{"id":17043,"date":"2026-04-02T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043"},"modified":"2026-04-02T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T05:00:00","slug":"phantom-warriors-win-usa-powerliftings-2026-nationals-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043","title":{"rendered":"Phantom Warriors win USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Nationals | Living"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n
\n

\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"260321-A-HF298-3034\"\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>
\n

<\/p>\n

Spc. Victor Vasquez, a wheeled vehicle mechanic with the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, practices the weighted squat during the USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Military and Police\/Firefighter National Powerlifting Championships March 21 at the Killeen Civic Center in Killeen, Texas. The USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Military and Police\/Firefighter National Powerlifting Championships is a national qualifying event for the 2026 International Drug Free Powerlifting Association Student and University World Championship scheduled for May in Tampa, Florida.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n


\n Photo by Private 1st Class Anthony Heatley, 7th MPAD<\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n


\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

KILLEEN, Texas<\/strong> \u2014 The Phantom Warrior Powerlifting Team delivered a winning performance at the USA Powerlifting National Championship on March 21, at the Killeen Civic Center, securing first place in the team category.<\/p>\n

The championship, one of the premier events in the sport, brings together elite lifters from across the country who have qualified through rigorous regional competitions, making the team\u2019s victory a significant achievement for both the installation and its surrounding community.<\/p>\n

The USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Military and Police\/Firefighter National Powerlifting Championships is a national qualifying event for the 2026 International Drug Free Powerlifting Association Student and University World Championship scheduled for May in Tampa, Florida.<\/p>\n

Phantom Warriors head coach Johnny A. Graham, endearingly known as \u2018Truck\u2019 by his team, said the team trained heavily to prepare for the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of hard work,\u201d Graham said. \u201cThe lifters train after duty hours. They don\u2019t train during duty hours. So it\u2019s a lot of hard work involved. We\u2019re in the gym from 5 o\u2019clock in the afternoon to 8 o\u2019clock at night.\u201d<\/p>\n

The competition consisted of three events; the squat, bench press and deadlift. Competitors were separated into divisions based on gender, age and bodyweight.<\/p>\n

Capt. Korina Martinez, an air defense artillery officer, 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, achieved personal records in all her lifts with a 413-pound squat, 198-pound bench press and a 440-pound dead lift, earning the gold medal for her division.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel relieved,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cI\u2019m very happy with all my numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n

She praised her coach, saying he\u2019s been vital to her success as a lifter.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy coach, \u2018Truck,\u2019 he\u2019s been absolutely incredible,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cI came into his team with a very open mind, and I was self-taught. He literally changed up my technique almost completely in all lifts, and that has been a complete game changer. So he\u2019s been absolutely awesome to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez, who started lifting just one year ago, said her teammates play a big role in her success as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody here is super supportive of each other,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cThey\u2019re very encouraging. Honestly, if I didn\u2019t have them, I probably wouldn\u2019t have as much confidence that I do have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spc. Johnlee Guzman, an infantryman, 3rd Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, was another standout competitor. Despite having returned from the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, at 4 a.m., he still managed to win two gold medals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel great now because of the awards, but just because I didn\u2019t think I was gonna be able to compete here today,\u201d Guzman said. \u201cSo the fact I got a chance to come here and be able to show out, that\u2019s all I care about really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guzman also emphasized one of the many aspects that he loves about the sport is the camaraderie he shares with his teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to say it\u2019s like my second family. Every day we train. It\u2019s always a great vibe and great energy. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eight other Phantom Warriors took home medals from the competition.<\/p>\n

