STERLING — 20-year-old town resident Evan Gonsorcik is making the rounds at powerlifting competitions all over the world, most recently in the Cayman Islands where he represented the United States.
Gonsorcik placed sixth overall out of a total of seven lifters and third in the deadlift category at the 20th Annual IPF/NAPF North American Regional Powerlifting Championships, held at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort during the competition on Aug. 9.
“I can’t put into words what competing feels like: the stress, the pressure, the adrenaline, all of it is unreal,” he conveyed. “The community is amazing, too. Everyone is cheering for each other.”
He said that all of the 83-kilo lifters went out to dinner together after the competition, “even though we had just competed against each other.”
“We were all laughing and having a great time, and you would have never guessed that we had just competed against each other, trying to bump the other out of their spot and doing whatever we had to in order to try and win,” he said. “I feel like that community doesn’t exist in most sports.”
Gonsorcik, son of Sterling Recreation Department Director Shari Gonsorcik, is currently a junior at Rochester Institute of Technology. He is majoring in mechatronics engineering and said he plans to continue competing in powerlifting.
He grew up in Sterling with his parents and two siblings and first started powerlifting in 2020, his junior year at St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury. Some of his friends convinced him to try out for the school powerlifting team because he “was already in the gym after school because of hockey,”-and the rest is history.
When he first started powerlifting and then competing, Gonsorcik squatted 248 lbs., bench pressed 165 lbs., and deadlifted 347 lbs., all while weighing in himself at 138 lbs. He is now 5-foot-11 and weighs 183 lbs. and competes in the 83-kilogram, 19-23 years old Junior powerlifting category.
“I now regularly squat over 400 pounds, with my best being 463 pounds,” he said. “My best bench press is 314 pounds, and my best deadlift is 606 pounds at 175 lbs. bodyweight.”
The first competition he lifted in was in January 2020, where he placed second in his age and weight class. At the 2023 Powerlifting America Junior Nationals in Scottsdale, Arizona, on June 3, he placed fourth in his weight class and was nominated for the Cayman Islands competition.
Gonsorcik trains five days a week, mainly at the RIT gym with the other powerlifters at the school. When asked what his future plans and goals are when it comes to powerlifting and competing, he said he plans to attend Nationals next year and will “keep training with the hopes of earning the nomination for the World Championships.”
