One may think a team losing several members to graduation means a rebuild is in the immediate future.
To those entrenched in that belief, Meridian High School powerlifting coaches Demetrius Hill and La’Toya Atterberry have a message: Don’t turn away.
The 2025 Wildcats lost three lifters to graduation after the trio all qualified for the state tournament.
Ethan Wright won the 148-pound division following an effort of 500 pounds in the squat, 270 in the bench press and 550 in the deadlift, good for a grand total of 1,320.
Dane Hill won at 198 pounds (575 squat, 335 bench press, 625 deadlift, 1,595 total), and Patrick Heidelberg took first at 275 pounds (635 squat, 340 bench press, 625 deadlift, 1,600 total).
Returning this season, 181-pounder Grant Hill is expected to be one of the team’s standouts, along with Aston Dawson.
At state last season, Hill registered 575 in the squat and 250 in the bench press. He was injured during the deadlift event.
“We had a great season,” Demetrius Hill said. “We qualified four for the state championship meet.
“We’ve got much younger guys coming in this season,” he added, “but we have some talented lifters coming in this year.”
Hill will continue what has been a lengthy and successful coaching career, which began in 1992 at Meridian.
After leaving Meridian, he took coaching and athletic director jobs throughout the state, before returning to the Wildcats in 2004.
Since then, his squads won state championships from 2005-2010 and again in 2017.
Hill said entering this season, the message to his team has not changed.
“I tell them, it’s all about the numbers,” he said. “If you bench 330 pounds, somebody is going to come bench something close to that. It’s hard to beat someone who has been lifting five or six years longer. But you can do it if you stay focused and work hard.”
For 2026, Hill said his team will be “very competitive.”
“We’re trying to fit everyone in their weight class,” said Hill, who added that fitting everyone in 12 weight classes between 114-308 pounds is a major challenge.
He added that the Wildcats’ strength will once again be in the squat.
“The more you can squat, the better off you’ll be,” Hill said. “Two years ago, we had a guy who squatted 740 pounds. A guy on another team squatted 840 pounds. So you want to be as strong there as you can.”
Hill said he believes that even more of his team can make it to the state championship. In order to qualify for the state tournament, a lifter must finish third or better in the district, region and South State tournaments.
“I think we’ll have five make it to state,” he said. “We have lifters in 114, 118, 198, 275 and 308 who can go. It all depends on the numbers, and that they stay focused and keep working hard.”
Hill also wanted his team members to keep one other thing in mind.
“Powerlifting is a team sport,” he said, “but it’s also an individual sport. If you perform well, other doors can open.”
Entering her fifth season as the Meridian High School girls’ powerlifting coach, Atterberry has a full squad returning from last year.
The Lady Wildcats sent one to the state championship meet in 2025 — Charlise Payne. She has qualified for state the past two seasons, finishing third as a freshman at 114 pounds and a sophomore at 123 pounds.
Still, Atterberry said, she expects many new faces in 2026.
“Every year, we get a different group of girls,” she said. “We’re building every year, but we always expect to be competitive.”
Atterberry, a former assistant coach under Hill before being named head girls’ coach, credited her former boss for what she has learned.
“The biggest thing he taught me,” she said, “was to tell them to keep pushing. If you work hard, powerlifting is a sport where you can get where you want to be.”
Atterberry added that she believes her team has a strong possibility of making it to state.
“They’re hungry and they’re ready to go to the mat,” she said. “They’re pushing themselves and working on being consistent.
“They have a great drive this season,” Atterberry added. “They’re working out and practicing with the guys. They’re not being fearful.”
As for taking her team to the next level, Atterberry said the keys will simply be a continuance of what they’ve already shown.
“We need the willingness to keep building,” she said, “and no complaints about the weights.”
The two teams open their seasons at the district meet. The boys begin on Feb. 5, while the girls start the day after.
