BRADFORD – Destiny Clark, a junior at Bradford High School, recently won the 145-pound division powerlifting State Championship. It’s an impressive accomplishment when you learn about this young lady’s journey and the obstacles she’s overcome to do that.
Destiny’s journey began when she was just three years old when she was adopted by Scot and Dondra Clark of Bradford.
Scot and his wife were unable to conceive, so they turned to adoption as an option to start a family.
But it wasn’t just any adoption, because Scot was born with arms and hands not completely formed and he was unable to use them the way other boys would … but that never stopped him from participating in sports and being just one of the guys.
Scot was a 1982 Bradford graduate and a member of a successful football program where he found a way to contribute by using his feet to become one of the best field goal kickers around.
With the mindset of learning how to deal with his own disability, Scot and Dondra wanted to adopt and chose to focus on disadvantaged kids as their way of giving back.
“We wanted to do something for kids with special needs and there was a place in Dayton called ‘Action Adoption Agency’ and we went through all of their classes and got all our stuff. Then they have you look through a book … not just any book. If you remember the old Montgomery Ward Sears catalogs that were five inches thick, well, they laid a book on the table, a three-ring binder and we flipped through pages like shopping a catalog and we’re like, oh good lord. But then we came across Keanan’s picture and kind of laid it aside. We kept going through it and kept coming back to his picture because he had a lot going on and we were drawn to it,” Scot said.
It was pulling at the heart of Scot and Dondra, and while talking to doctors, they learned the mother of the child was also pregnant with a brother, so they decided they wanted Keanan and the little brother when he was born too.
They flew to Portland, Oregon and brought Keanan home and then a year or so later, they brought Austin to them in Ohio.
But the family wasn’t complete because a few years later, Scot got a call from Oregon asking him to call them back.
He did and they told him the boys’ mother had a little girl named Destiny, and she would be put into a home if she wasn’t adopted as well.
“They asked if we would like her, we had first choice because we adopted her brothers, and I said absolutely! That was the greatest phone call I ever made.” Scot smiled.
“Then I called Dondra – hey are you busy? No. Are you sitting down? Well, I can go sit down, what’s wrong? Nothing’s wrong, guess what? You’re a mom of a daughter. She knew that I always wanted a girl and although I knew it would slow me down it would help me see the world from a different place,” Scot shared.
Each of the kids adopted had their own set of health issues, but that’s what Scot and Dondra knew going in. The oldest son was born with a condition called Congenital Arthrogryposis and had 400 tumors inside of his body and on his spine… it grows on everything, and they would have to spend up to three to four days at a time up at the Cleveland Clinic to treat him.
Keanan is now 23 and his brother Austin is 21. Austin also had a number of issues with ADHD, Bipolar type one and two, anxiety and oppositional defiant disorder from fetal alcohol syndrome.
Destiny, who is now 17 also experienced a lot of traumas in her first three years – some not even mentionable – before Scot and Dondra rescued her. She has had to deal with PTSD, ADHD, RAD and Epilepsy. Thankfully, Cincinnati Children’s has been able to control most of her symptoms with medication.
The last time she had a severe seizure was at least three years ago when Destiny believes it was more psychogenic due to being stressed and everything in her body shutting down.
But more than anything, what might be the most therapeutic medicine of all for her, turns out, might just be powerlifting.
Destiny’s journey in powerlifting started in the 7th grade under long-time Bradford powerlifting coach Greg Hale, and despite her initial struggles with anxiety and physical challenges, she really liked doing it.
“I started in 7th grade, there was a powerlifting sign-up up and I came home, and I was like, Dad, I want to do powerlifting,” Destiny said.
“He was like, all right, I know the coach, so I went to a practice and after a few more, Coach Hale called my dad and said she’s got real talent. She’s going to be a State Champion someday!”
“And my dad said are we talking about the same person who is uncoordinated, and can’t walk very well?”
Coach Hale, who passed away on May 25, 2023, didn’t get to see Destiny become a State Champion… but his prophecy came true. Hale’s impact on the Bradford community and the powerlifting program was unparalleled and is still paying dividends today.
Destiny competed at state in her 8th grade year and could barely pick up 150 lbs.
“I literally tried 150 then dropped it and cried,” Destiny said.
Part of that emotional toll was because, for the first time she was competing in a gym full of kids and was used to just working in the gym by herself, not against other competitors.
After having a breakdown at the state meet, Scot called Brandon Wirrig, also from Bradford and a sports trainer at No Name Athletics in Piqua, Ohio, to see if he could help.
“I called Brandon and told him I got a major challenge for you, my daughter could use some training, she’s not a high-profile athlete but a Special Olympic athlete and needs help and I need her to be treated the same way I would do, you can’t baby her, she needs pushed,” Scot explained.
