My City March 2023

will all be competing in the JV state meet at Flint Kearsley High School March 11. Roberts’ tender side also came out at the Lake Orion regional after watching Adeline Edenburn take sixth in the 165-pound division with a 400-pound effort, including a 215-pound deadlift, her best by 30 pounds. Adeline was born needing a liver transplant which prevented her from competing in sports until discov ering she could join her sisters on the powerlifting team. “I cried like a baby when Adeline secured that deadlift and I was not the only emotional one,” Roberts says. “The whole crowd got behind her. It’s great the way her sisters look out for her and the four of them are such a great story.” No matter what happens at this year’s state and national competitions, Roberts is elated that all of his state qualifiers and most of this season’s 12-member roster will return next season. There is also the possibility that one of next year’s newcomers could eventually become Goodrich’s latest state or national champion. “Even though this team is one of the youngest I’ve had, it’s also one of the closest I’ve had and there’s no drama, other than the sisters some times picking on each other,” Roberts says with a chuckle. “I can just coach, but practices have been fun too. I set up a big Bluetooth speaker to blare out music and it’s been great watching them crush it when lifting and enjoy ing practices. They even sometimes dance between sets.” Added Kyleigh Randall: “Prac tices have been special times for me because we are all there for each other, helping each other with tons of encouragement.”

The program began taking off and in 2017 he coached his first state champion – Abby Joseph, who became his first national champion a year later. Willow Tetmeyer cap tured varsity state titles in 2020 and 2021 and JV championships in 2018 and 2019. Roxanne Vickory was a varsity state champion in 2021 while Harli Hadden, who attended Burton Bendle, but lifted with Goodrich after Bendle dropped its program, was a state varsity titlist last year. While Roberts can be an intense coach, social media images depict how much he loves clowning around with the team as well. For the past two years, he has let any varsity state champ pick the color he should dye his beard. Last year, Hadden chose green. Vickory picked purple in 2021. Evelyn Edenburn appears poised to become the next to determine Roberts’ beard hue. She is a clear favorite to add a varsity state crown to the JV title she won as a freshman. Lilly Edenburn (242-pound division), Madison Goltry (242), Taylor Adams (220), Casey McClel lan (114) and Calix Nelson (132)

Roberts has taken a contingent of his lifters to the national champi onships in most years of his tenure which began in 2014 when daughter Veronica wanted to join the team, but discovered it was without a coach and in danger of folding. In stepped her father. “I had always loved lifting weights and three days after I found out Goodrich had no powerlifting coach, I became coach,” Ron recalls. “I felt it was something I could do for Veronica and other Goodrich girls who wanted to powerlift. I had never lifted in competition and realized there is a lot of bad information out there when it comes to coaching the sport and had to sort out what works best for me and the girls.”

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