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Illini Powerlifting was founded in August 2003 by Joshua Westbrook,
John Hudson, Ryan Harth, and Nick Lepine. John, a graduate student who
had been active in powerlifting from 1985 to 1991, was eager to return
to competitive lifting and looking for training partners. He
heard that Josh, an undergraduate, had been doing some heavy deadlifts
in his workouts at IMPE and made an effort to meet him. They met
and began training deadlift together in early 2003. They pushed
each other to new PR's in just about every workout. It wasn't
long before they began discussing the idea of starting a powerlifting
club, aiming to officially turn in the papers to make Illini
Powerlifting a registered student organization at UIUC at the
beginning of fall semester, 2003.
Meanwhile, Ryan and Nick, both undergraduates, had been training
hard together, making excellent progress. John happened to see Ryan
squatting heavy at IMPE early fall semester 2003, introduced himself
and told Ryan about the club. Ryan and Nick didn't need much
persuading to be listed as founding members of Illini
Powerlifting. Josh served as the first president of Illini
Powerlifting, while John served as treasurer.
And so it was that Illini Powerlifting got started at UIUC in
2003. Fall semester 2003 will long be remembered at IMPE as the time
when Josh, John, Ryan, and Nick began putting on their weekly deadlift
show in the basement free-weight room, the reverberating thuds from
quarter-ton-plus deadlift reps summoning other aspiring powerlifters
to come and be part of the world's strongest sport.
As a side note, although Illini Powerlifting was not officially
approved as a UIUC registered student organization until sometime in
September, 2003, we note August, 2003 as the start date of the club
since August marked John Hudson's return to powerlifting
competition. August 2003 was a good lifting month for him, so it's
only right that his August performances get credited to Illini
Powerlifting.
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Past-Presidents of Illini Powerlifting
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Joshua
WestbrookAugust 2003 – December 2003
Joshua Westbrook was one of the four founding fathers of ILPL
(Harth, Hudson, Lepine, Westbrook), and instrumental in getting
Illini Powerlifting started and established as a Registered
Student Organization (RSO) at the University of Illinois. He was
a remarkable lifter with tremendous raw strength and a reliable
workout partner that even gave John Hudson a run for his
money at times. Josh and the other founders really brought
attention to the sport at IMPE and were the sparks that started
the fire.
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John
HudsonDecember 2003 – August 2005
I fear I will not be able to do
justice to possibly the most influential ILPL member ever in this
short space, but I will endeavor to do my best here. The most
apparent effect under John's leadership was the tremendous growth
beyond the founding members that has lead to a self-sustaining
club which will last long beyond their individual departures from
the university. No one could recruit new members or instill
enthusiasm like John. In addition to developing relationships with
students, he worked to establish a healthy relationship with DCR
(Dept. of Campus Recreation) for the benefit of the club. Where
we were once looked at as troublemakers and agitators, we are now
viewed as a resource and a friend by DCR staff. Changing people's
preconceived notions about the sport and the club was by no means
a small PR task. At the same time, John was thinking ahead and
working to change the team from an RSO, to an official Club Sport
with all the benefits that entails. This work was started by John
and finished under the next administration.
As ILPL gained recognition at home, it
was also gaining recognition in the sport as a formidable team
earning championships and setting records. We went from nearby
meets in a minor federation to competing in the WABDL World
Championships. John gave us vision and helped us focus on meets
that would garner the attention that our hard work as a team
deserved. Particularly impressive was the achievements of John's
very own "Old School" Squad. Using the Hud-stud method, John
continually turned skinny little light-weights into deadlifting
power-houses with incredible results. Having studied abroad
himself, John felt a special connection with international
students, recruiting and training remarkable lifters from all over
the world. Through this outreach, ILPL has touched the lives of
people all over the world.
John's dedication and hard work can be
seen in the growth of ILPL into a lasting organization and the
meet results of his proteges. But also, his heart can be seen in
his continued work in charity efforts he led to help the Tsunami
victims of 2004 and the Katrina victims of 2005. I think it is
only fitting that he is remembered as much for his heart and love
for the team as he is for his hard work and dedication.
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Blake RichardsAugust 2005 –
August 2006
Blake Richards brought new meaning to the phrase, "No Pain,
No Gain". He was one of the most determined and dedicated lifters
on the team, and I believe nothing short of being hit by a Mac
truck would have kept him from the gym. To our benefit, Blake
brought that same sort of determination to his job as club
president. He was constantly performing a balancing act of meeting
the needs of the team and pleasing the DCR administration. Though,
this work clearly paid off as ILPL became an official club sport
and DCR bought its first REAL powerlifting equipment. In
particular, we were blessed with a true competition Forza bench,
deadlift platform and deadlift bar loader. ILPL was finally out
of the basement and practicing with professional
equipment. Blake's determination and hard work will most certainly
have a lasting impact on the club.
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© Copyright 2008 Illini
Powerlifting. All Rights Reserved.
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