Almost anyone else would have seen a stack of feed bags piled up in a barn, but freshman Brie Mowry saw a challenge. As she lifted one heavy bag after another, she never imagined she would someday replace the feed bags with a 225 pound bar.

Mowry is the only girl on the Canyon powerlifting team and the only team member to qualify for the regional competition March 5. In order to qualify, students had to compete at qualifying invitational meet, completing a set amount of reps of a set weight in three lifts three times each, increasing the weight as they are able.

“My maxes are 115 on bench and 225 on squat and deadlift,” Mowry said. “My goal at region is to get all my weights and to try to not mess up. I want to do my best.”

Though Mowry said she stands out as the only girl who attends morning lifts, she said she loves the sport in large part because of the support of the rest of the team.

“The people on my team are really supportive, especially because I am the only girl,” Mowry said. “They’re always there when I need help.”

When she cannot be found in the weight room or the classroom, Mowry can most often be found on the soccer field. With morning lift beginning at 6:30 p.m. and soccer practice after school, Mowry said she spends most of her time at the school, which has been difficult at times.

“Powerlifting with soccer has been really challenging,” Mowry said. “It’s a lot, but I like to push myself. I have always liked to go to my max.”

Though the goal of powerlifting is to reach a personal maximum, Mowry said she is always striving to increase her maximum. By the end of her senior year, she said she hopes to have increased her strength more than double.

“I really want to be able to squat 500 pounds,” Mowry said. “Coach told me I could get to maybe 300 or 400 pounds, but I want to beat that. That’s my goal.”

Mowry said her personal growth is due mostly to powerlifting coach Billy Rushing, who stays with Mowry during morning lifts to encourage her to learn correctly and improve constantly.

“Coach Rushing is an amazing coach,” Mowry said. “He has helped me get to this level. Honestly, if I did not have him, I would not be where I am.”