By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

MARSHFIELD — Although he just started powerlifting competitively, already 21-year-old college student Mack Scheppler is making his mark on the state level.

A 2013 Marshfield High School graduate, Scheppler set a pair of state records in the Men’s Raw Open 163-pound division at the 2016 Cudahy Open on April 23.

Scheppler, a three-sport athlete who competed in football, basketball, and track and field at Marshfield, had a deadlift of 567.7 pounds and a three-lift total of 1,207 pounds to set a pair of records in the Raw Open division. The Raw division is for weightlifters that do not use a squat suit or bench shirt in competition. The meet at Cudahy was sanctioned by USA Powerlifting.

This was just the second major competition for Scheppler, who is a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire studying criminal justice.

“I started weightlifting in high school for football, but I became passionate about training in powerlifting my freshman year of college,” Scheppler said.

Scheppler said he has trained under the direction of Carl Foemmel, a national champion strongman competitor from Chili.

“Carl Foemmel has helped coach me in the sport and convinced me to do my first competition, which was in October of 2015,” Scheppler said. “I competed in the 182-pound division and finished first in my weight class. My second competition was the one I competed most recently in, where I cut down to the 163-pound division to set the two state records.”

Paul Lecker is publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com, a contributor to Hub City Times Sports. You can reach him by email at paul@marshfieldareasports.com.