It sounded crazy even on paper. The challenge: attempt to earn All-America honors on back-to-back days in separate national championship competitions in separate regions of the country. It would be a test of her training, her endurance and her mental fortitude with a little bit of jetlag mixed in. It’s the type of feat that took months of preparation physically and mentally to accomplish. Concordia University, Nebraska’s Taylor Hedke said bring it on.
There she went, from airports in Omaha to New Orleans to Salt Lake City with her husband Jack Hedke, a Bulldog alum, by her side. With the encouragement of Head Coach Freddie Myles and staff, Taylor pulled off one of the most unique athletic achievements in the history of Concordia Athletics.
As Myles said, “She got All-American in two sports in under 24 hours. I don’t think that’s ever been done to my knowledge. That’s pretty amazing. The toll on your body that a powerlifting meet takes – you’ll just have to trust me – it’s quite a bit. That’s amazing to come back and do weightlifting the next day. That’s very commendable.”
By the end of that 24-hour period, Hedke had placed second in the 60 kg weight class at the 2026 USA Powerlifting Collegiate National Championships and fourth in the 63 kg weight class at the 2026 USA Weightlifting National University Championships. She had done it. In an Instagram post made by Myles, Hedke posed with the two All-American patches she had acquired over her grueling day-long journey.
She had prepared for this, but Hedke can say honestly in the aftermath that the practice runs were “not nearly the same as what it actually was.” There was a sense of pride in taking on this ‘iron woman’ challenge of sorts. The result was an unforgettable occurrence in the life of the Marysville, Kan., native, who began her collegiate career as a member of the Concordia Track & Field program.
Says Taylor, “I am a very competitive person and I’m going to put everything out there, so I kind of had an idea that one day I could be at this level – but never would I have imagined I would be here now when I first started.”
The idea that this was achievable began to emerge late last summer. First there was the unfortunate realization that the national championships for powerlifting and weightlifting fell on the exact same dates: April 9-12, 2026. For most athletes who dualed in the two disciplines, the choice was one or the other. But Myles and Hedke began examining the national championship schedules from 2025 and realized there may be just enough time for her to get from one place to the next.
Concordia’s administration signed off on a plan that would allow Taylor to make her way from Omaha to New Orleans with her powerlifting teammates and then from New Orleans to Salt Lake City with her husband Jack. In preparation, throughout the fall and spring semesters, Taylor and Myles attempted to simulate what that would look and feel like.
Explained Taylor, “Throughout the fall, we practiced having heavier days before weightlifting. I had never done that before. Six weeks ago, before the home competition (on Feb. 28), we practiced doing a full powerlifting meet going into the weightlifting meet.” The results at the CUNE Weightlifting Meet in February were promising. Taylor earned the title of Best Female Lifter with her total of 186 kg.
By mid-April, it was go time. As part of the travel arrangements, Hedke and her teammates had a very early wakeup call the morning of April 8, one day prior to the competition in New Orleans. The team arrived at the Omaha airport at approximately 3:30 a.m. and then connected in Chicago before landing in New Orleans around 10 a.m. Routine check-ins and preparations followed before lights out in their hotel rooms at 10 p.m.
The next morning, Hedke stayed back at the hotel until being shuttled to the competition venue, the Pontchartrain Convention & Civic Center, for weigh-ins at 11 a.m. About two-and-a-half hours later, Hedke took center stage amongst 42 athletes in the 60 kg weight class. In powerlifting, each athlete makes three attempts at squat, bench press and deadlift, while trying to max-out in all three lifts. Hedke was successful on five of her six lifts and posted figures of 175 kg in squat (personal best), 92.5 kg in bench and 170 kg in deadlift for a total of 437.5 kg.
Out of respect for Hedke’s tight schedule, USA Powerlifting agreed to move up the podium presentation for the 60 kg class, which concluded competition between 4:30 and 5 p.m. Hedke accepted her All-America award as the national runner up, stopped for a brief interview and then hustled out of the facility to catch her 7:15 p.m. flight to Salt Lake City. As Hedke said that evening after leg one of the journey, “It’s very exciting for my third year ever doing powerlifting – getting second place at nationals is a pretty big deal.”
