Gulfport Powerlifting dominates State Championship; Boys with fourth consecutive title and Girls with first title in school history!

There’s State Champions, and then there’s a legacy of State Champions. Less than two weeks ago, the Gulfport boys powerlifting team didn’t win their first or second state title, but their fourth in a row, and their eighth in the last nine years. For seniors like Hudson Williams, he says this one is by far the most important.

“It means the world. It doesn’t even really sound real that we’ve come back and done it four times in a row,” said Williams. “My freshman, Gulfport had lost to D’Iberville the year before, so we’re coming in there and everybody’s getting after it and we won my freshman year, which was 2022 and with the momentum the ball kept rolling after that. We just kept getting it.”

“It was awesome, actually. It’s been the most important four years of my life this far and it’s been a great experience just being with this team and winning State Championships even if I’m not competing, just being there,” said senior Jack Henry Cotman

“I always say it’s a brotherhood,” said junior Carson Mathews. “We have people from all different backgrounds and walks of life, but we all come together as brothers and it’s just a winning culture. I believe we’ve won 8 of the last 10 or 9 of the last 10, so there’s no other option. Winning is the only option, and I believe that’s what pushes us to win year after year”

Obviously winning as a team is the goal, but many individual wins helped them keep the streak alive. Some notable achievements include Hudson Williams breaking the State squat record as well as being named the best lifter in the state for the 165 weight class, and Andre Peters III clinching the 243 weight class title, along with breaking the state squat record of 700 pounds, but for the first time in school history, but boys weren’t alone at the podium.

During her sophomore year, senior Parker Bennington was the only girl from Gulfport to make it to the state championship. Not only was she joined by 7 girls this year, but she owns the all time state record of 130 pounds in the 97 pound weight class. She was also joined by junior Marcela Rodriguez, who set the state record on bench for the 132 weight class.

“I’ve worked for this the past four years of my life and it honestly means so much to me that I was able to close it out this way and achieve everything I’ve set my mind to since freshman year and really grow as a team and have that family bond behind me,” said Bennington. “I’ve always wanted that for this team, and to be able to see it come through while I’m still on this team has really just changed my perspective on a lot of things.” 

“All of the restless nights and morning practices and PM practices, I feel like we’ve sacrificed so much for this moment and it was really good getting to share that same opportunity that the guys always get to have,” said junior Mea Uresti.

Doing anything for the first time is never easy, but the girls made sacrifices in order to write their names in the history books.

“I was in the 123 pound weight class for regionals and south state, and I moved up a weight class to 132 to knock out two Oxford girls, and so I did and I beat them by a lot,” said Rodriguez.

“I did put on some weight to move up, that was one of my sacrifices I did because it was everything. I’m going to cry thinking about it because I’m not the emotional type, but I was just really proud,” said senior Arihanna Johnson. “All I was thinking about when making it to state was I’ve got to help my team take home this win and take home the championship and that’s literally all I was thinking about. I did it all for my team for real.”

It’s safe to say that all the sacrifices were worth it. Congratulations to the boys on their fourth state title in a row, and congratulations to the girls for their first title in school history. 2025 will forever be a historical year for the Gulfport Admiral powerlifting teams!