Graham had nothing but positive things to say about his team after watching them win the championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe won the national championship,\u201d Graham said. \u201cThis is our 23rd military national championship. So I\u2019m very proud of them. What I\u2019m really impressed with, I have a very young team and they\u2019re very, very respectful, very disciplined and they train their butts off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham, a former eight-time world champion powerlifter himself, has been involved with the sport for over 20 years and continues to dedicate his time and energy to his team even in retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Soldiers,\u201d the coach said. \u201cThat\u2019s the bottom line. I love Soldiers. I was in the sport myself when I was in the military. I love the fact that I can help other Soldiers do the same thing that I did.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spc. Victor Vasquez, a wheeled vehicle mechanic with the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, practices the weighted squat during the USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Military and Police\/Firefighter National Powerlifting Championships March 21 at the Killeen Civic Center in Killeen, Texas. The USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Military and Police\/Firefighter National Powerlifting Championships is a national qualifying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":682,"featured_media":17044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[273],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17043","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-powerlifting-news"},"yoast_head":"\nPhantom Warriors win USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Nationals | Living - World Bodybuilding News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Phantom Warriors win USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Nationals | Living - World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Spc. Victor Vasquez, a wheeled vehicle mechanic with the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, practices the weighted squat during the USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Military and Police\/Firefighter National Powerlifting Championships March 21 at the Killeen Civic Center in Killeen, Texas. The USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Military and Police\/Firefighter National Powerlifting Championships is a national qualifying […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-02T05:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pfc. Anthony Heatley 7th MPAD\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pfc. Anthony Heatley 7th MPAD\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Pfc. Anthony Heatley 7th MPAD\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d66c9da23b2c5122c5022d2c5b4137e3\"},\"headline\":\"Phantom Warriors win USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Nationals | Living\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T05:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043\"},\"wordCount\":753,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/69cc103987e12.image_.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Powerlifting News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043\",\"name\":\"Phantom Warriors win USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Nationals | Living - World Bodybuilding News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/69cc103987e12.image_.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T05:00:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d66c9da23b2c5122c5022d2c5b4137e3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/69cc103987e12.image_.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/69cc103987e12.image_.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=17043#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Phantom Warriors win USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Nationals | Living\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"World Bodybuilding News\",\"description\":\"Data, Rankings, Results.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d66c9da23b2c5122c5022d2c5b4137e3\",\"name\":\"Pfc. Anthony Heatley 7th MPAD\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Pfc. Anthony Heatley 7th MPAD\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?author=682\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Phantom Warriors win USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Nationals | Living - World Bodybuilding News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Phantom Warriors win USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Nationals | Living - World Bodybuilding News","og_description":"Spc. Victor Vasquez, a wheeled vehicle mechanic with the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, practices the weighted squat during the USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Military and Police\/Firefighter National Powerlifting Championships March 21 at the Killeen Civic Center in Killeen, Texas. The USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Military and Police\/Firefighter National Powerlifting Championships is a national qualifying […]","og_url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043","og_site_name":"World Bodybuilding News","article_published_time":"2026-04-02T05:00:00+00:00","author":"Pfc. Anthony Heatley 7th MPAD","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Pfc. Anthony Heatley 7th MPAD","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043"},"author":{"name":"Pfc. Anthony Heatley 7th MPAD","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d66c9da23b2c5122c5022d2c5b4137e3"},"headline":"Phantom Warriors win USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Nationals | Living","datePublished":"2026-04-02T05:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043"},"wordCount":753,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69cc103987e12.image_.jpg","articleSection":["Powerlifting News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043","url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043","name":"Phantom Warriors win USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Nationals | Living - World Bodybuilding News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69cc103987e12.image_.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-02T05:00:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d66c9da23b2c5122c5022d2c5b4137e3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69cc103987e12.image_.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69cc103987e12.image_.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=17043#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Phantom Warriors win USA Powerlifting\u2019s 2026 Nationals | Living"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/","name":"World Bodybuilding News","description":"Data, Rankings, Results.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d66c9da23b2c5122c5022d2c5b4137e3","name":"Pfc. Anthony Heatley 7th MPAD","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g","caption":"Pfc. Anthony Heatley 7th MPAD"},"url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?author=682"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/682"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}