Shaun Quirk, a member of Livingston High School’s Class of 2023, earned weightlifting honors at the end of the spring season, etching his name into the Big Three board.
The Big Three board was brought to Livingston High School by former teachers and coaches Ed Purdy and Bob Keenan after attending a strength and conditioning conference at the United States Air Force Academy. To earn a spot on the board, students must complete calculated maxes of four to six reps of the following three exercises: bench press, back squat, and power clean. The sum of these three maxes then gets multiplied by the student’s Schwartz Power Index, a number that reflects their body weight for a measure of pound-for-pound strength. The minimum score needed to be on the board is 500.
Quirk, a captain of the wrestling team, weighed in for the test at 160 pounds. He lifted 885 pounds for his total calculated max. He reached the total from five repetitions of 245 pounds on bench, six repetitions of 295 pounds on squat, and seven repetitions of 210 pounds on clean. There is an unwritten rule in which a lifter can use seven repetitions for only one lift. These maxes calculated to a 280 pound bench press, 350 pound back squat, and 255 pound power clean. This 885 pound total, multiplied by his Schwartz Power Index of .6822, equaled a score of 603.747. That score earned Shaun Quirk a spot in the middle of the “Great” category of the Big Three Board, and vaulted him into top ten LHS lifters of all time, at number eight.
Quirk, a wrestler for the high school team, had his high school career cut short when he tore his ACL in the summer entering his senior year. This injury forced him to forgo his wrestling season.
“While he could not wrestle, he never stopped leading the team by example and working his hardest,” said LHS head wrestling coach Dan Brill. “This weightlifting reward is a testament to that. When asked about the injury and whether it motivated him during this feat, Quirk explained how it definitely did and stated how he was grateful for the injury occurring as many good things happened as a result. Just like he has his entire career, Quirk was able to turn a negative into a positive.”
When asked how he felt after achieving this goal, Quirk said, “I’m super impressed with myself.”
Quirk is attending Messiah University this fall.
