Eunice Team 50/50 lifts its way to records

The Eunice-based power lifting group Team 50/50 recently competed in a meet in Hattisburg, Miss. and returned home with 25 Louisiana state records.
The team will now head to the world championship in Las Vegas in November.
Eunice’s Rusty Bordelon (220 raw class) set the record in the dead-lift at 562 pounds, with 402 pounds in the bench press and 485 in the squat.
“It is mind over matter,” Bordelon, 29, said of attempting new weights. ‘If you are used to 325 and you think you can do 350 - you start second guessing yourself.
“So don’t think about the weight just think about your technique,” he said. “Technique is so important.”
Gabriel Bourgeois from Eunice (181 single-ply) set records in the squat at 479, dead-lift at 523 and bench press at 574. He also set a total weight record at 1,377.
Eunice’s Matt Warr (198 pound raw) had a total of 1,509 pounds.
Pierre Fontenot from Mamou (198 submasters) set a record in the bench press at 413 pounds with 478 pounds in the dead-lift and 479 pounds in the squat.
Fontenot is presently the top bench press leader in the USPA.
Mamou’s Cole Lavergne (148) had 363 pounds in squat, 475 in dead-lift and 292 in bench press.
Other members of the team include Alex Dupuis of Mamou and Darryl Wood of Eunice.
Bordelon said the name of their team came during a workout session at Cajun Fitness.
“We were lifting and one of the guys said you have a 50-50 chance of lifting that either you can or you can’t,” Bordelon said. “I liked that so we started calling ourselves Team 50-50.
“Either you can or you can’t.”