Celine Orozco, a 2023 Shepherd High School graduate, originally picked up powerlifting as a hobby during her junior year. Immediately, alongside her coaches Cedric White and Lisa Courvelle, she realized she had found her passion.
Anyone who follows the sport would agree that you were in for a show when she stepped on that platform.
After several first place and overall best lifter awards at district and regional meets, her next objective was to place first at the state competition her senior year. Up to her last deadlift, she was projected to place second had she played it safe; however, she made a call to fight for first and fell just a bit short due to a technicality on her last deadlift and was then outpulled which placed her in fourth overall. Though it was a disappointing outcome, she knew she was destined for greater things.
“I hadn’t established any college plans before powerlifting, but I figure if I could get a powerlifting scholarship, why not?” she said before she landed said scholarship with Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kan. Moving away from home was quite the adjustment, but her consolation were those greater things that she had set her mind on.
After a long year of training under her current coach, Jeff Frank, she competed at the national level in Austin, Texas, where she earned her first national champion title and an opportunity to compete at worlds in Valleta, Malta. Here she earned runner-up in the 76-kilogram equipped junior division. Falling so close behind that gold medal only pushed her to strive for more and became her drive for her training sessions over the next year.
“Won’t be the last y’all see of me!!” she said when she posted the results on her Instagram lifting account (@liftsw.celine).
After another year of changes that consisted of transferring schools and no longer training in person with Coach Frank, Celine managed to earn her second national champion title in Reno, Nevada and another opportunity to represent Team USA on the global stage in San Jose, Costa Rica at the 2025 World Junior Classic and Equipped Powerlifting Championships.
The results for this one were exactly what she had been working for over the past four years — her 240-kilogram squat, 130-kilogram bench, and 205-kilogram deadlift earned her a gold medal in every lift and her overall total of 585 kilogram (1289.7 pounds) earned her the world champion title.
“This one’s for the me who thought this was impossible,” she said on an Instagram post leading up to competition day.
