Senior Daktoa Todd has taken a big step in his life after high school and has earned an athletic scholarship to go to Missouri Valley College. He has signed to compete with the Missouri Valley powerlifting team in his freshman year.
Todd has been powerlifting since he was 11 years old.
“I have been doing powerlifting since I was 11. So that’s 6 -7 years ish. It’s been the first ever sport I have done, and it opened up a door to a whole bunch of different sports that I currently do. I believe that if I never did powerlifting I wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in today,” he
said.
Todd is in two different sports apart from powerlifting.
“I participate in football and track. They are just great sports to play in. Football is probably my favorite to be honest, but out of all of these sports powerlifting has definitely helped me exceed them. With getting my strength built up, and my explosiveness built up,” Todd expressed.
He first got into powerlifting because he wanted to gain strength to play other sports.
“I first got into powerlifting because I wanted to play youth football and I had this idea in my head that I was a really skinny kid growing up so I wanted to put a little bit of muscle on myself because I didn’t want to get ragdolled around. Pretty much walking into that gym and getting trained. my trainer opened me up into this sport of powerlifting and I pretty much fell in love with it,” he said.
What Todd enjoys the most about powerlifting is the competition that goes into it.
“I enjoy the competition in powerlifting. It’s a lot different. My first time doing it I thought it was just who can lift the most weight and whoever wins, but you have to really have to strategize your lift and your attempts. It’s very competitive. It’s extreme, you know the atmosphere in those rooms, it’s not like anything you see. Whenever you have a hundred plus people screaming in your face and trying to lift as much weight as you can. It’s a different type of adrenaline. It’s probably my most favorite thing about it, because it’s an entirely different feeling,” Todd added.
Todd has two American Powerlifting Association state records, including first in the 165 lb class with a 451.9-lb squat in 2022, and first in the 181 lb class with a 501.5-lb squat in 2024. He also ranked third in deadlift in 2024 with 396.8. He is ranked second in the state in the APA.
Todd maxes out on his squat, deadlift, and bench press.
“ I max out 3 lifts. I max out my squat, bench, and deadlift. Max outs are very taxing on your body, so I do them not very often. My current max outs for my squat are a 500 pound squat, a 225 pound bench press, and a 425 pound deadlift. These max outs have got me as far as being able to qualify for collegiate nationals and being able to get me where I’m at today.”
Todd chose to go to this college because it offers lots of opportunities.
“I chose this college because it offers a lot of academics and athletic scholarships and opportunities that can help me with my life. It’s very open and very easy and it’s a great place to be. It’s beautiful and a great place to be. Everyone is so nice.”
The requirements to get into Missouri Valley were pretty simple according to Todd.
“The requirements were a minimum of 3.2 GPA. An ACT or an SAT wasn’t required so really as long as you just have a good GPA, good attendance and you keep your grades up at least to like a high C you’re good to get in,” he explained.
Todd wishes to study business.
“ When I go to MO Valley I plan to study business. I want to eventually open up my own sports prosthetic company. I got the inspiration watching the baseball team practice, and I had the idea of making a glove for a kid with a missing hand, so I decided that would be a good career field to get into,” he said.
Coach Ryan Boyer has been coaching Dakota Todd for four years. Boyer believes what makes Dakota Todd a good athlete is his work ethic and his unselfish attitude. Boyer’s advice to Dakota is, “Be who you are, manage your time wisely, and surround yourself with great people.”
Coach Justin Wisdom has been coaching Todd for 2 years now but he has known him for 3. Wisdom finds Todd a good athlete because of his respectful attitude.
“Dakota has great self discipline which in turn allows him to work hard and strive to reach his goals. He is a respectful , coachable kid,” Wisdom said.
Wisdom finds Todd successful in powerlifting because of how dedicated he is to the sport.
“His passion and dedication he puts into the sport,” he said.
His advice for Todd is to continue to set goals.
“Continue to set goals for yourself and be consistent in the pursuit of those goals,” he explained.