By 10:30 p.m., Taylor and Jack had landed in Utah following a nearly four-hour flight. The highest priority at that point was sleep. Taylor says she got a good night of rest heading into April 10 competition at the weightlifting national championships. The timeline was similar that day as Taylor went through weigh-ins before preparing to lift at 2 p.m. mountain time inside the Salt Palace Convention Center. She felt like she had enough left in the tank to compete with the very best in the 63 kg class, which featured 37 athletes. Hedke missed on three of her lifts, but she registered lifts of 76 kg in snatch and 100 kg in clean & jerk for a total of 176 kg, meeting the threshold for another All-America award.
The weight of what she had accomplished was only beginning to sink in, just as the physical toll permeated her body. She had completed 15 total competition lifts (at max effort) over the past 24 hours in pushing the limits of her athletic capacity.
Taylor insists she wasn’t tired. “I was just nervous,” Hedke said. “I feel like my adrenaline carried me through the day. Right when I finished my last clean & jerk, I felt everything. I was super sore after that. Going into it, I wasn’t overly exhausted. I felt pretty good.”
The ultra competitor inside Hedke badly wanted a national title. The totality of her two-day extravaganza was just as impressive. Says Hedke, “We were hoping for a little more. I was hoping I could win. That’s how it goes. I had a little bit of an injury going into it. I was happy with what I put out there for powerlifting. Weightlifting, I was hoping for a placement. It is what it is. I only went 3-for-6. Getting fourth going 3-for-6 is pretty good. Hitting the All-American total was really exciting.”
Just a few years ago, Taylor was hoping to make her mark in track & field. As a freshman during the 2022-23 academic year, she competed in sprints and horizontal jumps at Concordia. She had followed her then boyfriend Jack to Seward. Jack began his college days as a wrestler before switching to powerlifting. Says Taylor of her initial impressions of Concordia, “I loved it here. I loved the faculty. All the professors were super nice. I decided to come here after that.”
Just before the start of her sophomore year, Taylor made up her mind that she wanted to jump from track to competitive lifting. Myles gave his approval, knowing the potential was there. Initially, Hedke joined powerlifting (not weightlifting) and progressed quickly. She earned a trip to the 2024 Powerlifting National Championships in Atlanta, Ga., and placed 26th in the 60 kg class.
Myles believed Taylor had the ability to do both powerlifting and weightlifting. As a junior in 2024-25, Hedke took Myles up on the challenge. She placed top five nationally in both competitions (held in separate months) while earning All-America honors in powerlifting.
The training workload required to attain such heights is intense. There’s a reason why most athletes focus on just one of the two disciplines. Over time, Hedke has found a formula, with oversight from the coaching staff, that has allowed her to flourish while also replenishing herself through rest and healthy eating.
“Most people in the gym have four days of work and then an accessory or recovery day,” Hedke explained. “I did not get that since I do both sports. We’re pushing pretty hard every day. I try to have some more relaxed days towards the end of the week. I have to take care of the big things at the beginning of the week when I’m not as tired. It’s definitely a lot of toll on my body. I’ve learned how to recover better and have proper nutrition and sleep. Those are the important things that help keep me going. I try to take care of things out of the gym to make things in the gym go better.”
Though she already has her degree in Accounting and is currently pursuing her MBA, Hedke could still choose to use remaining eligibility for 2026-27. Her competitive juices seem to be pushing her that way. Says Taylor, “It’s still in the works. I’m leaning towards probably because – why not? I’m only this young once. If I do come back, it’ll be different next year.”
It sure will be. For starters, the national championships for powerlifting and weightlifting are unlikely to again run simultaneously. With more time between competitions, Hedke may be able to make a run at two national championships, should she choose to return.
Even those circumstances wouldn’t compare to her remarkable 24-hour journey that most people wouldn’t think of trying. Taylor Hedke was bold enough to accept the challenge and heroic enough to conquer it. It’s the stuff of Concordia Bulldog legend.