Hard work pays off for Navajo Prep powerlifter

RIO RANCHO, N.M.

Dayton Yazzie has used weight lifting as a means to stay fit.

“I’ve been lifting since I was in the eighth grade,” he said. “I was more on the heavier side and it was a way for me to get stronger and it was my gateway to staying fit. It was another hobby that I liked to do.”

That initial step to get into the weight room during his adolescent years has paid dividends for the Navajo Prep senior. On Friday, he capture the individual state crown at the New Mexico state powerlifting championships in the 275-pound weight class in the Class A-3A division.

“It feels pretty good to be a state champion,” Yazzie said. “I feel like all the hard work I put in these past few years have paid off, knowing that every day I went in I didn’t know if we were going to have a powerlifting season this year.

“Overall, I feel good about it,” he added. “I came in and executed what I needed to do.”

In his weight class, Yazzie led the state in the strength sport that consists of squat, bench press and deadlift prior to the state meet.

He reached 455 pounds in squat, 310 in bench press and 505 in deadlift for a combine score of 1,270 and that earned him the top seed in his weight class.

“I’m not surprised by that,” Yazzie said while adding that he’s a self-starter.

“I really don’t compete with everyone,” he said. “I compete against myself because I want to prove that I can lift heavier than what I did at the previous competition.”

At the state meet, he did just that as he bettered his marks with a 475-pound effort in squats, 315 in bench and 510 in deadlift for a score of 1,300.

“For every meet, for every competition I try to set new PRs,” Yazzie said. “The mindset that I have is I got to do this lift whether it’s a 5-pound or 10-pound PR.”

Yazzie said for each competition he would always increase his opening lifts as way to motivate himself. At the state competition he started his squat lift at 445, bench at 295 and deadlift at 475.

Of the three specialties, Yazzie said his best lifts are squat and bench.

“It’s because of my body mechanics,” he said. “Everything works perfectly fine with the way I squat and bench.”

As for deadlift, he finds that event cumbersome due to his body mass in his arms.

“I kind of lack in that area because of how strong my arms can be,” he said. “You know, some lifters have their good lifts and some have lifts that are not as good and you just have to work with that.”

Navajo Prep coach Erik Wesley said the school started its powerlifting program this year and he credits Yazzie for its attractiveness.

“It’s become very popular largely due to Dayton’s success,” Wesley said.

Since the season started in January, the first-year coach said he’s had some lifters come and go.

“They trickled in and out of the program, but for the most part we had two competing girls and two competing boys,” he said. “Dayton is the only one that qualified for state, but we do have a lot of freshmen and sophomores who are going to definitely going to be consistent.”

With Yazzie doing so well at the four qualifying meets, Wesley said he had eight kids wanting to join the program in the last two weeks of the season.

With that many interest, he’s looking to add more kids to his evolving program next season.

“I think it’s remarkable exciting to have powerlifting at our school,” he said. “I played sports throughout high school and college, even semiprofessionally and the health benefits of a physical activity like powerlifting can be rewarding.”

Yazzie said the rewards of powerlifting has made him more fit in his other two sports: baseball and football.

“I think it helps in other sports with muscle mass and also the durability of the body,” he said. “It’s just not actually strength because different strength opponents can help with explosiveness. Raw strength is a whole different component, but it does carry on to other sports such as density, mass and the way you move around the field.”

Yazzie said he’s looking to compete for different powerlifting federations once he graduates high school. In the fall, he’s going to be studing electrical engineering at New Mexico State.

“That will come around in 2024,” he said of his competitions.

The soon-to-be graduate is grateful that Navajo Prep offered powerlifting as sport as the area has two other high school teams competing. Along with Prep, Cuba entered the foray while Shiprock High completed its third season.

“I’m trying to lead as example for other schools in the area,” Shiprock coach Anthony Clah said. “Cuba and Navajo Prep joined this year and they both had individual state champs.

“I’m hoping more teams can jump in,” he added. “I’m excited to see the growth of this emerging sport and I want to help any way I can to have other schools start a powerlifting program.”

Like the Shiprock coach, Wesley said he’s excited to pass on what he knows to the kids at Navajo Prep.

“We’re a small community,” he said. “We’re a residential school and we’ve made it work with four kids. I mean, you can really do something with it, so it’s a great sport for our school.”

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