Loreauville High School junior Corgan Edler and his grandfather Tim Edler recently broke powerlifting records in their competitive classes at the Red River Ruckus Meet.
Loreauville High School junior Corgan Edler and his grandfather Tim Edler recently broke powerlifting records in their competitive classes at the Red River Ruckus Meet.
LOREAUVILLE — Tim Edler and his grandson Corgan Edler both broke records in their respective weight classes on Saturday at the Red River Ruckus powerlifting meet.
Corgan, currently a junior at Loreauville High School, lifts in the 74 kilogram weight class. After failing his first lift, Corgan decided to challenge himself and increased the weight for his second lift.
“I got real nervous when I broke the record because the first time I missed it,” said Corgan. “They say three commands on the bench press, but I got nervous and went before they started.”
“The first one was only 265, which is below the record. The second one was the state record. I decided to go up in weight, and I knew I couldn’t miss the command. If you miss all three lifts then you are disqualified.
“It’s pretty common to have your first lift be something that you’re comfortable with,” explained Corgan. “Most people do it with their 3-rep max, so they definitely know they can do it. I decided to go higher so that if I was to miss the lift, I’d have another chance to do it.
The previous state record for his weight class was 170 pounds, so Corgan gambled with a 175 pound lift, which he managed easily. Having already broken the record, Corgan chose to increase his weight again for the third lift, to 281 pounds, which he was also able to complete.
Now that he has broken records with his bench press, Corgan says he is going to focus on improving his other two lifts.
“At the moment it’s my strongest lift, but I’d like to keep improving on that. My deadlift is pretty good but my squat has always been a weak point for me.”
Corgan finished the meet with a combined total weight of 1,008.
Just as important as breaking the state record was being able to do it side by side with his grandfather, Tim Edler, who is 73 years old.
Tim says that he first began weightlifting when he was coaching his grandson, who he has been working with for over 5 years.
“I haven’t lifted in over 40 years,” said Tim. “I’m only lifting because of him. I broke all 4 state records (bench press, squat, deadlift, and total lifts) in October, so at this meet I broke my own records.”
Tim, currently lifting in the 205 pound class, holds all 4 state records for his age group. At the recent Red River Ruckus Tim was able to beat his own records in three categories: Squat (198 pounds), Deadlift (237 pounds), and Total Lifts (617 pounds).
Tim says that he enjoys lifting, but the most important thing is being able to mentor and spend time with his grandson.
“I did this for him because it’s so important for him to be recognized.”
“Most grandfathers around here take their grandkids duck hunting and squirrel hunting. I take mine to powerlifting meets. I’m proud of him, I really am.”
Tim says that in the past 5 years, Corgan has grown as an athlete and as a person.
“He learned discipline, he learned how to be on time, and he learned that if he offends his grandfather, it’s not good. We have positive mental attitude signs on the wall and he’s picking up on that. Making him an athlete was phase one, making him the best person he can be is phase two.
Corgan says that being able to do something he loves with his grandfather is priceless, and that he has learned life lessons in the process.
“He is my first and main coach, he has been coaching me since I was 12. He got me to where I am today.”
“I just want to say thanks to all the people that supported me and thanks to my grandfather for getting me where I am today. Without him I wouldn’t be here, breaking that record.”
