Playing professional football has been a childhood dream of Lobo offensive lineman Claude Terrell. As UNM's strongest male athlete, he is perhaps the best candidate.
Terrell who weighs about 320 pounds, can bench press 450 pounds and squat 650, Strength Coordinator Mark Paulsen said.
"He is really working hard this summer," Paulsen said. "He is in here six times a week."
Terrell said he is honored by his new title. He said he puts in the extra effort to be sure no one will stand in his way this fall.
"Strength is important in football especially," Terrell said. "I got to move the guys out of the way, and you have to hit them real hard. It gets tough, but you have to dominate your opponent to clear the field."
Terrell spends an hour and a half in the weight room with his teammates Monday through Friday.ˇ The team does the same workout five days a week to build the strength and morale of the team, he said.
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On the sixth day, Terrell said he focuses on muscles that may need more work.
"I am trying to get better," he said. "I want to do more than I have done before."
Hailing from Texas, Terrell has been a Lobo since August of 2000 and is hoping his senior year will be better than ever.ˇ
"I want to win the Mountain West Conference championship and the Liberty Bowl this year," he said. "And I really want to be the best offensive lineman in America."
Volleyball player Adah Burke, who stands only 5-foot-5 and weighs about 150 pounds, earned the title of UNM's strongest female athlete.
ˇ"She is extremely motivated in the weight room," said Joaquin Chavez, strength and conditioning assistant. "She is a heck of a worker."
Burke can bench-press her own body weight, and she squats 265 pounds. Chavez said Burke hopes to make it to 280 pounds by the end of the summer.
"That is her goal, not mine," he said. "She is pretty solid - just a strong kid all around."
Burke said she lifts weights three times a week and completes her fitness routine with other activities, including running and playing volleyball with her friends.
"I play all around town with people I knew before I was on the team," Burke said. "We play in the grass and in the sand."
Burke said she puts effort into strength training to meet her own personal goals and to prevent injuries.
"If you are prone to injury, it really helps," she said.
Burke, originally a walk-on to the Lobo volleyball team, has earned an athletic scholarship the past two years.
"It is real impressive and a big milestone," Chavez said.
Burke said she had some doubts about being UNM's strongest female athlete, but is happy to get some recognition.
"It is a real honor," she said.ˇ"We have to go in there and work out a lot, and sometimes you wonder what you are doing it for."
