GUILDERLAND — When Adam Hawrylchak didn’t make his school’s indoor track team, he didn’t give up on sports. He decided to try something else that winter.

“I decided to go to the gym and do CrossFit and then I discovered Olympic weightlifting — and I just loved it,” he said.

Now 15, Adam competed at the USA Weightlifting Nationals in Colorado Springs this summer. As one of the youngest lifters in his age group, the Under-17 division, Adam completed a perfect six out of six of his lifts at the national meet, earning a special distinction.

When he started at the Aevitas Weightlifting gym, Adam was doing CrossFit, a branded fitness routine that involves gymnastics and calisthenics as well as lifting. But it was weightlifting that he became passionate about.

“I love the sport … It’s really interesting but the community is great, too,” said Adam, stressing, “I like just pushing boundaries.”

Adam comes from a competitive family. His older sister was a founding member of Guilderland’s first female wrestling team and his younger brother was on a Future Cities team at Farnsworth Middle School that won a national championship.

“My family’s very supportive,” said Adam.

His father, Michael Hawrylchak, a lawyer and secretary of the Guilderland Public Library Board of Trustees, traveled with Adam to Colorado. So did his coach from Aevitas Weightlifting, Fin Dunn.

Despite his prowess at weightlifting, Adam leads a well-rounded life.

He is currently working a summer job as a lifeguard at Guilderland’s Tawasentha Park. “I like being outdoors and definitely interacting with a lot of people, too,” he said. “I’m kind of a people person.”

In the fall, he’ll be a junior at Guilderland High School, where he particularly likes studying math and science. He hopes to become an engineer.

“I’m kind of a music guy,” he added. Adam sings in the school choir and plays the trombone both in the Guilderland Town Band and in the high school’s jazz ensemble.

Adam also plays the euphonium, which he describes as “a mini tuba.”

He is modest about his myriad pursuits. “When I don’t have anything to do, I get bored,” Adam said.

One thing about his future of which he is certain: “I’m definitely going to keep lifting.”

Weightlifting

Adam likes his coaches at the gym who map out training routines for him each day. He goes to the gym four or five times a week for sessions that last an hour-and-a-half to two hours each.

While he can do conditioning, like stretching, at home, he needs the specialized equipment at the gym, Adam said.

“I train each day doing squats and different lifts,” he said. “There are two main ones: clean and jerk, and snatch.”

He explained, “The snatch is a lift where you start with both hands on the bar and you lift it over your head in one motion. The clean and jerk is two movements: The clean is where you get the bar up to your shoulders and the the jerk, you get it overhead.”

After winning a state title last year, Adam narrowly missed qualifying for the national meet in 2024. He won another state title this year and set his goal to qualify for the national competition.

At the Adirondack Regional meet, he completed six out of six of his lifts and set personal bests, lifting 78 kilograms (172 pounds) in the snatch and 102 kilograms (224 pounds) in the clean and jerk.

His 180 kilogram/396 pound total exceeded the qualification total by 11 kilograms, earning him a spot at the national meet representing New York state and his gym, Aevitas Weightlifting.

“It was really cool going out there,” Adam said of the trip to Colorado. The national competition was held in a hockey arena in Colorado Springs.

“We stayed there for a couple of days,” he said. “It was kind of hard because it was at a higher altitude.”

The city is one mile above sea level at the base of Pikes Peak. At a mile-high altitude, athletes have to deal with reduced air pressure and oxygen levels, which can cause more fatigue and less endurance, especially for athletes not used to the elevation.

“It was really cool meeting lots of different lifters from all across the country,” Adam said.

He met some competitors at training sessions. “A lot of athletes that I’ve seen only line — like some who competed at the Olympics — that I really look up to were also there,” he said. “Some of them I got to see lift or I could meet them.”

Adam had an athletic pass that gave him access to watch the lifting.

“The coolest part was on the day of the competition behind the lifting platform,” Adam said. “I got to see all the athletes in the same age and weight class as me warming up.”

His division — Under-17 in the 79 kilogram (174 pound) weight class — was one of the most competitive with about 35 competitors, he said.

Adam lifted 80 kilograms (176 pounds) in the snatch and 106 kilograms (244 pounds) in the clean and jerk, giving him a 186 kilogram/410 pound total. Both of these lifts were personal bests.

“I talked to a few of them at the arena …,” Adam said of his fellow competitors, “and now a bunch of us, like, follow each other on Instagram and social media.”

In the upcoming year, Adams hopes to win his third consecutive state title and compete again in nationals.

“I’m sure I’ll definitely see them next year at that competition,” Adam said of his new-made friends.