Senior Kate Tambasco recently broke not only the girl’s, but also the boy’s school record for the power pentathlon. Points are awarded for five different components: sit-ups, bench press, pull-ups, 40-yard dash, and vertical jump. The power pentathlon is done once per quarter in the weightlifting classes.
“I felt really good. At first I wasn’t really expecting to beat the boy’s record, and I hadn’t come to the realization that I was going to beat the girl’s record until after I had finished my first power pentathlon,” said Tambasco. After her first power pentathlon, Tambasco was only about 20 points from beating the girl’s record. When she went back for her second pentathlon, she was determined to beat the girl’s record, and ended up beating the boy’s record too.
“The one that got me a lot of points was the two-minute sit-ups,” Tambasco said. Students are awarded one point per sit-up in the two minute time period. Additionally, Tambasco scored well on her pull-ups, in which students are awarded ten points per pull-up.
Tambasco got her start with lifting at an early age, playing football from fifth to eighth grade, in which she lifted during those years. In high school, Tambasco has taken four years of weight training with Coach Robert Ennis.
“I’m not like most girls, I kind of enjoy being muscular,” Tambasco commented. “It helps me make sure that my health is in check, it makes sure that I’m staying fit to allow me to do the things that I want to do.”
Tambasco pushed hard to go the extra mile at practice, working with extra weights at practice, extra running, and the workouts with her rowing team. Tambasco works out four days each week with her team, two additional days with her trainer, and one day by herself.
“It’s a full body workout. It starts with your legs, and then it moves back to your core, arms, back and shoulders,” Tambasco said in regards to her row practices. Tambasco rows for The Stewards Foundation, a non-profit organization which gives the profits that it receives from camps and other activities to local charities.
In college, Tambasco hopes to continue her passion of rowing, and is currently being recruited by multiple colleges. She has already been on two official visits, and has been offered many more.
“I’ve gone on two officials [visits], one to Stetson and the other one to Eastern Michigan, and then I have just a few other schools that have offered me officials either to fly up January or February,” Tambasco said. She expressed her desire to go to a school that is strong academically, and especially a team that supports her and her academics. Colleges do a lot of cross training in preparation for rowing, and Tambasco hopes to be able to build up to beat a record by her senior year of college.
Matt Gerasimovich// Opinion Editor
