The 2026 Powerlifting United (PLU) National Championships are set to take place on the weekend of May 16-17 at the Westin San Antonio North in San Antonio, TX. 300 PLU athletes will grace the platforms in the Lone Star State as they try to set personal, state, and even national records as well as part of a $10,000 purse.
Athletes had to compete and post a qualifying total to be eligible to compete at Nationals. Athletes will have to weigh in on Friday, May 15 in order to compete. The full roster of competitors can be seen on LiftingCast along with their schedule times to step onto the platform.
How Powerlifting United Nationals Scoring Works
The best squat, bench press, and deadlift for each athlete will be combined into a total. PLU will then use a DOTS coefficient scoring system to use the lifter’s total and weight to calculate their final positions. The athletes with the highest DOTS in each category will be the winner.
Awards will be awarded to the top three finishers for each gender in each weight class, age group, division, and equipment category.
Youth (10-12), Junior (13-23), Open, Sub-Masters (35-39), and Masters (40+) categories are eligible for Best Lifter awards if they have 5 or more athletes registered within the same gender, division, and equipment category.
PLU President Ana Perez and her team have put in many hours of work to make this the best PLU event to date. Perez feels that thanks to the team as well as sponsors like ANIMAL, the U.S. Army, and Repmax, the lifters and audience have good reason to be excited.
Perez said, “We are looking forward to bringing PLU Nationals to San Antonio. This is our first sold-out Nationals, and we are so grateful for all the support from our powerlifting community.”
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Top Male Powerlifters to Watch at PLU Nationals 2026
Like bodybuilding or any other strength sport, an upset is always possible, but there are also established favorites and athletes that fans should keep their eyes on if they plan to watch. Based on previous scores and meets, the athletes to watch for this year’s Nationals are below.
Zac Meyers
Zac Meyers is the only lifter with a DOTS of over 600. He has competed in both raw (no squat suit or bench press shirt) with sleeves and wraps. He last competed in March 2026 at The Bar Showdown meet, where he posted a total of over 2,300 pounds in the 308-pound division at a weight of 285 pounds.
Christian Kearney
This will be Christian Kearney’s first meet of 2026, and he is expected to lift in the 148-pound division. Kearney has been competing since 2015, and fans can expect him to total ten times over his bodyweight if he scores on all three lifts. He is a solid overall lifter, but he is known for his 733-pound deadlift that he completed in 2024.
Aaron Madriaga
Aaron Madriaga was the second-best overall lifter at the 2025 PLU Nationals. The then 41-year-old Masters and Open lifter completed a 568-pound squat, benched 385 pounds, and pulled 702 pounds for a total of 1,655 pounds. According to Open Powerlifting, this will be his first meet since last year’s Nationals.
Luke Frandsen
This will also be Luke Frandsen’s first meet of the year after competing three times in 2025. His best finish from that year was at the HGC Derby City Classic in June, where he totaled 1,515.6 pounds. The big lift of that day was his 629.3-pound deadlift.
Trey Jones
Trey Jones had a career day when he last stepped on the platform at the 2025 PLU For Tomorrow event. His 804.7-pound squat, 462.9-pound bench press, and 815.7-pound pull were all personal bests, resulting in a 2,083.3-pound total.
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Top Female Powerlifters to Watch at PLU Nationals 2026
Allison Whorton
On the women’s side of the platform, Allison Whorton has a DOTS best of 504.82, the best out of all women entering this meet. She posted that score with a total of 1,102.3 pounds at a bodyweight of just under 155 pounds in March 2025 in Texas. This will be her first meet of 2026.
Elizabeth Ribaudo
Coming in with a career best of less than one point on DOTS behind Whorton is Elizabeth Ribaudo. She competed two times in 2025 under the PLU banner, most recently at the Power Surge Pro/Am event, where she totaled 981 pounds at a weight of 147.2 pounds.
Jennifer Tran
Jennifer Tran is in the same division as Ribaudo, the 35-39 Submasters, 148-pound category. She won the Submasters championship in her weight class at the 2025 PLU Nationals in New Jersey. Both women will compete on the first day of the competition. Tran will be in Flight A, and Ribaudo will be on the following flight.
Tammy Mims
Tammy Mims is a Masters 50+ athlete, and she has career bests of over 400 pounds on both the squat and deadlift. She will likely be competing in the 165-pound class for both Open and Masters.
Amanda LeMarble
Amanda Lemarble was first in the 181-pound Open division at the 2025 PLU Nationals. Aside from winning, she could look at breaking her personal best deadlift of 474 pounds at this event. She hit that number at the 2025 Raw Power Battle meet in Portage, Michigan.
How to Watch the 2026 Powerlifting United (PLU) National Championships
Tickets to the PLU Nationals are sold out, but fans that can’t be in San Antonio can catch every lift live by watching the free livestream on PLU’s YouTube channel. M&F will be there for extra coverage and to provide a full recap of the big event after it concludes. Perez shared that this will be more than a meet, it will be an experience for all involved.
“We take so much pride in the overall experience that we provide at our events – everything from the production, atmosphere, and the levels of competition on our platform,” Perez said. “We pulled out all the stops on this one. We’re so excited for everyone to tune in to see what we have in store!”
You can learn more about PLU by going to powerliftingunited.com and following @powerlifting.united on Instagram.
