2025 NASA Illinois Tri-State Summer Regional July 26, 2025, Flora, IL The Gym It was quality of quality at The Gym on July 26 when six lifters put on a clinic in lifting. The meet began with squats rather than curls, putting Olney lifter Jenna Beasley, representing Fit by G, owned by her coach and former NASA Teenage lifter, Nathan Steber. Lifting in the Master’s 1, 198.25-pound class, Jenna dropped well below paralell with her opening squat of 205 pounds. She backed it up with an Illinois/Missouri State Record 225-pound lift before coming up just short on a final squat of 250 pounds. She was rock solid on her opening bench attempt of 130-pound before setting the state record at 145 pounds. Again, she was foiled on her third attempt. She closed out her day with a strong showing in deadlifts, easily hoisting 250 and 275 pounds before battling 300 pounds to a successful final lift, giving her another state record with a 670-pound total and a bright future in powerlifting. Ronald Shafer had made his powerlifting debut at The Gym, as a teenage, more than a decade before. The former 114-pound teen buried a 275-pound opening squat, then came back to hit 315 before failing to get the needed white lights at 330 pounds. Bench Press followed his squat example with an easy 175-pound opening followed by an easy 200-pound lift. The being rejected at 220 pounds on his final lift. Ronald closed out his return to the platform meet with a trio of rock-solid deadlifts, ripping 280 pounds off the floor, then backing it with a 315 pounds lift and a final 340-pound lift for a total in the 165-Pure Division of 855 pounds. Flora and The Gym lifter, Chris Riehl had watched several meets and decided to step onto the platform on July 26 in the 275-pound, Retro, Submasters 1 Division. He made the most of studying the sport before lifting. Chris drew an appreciative, “That’s how you squat!”, from announcer Toby Johnson when he put his gluteus on the floor, then stood back up. He kept the tame depth and former when he his lifts of 355, 390 and a State Record-setting final lift of 405 pounds. He tossed up 205 pounds on his first bench press of the day, then easily locked out 250 pounds for a State Record before being denied 280 pounds on his final bench press attempt. Chris closed out a busy day jerking 405 pounds off the floor, then locking out 425 pounds before also establishing the Missouri/Illinois Retro, Submasters’s 275-pound Division record and the day’s heaviest deadlift, with a 465-pound effort and an another state record, with an 1120-pound total. Following squats, Power Sport athletes took center stage with 13-year old Shae Wiles first on the platform. Fresh off a week of competing in the Clay County Junior Miss Pageant, Shae went from Powerlifting to Power Sports and tentatively called for a 20-pound opener. It came up each, so she jumped to 30 pounds, then 40 pounds before a successful 45-pound effort, earning her a place on The Gym records. She came back with an easy opening 70-pound bench, followed by a successful, 75-pound effort, state-record. Gravity won at 85 pounds. The Floyd Henson Junior High Cheerleader had no trouble in deadlifts, easily hosting 120, then 135 pounds before closing out her day with a picture-perfect 145-pound lift for a state-record 265-total. Chris Riehl came back from squats to hit curl attempts of 110 and 120 pounds to earn him a place on The Gym wall records Granite City’s Jim Stanley made the trip over from The East Side and was, as always, impressive. The 58-year old’s opening curl of 125 pounds was the heaviest of the day before he made attempts of 135 pounds and 140 pound looks just as easy. He laid down one the bench and opened with what would have been the meet’s heaviest bench press effort of 280 pound before he backed it up an 290-pound effort. Jim closed out his annual trip to Flora with deadlifts of 380 and 400 pound, giving him a Power Sport total of 810 pounds. Terry Stanley also returned to Flora, this time opting to take part in the Push-Pull with a record-setting day in the sport where only the total matters. Terry hit rock-solid bench press attempts of 230 and 250 pounds before 260 refused to go. He came back strong in the deadlift, opening at 425 pounds, then pulling 440 pounds before closing out his day at 460 pound for a Push-Pull total of 710 pounds and an Illinois/Missouri State record in the Submasters 2 division. The meet was an outstanding final chapter in NASA summer meets at The Gym with participation dwindling the past several years, making the feasibility of it continuing impractical; however, the annual NASA Christmas meet is just around the corner at Dec. 20 -- just a nice training cycle before returning to the platform.