KARNS CITY — All he wanted to do was train for football, so he hit the weights.

And Karns City seventh-grader Blaine Wilson IV soon realized he was pretty good at it.

That was four years ago.

Now he's great at it.

Wilson began entering local powerlifting competitions when he was 15 “but they really weren't doing anything for me.”

So the 184-pound junior decided to step up his game this past summer and enter the USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Summer Classic in Lancaster. He wound up weighing in at 180.3 pounds for the competition.

Wilson's best squat was 512.6 pounds, his bench press was 385.8 pounds and his dead lift was 518.1 pounds. Tack on the total lifted weight of 1,416.5 pounds and Wilson wound up setting four Men's Raw American records and 13 Pennsylvania State Raw records in the Teen 2, Teen 3, Junior and Open divisions.

“I knew where I stood as a teen going into that meet and that I was ahead of most teens, but I wasn't sure I'd be ranked first or get all of those records,” Wilson said.

He did so well that he opted to enter the Raw Nationals last month in Atlanta,. Ga.

This time competing at 184 pounds, Wilson produced a 567.7-pound squat and 402.3-pound bench, both American records for his weight class up through age 19.

Those efforts made Wilson eligible to join the USA team for the World Championships June 14-15 in Belarus.

“I'm planning on going,” Wilson said. “The team supplies us with the USA jackets and singlets, but we have to fund the trip on our own.

“I'm looking to raise $2,000 to be able to compete.”

Also a nose guard on the Karns City football team, Wilson is part of a rotation of starters for the Gremlins on defense.

“Blaine is very dedicated to his powerlifting,” KC football coach Ed Conto said. “We gave him the time off to go compete at nationals and for whatever training he needed.

“He comes to school and lifts at 6 a.m. Monday through Friday. When it's not football season, he lifts every day after school as well.”

Wilson lifts six days a week overall, spending at least an hour on each session.

His experience in Atlanta was not without suspense, however.

“When I got there, my belt didn't pass the equipment test,” Wilson said. “I had bought the belt off the Internet and it was advertised as a legal one, but it turned out to be fraudulent.

“They had all kinds of vendors there selling things. One had a belt left that fit me. I was a little bit nervous at the start of the competition, but after my first lift, I was fine.”

While he hopes to play football in college, Wilson will definitely continue his powerlifting career after high school. His goal is to break national records in the open class.

“I want to be the best. Why not strive to be the best?,” he said.

He certainly has momentum on his side.

“It was shocking,” Wilson said of his performance at nationals. “It's kind of sunk in now. I know I can do this.”

Conto believes in Wilson's future in the sport.

“He's a little dynamo,” the football coach said. “Blaine studies the sport, meets people, researches workouts. He establishes goals and sets a pace to get there.

“He's an excellent student and a good role model. We'te trying to get FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) started in school here again and he's at the head of that. He's an easy kid to root for.”