member. Now, there are 14 participants.
Cameron Munger, the club’s faculty sponsor, has a weightlifting connection that dates back to his college days. He and four other graduate students started a weightlifting program at California State University, Fullerton, where Munger earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
The associate professor of exercise science wanted to provide the same opportunity for students at UNK.
“A lot of people who played sports in their adolescence and high school but didn’t continue to play in college need an outlet to do something athletic,” he said. “They get around weightlifting and end up sticking around it for the rest of their lives.”
Munger has been an effective promoter for the club, finding interested students in his strength and conditioning classes, the UNK Wellness Center and other spots on campus.
Kaylese Knez, an exercise science major from Wheatland, Wyoming, is among the recruits.
“Dr. Munger had talked to me about it in class a few times, but he also spotted me in the gym,” she explained.
Knez works as a personal trainer for UNK Campus Recreation. She joined the Weightlifting Club about five months ago and plans to start competing soon.
After their introduction, it’s the people in the program who keep members coming back.
“I was a little nervous about joining, but now I really enjoy the social aspect and accountability that the club has,” said Ashlyn Dodds of Albion, a member since September.
Other participants agree, noting that their lifting routines slipped after high school without the structure, team environment and competition they were used to. The club fills that gap, creating a sense of community and accountability. Members meet every weekday morning in a converted racquetball room, pushing each other to stay consistent and improve.
Munger creates training blocks for each student, allowing them to identify weaknesses and build on strengths, and personal bests are shared and celebrated on a whiteboard.
Club members, many of whom are studying in the Department of Kinesiology and Sport Sciences, also coach each other. Nathan McPhillamy, an exercise science major from Beaver City, appreciates this feedback.
“It’s beneficial working with everyone in here because it’s taught me how to be a better coach,” he said. “Even though we may be doing the majority of the same workouts, someone can phrase something differently or offer a different cue, and it’ll immediately click. It’s been fun to see how different, but similar, we all are.”
In addition to their on-campus training, Weightlifting Club members have the opportunity to compete at events such as the Omaha Classic. Dodds was part of that event earlier this year.
“It was honestly a crazy experience,” she said. “The audience and everyone you’re competing against are rooting for you to pick up that weight and succeed. It was such an adrenaline rush, catching that weight above your head while also feeling the support.”
Raeghann Behrens started competing in powerlifting during high school – coached by then-UNK faculty member Quincy Johnson – and decided to continue this passion in college. The exercise science major from Grand Island recently placed fifth in the 70-kilogram division at the USA Powerlifting Collegiate Nationals in New Orleans, lifting more than 1,000 total pounds in the squat, bench press and deadlift.
“When I was lifting on my own, it almost felt like I was just going through the motions,” said Behrens, who’s part of the Kearney Health Opportunities Program on the pre-physician assistant track. “I knew something had to change. I decided the Weightlifting Club would be a good thing to try, and it’s pushed me in ways I never would have imagined. This is a great group to be part of.”
That support continues to define the club as members show up each day to push one another and celebrate each other’s progress.
“Having a community where we all want to see each other succeed is pretty cool,” Knez said. “We’re all competing against each other in a sense, but the support is something you don’t really get just working out in the rec on your own.”
