On Nov. 4 the Falcon Friends Bench Press Competition took place in the gym at 9 a.m.The stands were filled with people participating and watching the competition take place for its third year. When competing the person goes off two commands, “press” and “rack”.

When coming going down with the weight, one must hold the bar in the lowered position until the command press, after the word rack the bar can be set down. The fundraiser was run by the volunteer of Falcon Friends alongside counselor Stephanie Iavarone.

“The money goes towards the Falcon Friends Club, for us to go on a field trip and we make a donation to the Arc of Southeast Iowa Bill Reagan Scholarship Fund and anyone at West High School or any high school can apply,” Iavarone said.

The Bill Reagan scholarship is a $500 scholarship for anyone that is going into secondary education, special education or social work.

Falcon Friends is a group that joins high schoolers and students in the life skills program to work on friendship and social skills.

At the bench press competition, there were 51 participants and five Iowa state records broken.

Kaylin Buckley of Central High School, one of the five record breakers, benched 200 pounds. Buckley trains for lifting competitions like the Falcons Friends Bench Press Competition.

“I go to Big 5 Power, and my trainer Josh Howatt. He trains anybody [and] all athletes. He takes it very slow and we work on the smaller muscles to help you lift more,” Buckley said.

The competition brought out everyone’s true strengths. At times, different competitors struggled to press the bar. The crowd clapped and cheered to help push each person to try their best.

Senior Bree Macmahon is the president of Falcon Friends and has been a part of the club since her sophomore year and wants to be an elementary special ed teacher. She hopes the bench press competition raises enough money so that Falcon Friends can return to the zoo for their annual field trip.

“I feel like I am learning a lot about what my future major is and I am building strong relationships with every student in this school,” Macmahon said.

To end the competition all participants received a medal no matter what they benched.