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Photo by Bob Pennell Jordan Cam, who just turned 16, is fresh off a record-setting run at the World Association of Bench Press and Power Lifting meet. There's strength in Cam's numbers Story by DON HUNT Jordan Cam celebrated his 16th birthday last week, and that means from now on he'll be competing against the big boys of power lifting. Don't expect the North Medford High School freshman to get dominated in the 16-19 age group, however. When you've hoisted 376 pounds in the bench press and 501 in the dead lift and are consistently setting personal records -- as Cam has -- you're already operating in the fast lane. "I've had stronger kids but never one as strong as Jordan at his age," says Sam Pecktol, Cam's strength coach. "This kid is the real deal. "I'm sure he'll be benching 500 pounds by the time he's a senior. I can almost guarantee you he'll hit 400 by this summer. It's in the plans." Jordan set a lifetime best of 376 in the bench press on Feb. 26 at a World Association of Bench Press and Power Lifting meet in Pensacola, Fla. It was a Florida state, U.S. national and world age-group record in the WABDL. His 501-pound dead lift came at a meet in Portland in November. Cam, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 250 pounds, is now pointing to the WABDL national meet in Irving, Texas, on June 25. It will be his first venture into the 16-19 age group. "I really wasn't getting much competition in the 13-15 (age group), so I'm really looking forward to competing against the older guys," Cam says. "It's a lot of fun when you're winning every meet. Now, I'm really going to have to work hard just to finish in the top two or three. It's going to be an eye-opener." Pecktol welcomes the stiffer competition for his prized pupil. "I don't expect him to win again for maybe a year," Pecktol says. "He might get hammered on for a while, and that's OK. Jordan has won some titles and gotten some glory -- getting knocked down a few pegs isn't a bad thing. "But those other guys better enjoy beating him now because it's not going to last. By the time Jordan turns 17, I expect him to be on top again, even against the 19-year-olds." Cam, whose father, Phil, was a football and wrestling star at Eagle Point High and Portland State University, trains four days a week at Medford Superior and Fitness Club. He is currently on what Pecktol calls a Russian routine, meaning that he does more sets but fewer repetitions than normal. A typical workout in the bench press entails five sets of two reps at 80 percent of his maximum. Cam works out hard three times a week. On the fourth day he does what Pecktol calls a "beach day." "He works on his beach muscles -- biceps, shoulders, back," Pecktol says. "It's good to work on the small muscles so the big muscles don't break down." The national meet will be Cam's fourth in six months. After that, Pecktol will order his star lifter out of the weight room for a few weeks. "At some point you've got to give your body a break, or you run the risk of developing shoulder problems and joint problems," Pecktol says. "Your body wasn't made to get hammered on forever." Cam is already ailing, although not because of lifting. A severely sprained ankle suffered last fall in football has prevented him from going out for track, where he is a standout in the shot put and the discus. He also suffers from Osgood-Schlatter disease, a condition that afflicts growing adolescents and causes extreme pain in the knees. The latter ailment has prevented Cam from competing on the squat rack since he was in the eighth grade. "His knees are starting to feel better," Pecktol says. "He may be able to start working on the squats sometime this summer. That used to be his best lift." Cam starred in football, wrestling and track at Hedrick Middle School, but by the eighth grade he was bench pressing 300 pounds and it wasn't long before power lifting became his favorite activity. "One thing I like about it (lifting) is that I don't have to run around a lot," says Cam, who no longer wrestles. "And I just have a lot of fun pushing weight around." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA