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For the fourth consecutive year, Chisago Lakes held the Wishbone Performance Meet on March 8, placing third overall. White Bear Lake won the team competition.

The Wishbone Performance Meet is a competition that tests athletes’ strength and ability. Six categories are tested: power cleans, parallel squat, bench press, vertical jump, jump rope, and shuttle run. In addition, athletes are broken down into different weight classes. At the most recent meet, Chisago Lakes placed four weight class champions.

“I teach power lifting for athletes that don’t participate in a winter sport,” said Jeff Saueressig, Chisago Lakes powerlifting instructor and Wishbone Performance Meet organizer. “I started this to give kids a light at the end of the tunnel, to give them a competition to look forward to. It’s really amazing when you look at the results. The kids are amazed when they see the results.”

The powerlifting season runs from December 1 through the Wishbone Meet. Although athletes who are not in a winter sport start the class, winter sports participants can join the course when their season is over. This past season, 35 kids took part in the meet, 33 boys and two girls.

Sponsored by the Community Market and Lindstrom Fire Department, the program was a hit right from the start.

“It allows athletes to see how they compare to others in tests of strength and agility,” remarked Saueressig. “The kids like to see how they stack up.”

The Wildcat 2004 award winners are listed below.

2004 Wishbone Performance Meet

Meet Champion:

White Bear Lake

Individual Champions (CL only):

Varsity-

Karina Swanberg- Female division

Brian Arndt- 132 pounds

Robbie Sandgren- 165 pounds

Eric Schumacher- 210 pounds

Varsity runner-ups-

Alyce Anfang- Female division

Tom McCulloch- 148 pounds

Luke Spehar- 165 pounds

Matt Turner- Heavyweight

Junior Varsity-

Jordan Bellaisle- 148 pounds

Jason Schumann- 190 pounds

Jim Stone- 198 pounds

Josh Soderlune- 210 pounds

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