He walks to the rack in silence, focused on only one thing: the lift.

Junior powerlifter Evan Janacek has placed first in all the powerlifting meets, which makes him one of, if not the strongest high schooler in Austin.

“I have the highest maxes out of anyone at Bowie so every once in a while, someone would congratulate me because they heard my name on the announcements,” Janacek said “But it’s not really a huge deal, it’s just my friends, football players, or other powerlifters that recognize it.”

One person that has helped Janacek throughout high school powerlifting is his coach Lee Hipp. Janacek states that Hipp is one of the main reasons he has been able to get to where he is.

“Evan, at a younger age when he came to Bowie, he had already enjoyed lifting and he was already pretty big,” Hipp said. “This was his opportunity to shine and excel. He works at it hard and the more time he spends in the weight room, the more it shows.”

Another source of support is his good friend, sophomore Zach Jones. Jones is on the football team with Janacek and has helped  him become the best lifter he could be.

“When it comes to lifting, I feel like there is a certain aspect to lifting when you’re lifting with other heavy lifters, you hype each other up and what not,” Jones said. “Like on max day, everyone gathers around your rack and build you up, and Evan takes advantage of that.”

Janacek doesn’t only stand out in the weight room. According to Jones, he is an outstanding person as well.

“I met Evan in football, and we’ve been friends since, he’s a very outgoing person,” Jones said. “Evan has this energy and it just makes him  a lot of fun to be around.”

Evan goes to the weight room every single day after school and during his football class period, and all this hard work helped him reach his goals.

“I met my squat goal, I was pushing real hard for 500lb, and I didn’t think that I would make it, but I did,” Janacek said. “I stayed after school with Coach Hipp to help improve my lift. I still have a goal of 325lb on bench that I have yet to hit, but there’s still time left in the year and I think I could make it.”

According to Janacek, as he lifts, he allows his mind to become completely blank, focusing entirely on the lift at hand.

“I don’t really remember anything up until I get up but at the meet, I’m kind of nervous, actually.” Janacek said “My max is a lot higher in comparison to what I lift at the meet because of those nerves.”

Janacek struggles with that nervous energy affecting his performance.

“The overall energy is just nerve racking because I’m supposed to be the biggest lifter and I’m supposed to win the meet,” Janacek said “It’s a lot of weight. But, it’s still a lot of fun.”

Hipp believes that Janacek has the ability to lift at the collegiate level as well, stating that if Janacek puts in the work, he can accomplish anything.

“All in all, Janacek is very talented and he can take that talent as far as he chooses to take it,” Hipp said. “He can become an Olympian, I really do believe that.”