One BYU-Idaho student is making an impact on the national stage—in powerlifting.
Michelle Tomco, an 18-year-old sophomore at BYU-Idaho, already owns 36 state powerlifting records and ranks 1st nationally in her weight class. She joined USA Powerlifting, or USAPL, in 2024 and has competed in several local, state and national meets and events.
Tomco received an invite to be on the Worlds team just two weeks ago but had to decline to rest her body since she finished competing at nationals in Chicago earlier this month.
Tomco specializes in squat, bench, deadlift and powerlift. She began lifting weights with her high school football team in Heber City, Utah, during her freshman year of high school and that’s when she discovered her love for weightlifting.
“Honestly, jut competing gives me life,” Tomco said. “It’s so fun and I love the stress and being able to prove myself.”
Before weightlifting, Tomco began with a love for soccer. She grew up playing the sport and was being recruited at the Division I level before an undiagnosed illness prevented her from continuing to play in just the 8th grade.
The illness gives Tomco stomach issues, including malabsorption which leads to malnutrition, but she hasn’t let that stop her competitive drive.
“It’s taken a lot of freedom from me and restricted me in a lot of ways,” Tomco said. “It took soccer from me, so powerlifting is my thing where I have as much freedom as I want.”
Tomco began with local meets, then participated in divisional and state events. After joining USAPL in 2024, she took first place in her first event for the organization, then qualified for high school nationals. She says she first realized she was really good at powerlifting during state competitions in high school.
Despite how nerve-racking and stressful competitions can be, Tomco absolutely loves it. She says it brings out the best in herself.
“I know kind of what I’m capable of, but my meets are when I push myself,” Tomco said. “There’s a lot of unknowns and I think it makes it even more fun because you’re really just fighting and you don’t know until the last second, your last lift who’s going to win.”
When she isn’t at a powerlifting competition, Tomco is studying at BYU-Idaho. She says it’s been a great place for her to grow.
“Being here kind of feels like second nature,” Tomco said. “Intertwining religion and school and business and all the things, I love it. It’s such a good place to grow your testimony and your skills. It’s kind of like a second home for me.”
Tomco is a business management and healthcare administration major set to graduate in Fall 2027. She is also a service missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and is set to be release at the end of this summer.