GIRL POWER: CAPE CENTRAL STUDENTS WINS NATIONAL TITLE

Away from the iron, Sabrina Pledger is about as soft-spoken and mild-mannered as a young lady can be.

But put Sabrina in front of a barbell loaded down with weights and she becomes a holy terror.

She also becomes one of the nation's top athletes in the sport of powerlifting.

The 17-year-old junior at Cape Girardeau Central High School ventured to Ft. Hood, Texas, last weekend and came back with the championship in the USA Powerlifting High School Nationals.

Competing against 71 other lifters, Sabrina wiped out the field, winning by a wide margin. Her three lifts totaled 975 pounds, which shattered her previous teenage national record of 953 pounds.

"It was exciting," she said with a smile. "It was the first time I had ever finished first (in a national meet). I had been runnerup twice, but to win was exciting."

In all, Sabrina holds 18 various records -- including all the women's and teenage state marks -- of the drug-free powerlifting association that she competes in.

That she excels in this sport -- which consists of the squat, the bench press and the dead lift -- should probably come as no surprise. Basically, she was born to be a powerlifter.

Sabrina's father Jerry is an accomplished powerlifter, as are her uncles, Lindsay and Leonard Sample. Lindsay Sample, in fact, holds a USA Powerlifting Association Masters record. Sabrina's younger sister, 13-year-old Lindsay, also recently took up the sport.

"She's been following us to all the meets since she was a baby," said her father with a laugh. "We've taken her all over the place with us."

Sabrina, an honors student at Central High, works out four times a week at Universal Health & Fitness Center, putting in as many as 1 1/2 hours during each workout. She lifts primarily with her father, her uncles and with their "power team" that has won 10 straight state championships representing Universal Health & Fitness Center.

"I've been interested (in lifting) since I was real young," said Sabrina. "It's just a lot of fun."

Competing in meets requires some traveling, primarily to St. Louis for various competitions. There is also an annual meet held in Cape Girardeau at Universal.

Sabrina has competed in a national meet each of the past several years and she finished second in the women's nationals twice.

But never before last weekend had Sabrina brought home the ultimate -- a national title. She said she was a bit apprehensive prior to the meet in Texas because she would be going up against the lifter who beat her in the 1996 women's nationals.

Not to worry, however. Sabrina turned in her best-ever performance -- including a 407-pound squat that broke her previous national teenage record, a 391-pound dead lift and a 176-pound bench press -- to win by 90 pounds.

"I was a little bit worried," she said, "until the squat. I did real well and then I figured I could win."

To demonstrate how her sport promotes fierce yet friendly competition, Sabrina said that, after she defeated the young lady who had beaten her three years ago, the mother of the vanquished lifter "gave me a big hug."

Sabrina, who began actual lifting when she was 13, hopes to continue with the sport for a long time. Following high school competition, she can compete in juniors until the age of 23, then it's on to open and later masters events.

"It's an exciting sport and I want to keep with it as long as I can," she said. "I really enjoy it."

Asked what she likes the most about her favorite sport, Sabrina thought for a moment and then grinned.

"I like beating people," she said.