Kamryn Armstrong

Kamryn Armstrong followed in the footsteps of her father and older brother and became a powerlifter. She also continued that family dynamic by doing exactly what they did – winning a state championship.

In her sophomore year at Panama (Oklahoma) High School, Armstrong won the small school division in the 181-pound weight class at the Oklahoma Girls Powerlifting Coaches Association’s state meet held this past March in Durant. She lifted a total of 810 pounds, recording 375 pounds in the squat, 150 in the benchpress and 285 in the deadlift in receiving her gold medal.

Armstrong won the title as a sophomore after finishing as the state runner-up as a freshman. She immediately gave credit to her dad, Dustin Armstrong, who won state in powerlifting himself in 2000, as well as her mom, Amanda Armstrong.

“They pushed me really hard and pushed me to be my best in everything that I do,” Kamryn Armstrong said.

And needless to say, Armstrong was emotional once she found out she won the gold medal.

“Right after I won, I gave my dad a really big hug and it was exciting,” Armstrong said. “I also had some teammates there that were really proud of me.”

Kamryn Armstrong

Her performance also helped Panama, as a group, finish third in the state in its first attempt in team competition. Of the various lifts she performed at state, Armstrong remarked her squat was her best.

“It was really close to the state record, so hopefully I can beat it one day,” she said. “The squats are definitely my favorite, so I definitely put the most work into squat.”

In addition to her father, Kamryn also did what her older brother achieved. Bryce Armstrong was a state champion himself in 2019. Kamryn wanted to follow their lead and be a powerlifter herself. Not to mention claiming a championship on her own accord.

“I really started to get into (lifting) when I was about nine,” she said. “My dad would always say, to get to where you want to be, you’ve got to do things you don’t want to do, so that’s always stuck with me, and I think that’s about when I started deciding  that I wanted to lift as well.”

Kamryn also plays softball at Panama, and has been an All-District catcher each of her first two seasons with the Razorbacks. Of the two sports she competes in, Kamryn gives a slight edge to softball.

“I love having a hard coach that coaches me hard, because that means that they still like, believe in me, and they know that they push me to be the best I can be,” Kamryn said, referring to her coach, Dan Caldwell. “And I love catching because you get the most action on the field and you always have something to do.”

She’s preparing for her third season of fast pitch softball at Panama, which will start later in August. She’s also still preparing to go for a repeat state title in powerlifting.

Recently, Kamryn was chosen to throw out the first pitch at a Fort Smith Marshals baseball game when the organization celebrated its “Women In Sports Night.” She threw a perfect strike.

“I was a little nervous, but also excited,” Armstrong said. “Mine was a strike; it was definitely pretty good.”

And there is another Armstrong coming into her own as a powerlifter. Kamryn’s younger sister, Kynslee, finished as the runner-up in the junior high small school 97-pound weight class at the same state meet in March. Kynslee, who will be an eighth grader this upcoming school year, finished with a total lift of 410 pounds (165 squat, 70 bench, 175 deadlift).

It is possible the two sisters may be teammates at the high school level. Kynslee will be a freshman when Kamryn becomes a senior. That’s another goal Kamryn wants to see achieved before she finishes her high school athletic career at Panama.

“That’s really awesome, and hopefully, she gets the job done with it, too,” Kamryn said of Kynslee.

By admin