Brandon was up for the challenge and wasn’t going to accept excuses and that’s when the switch flipped for Destiny.
“I respected Brandon and it’s always been like we kind of had a connection. He worked me hard doing things I hadn’t done before, starting with my coordination. Things like a simple reverse C cut, I just couldn’t do it, but he would lie on the floor and move my feet into the proper position until I got it,” Destiny stated.
“I’ve come a long way from that. He, along with Alex Trotter (also a trainer at No Name) helped me every step of the way,” Destiny added.
“Alex kind of jokes around a lot, but he also saw something in me, both of them want me to succeed and without their help, I wouldn’t be a state champion,” Destiny said.
Now with Destiny training at No Name Athletics and putting in the work, she would make steady improvements in her freshman and sophomore years.
Destiny, after squatting 150 pounds in 8th grade, did 275 pounds in ninth grade.
“Being able to go from 150 to 275 gave me lots of confidence and by just focusing on the event, it helped me to not freak out knowing so many people are watching me,” Destiny said.
Destiny upped her squat to 330 pounds her sophomore year, she deadlifted 290 pounds and bench pressed 120 to finish state runner-up and she could taste a state championship… but ended up 15 pounds short.
It would be the motivation she needed going into her junior year to work even harder.
“I told myself, set bigger goals, I’m going to squat 350, deadlift 300 and bench 135,” she said.
In order to do that, her trainer, Brandon, was asking her to do something completely different in the deadlift that would be uncomfortable, and it would challenge her both physically and mentally, stirring up her anxiety at times.
“Because my legs were so strong, I relied on them too much in the lift, so we changed to a wider stance to use more of the shoulders and hips, but I didn’t see any improvements in lifting more weight, causing me great frustration,” Destiny said.
Trust the process, as they say… something at the time Destiny couldn’t see but would realize down the road.
Destiny went back to her sumo style in the deadlift just before the state and the mental block that she had of getting past 290 would soon disappear.
In the state meet, she surpassed her goal of 300 with a deadlift of 305, her squat improved to 350… but the biggest disappointment for her was in the bench press, where she just got 125, falling short of the 135 goal and is the event that now gives her the most anxiety.
The 780#s she lifted in the 145 division were good enough to earn Destiny the State Championship and help Bradford lady powerlifting to a 2nd place team finish as well.
Destiny’s powerlifting journey is far from complete, even after winning a state title and she has already set bigger goals for her senior year.
“The new goal for next year is to definitely squat at least 420 at state. And I want to be starting out at 375 pounds, because that’s what I missed at state this year. I just need to push myself and get enough air where I can go all the way back up. I also want to deadlift 315 and bench at least 150. But I need to get past the 135 mental block, I’ve done it before in practice; I just have to show that I can actually do it in competition.” Destiny said.
Her trainer, Brandon Wirrig, has confidence in Destiny, and he believes she is capable of doing it based on her past work habits and perseverance.
“I’ve known Destiny and the family for years, Scot taught me football when I was a kid, when he reached out to me in her eighth-grade year, she was about 175 pounds, a little overweight… but over the past four years she ended up taking off about 35-40 pounds and added muscle by selectively picking reasonable goals to obtain,” Wirrig confirmed.
“Her sophomore year she was 15 pounds away from winning a state title and that just really fueled the fire knowing that she was going to be a top dog and having that chip on her shoulder helped her take the training very serious this year with some pretty big goals, and she was able to hit them by being dialed in from the start,” Wirrig commented.
Destiny credits Brandon for not seeing her as special needs, and by pushing her to work just as hard as anyone else.
“When we started out, like I do with any client, whether you have special needs or not I’m going to figure out what your limits are, and I’m going to push you to your limits, to figure out where they are then little by little, I’m going to take you over where I can. You’ve got to know the days when you can and when you can’t do that. Figuring out where those limits are when she breaks down mentally was the biggest thing. And then after we’ve done that a couple of times, she knows I’m not going to let her fail. If you have the goal of being a state champion, and that’s what you want to do, I’m going to push you to that limit, and I’m going to take you there. So, it’s good to see someone you know like Destiny winning and coming out on top, is very satisfying.” Wirrig beamed.
“I think powerlifting and this facility became a safe place for controlled chaos where she got to that point of being comfortable with me as a trainer and being able to push her to that edge. She knows that going in I’m going to talk her through it. I mean, it’s one of those things where, as a coach, it’s easier if you’ve been through some of the things she’s going through, physically wise, like in the weight room, so if she’s been doing a certain workout, I know exactly where it hurts and where it burns. So, I’m able to talk her through that, and it’s easier to connect with the athlete where, if she’s under the bar, if she’s on let’s say a bell squat, for instance, and she’s two minutes in, and, you know, the glutes are getting tight, the backs getting tight, you kind of start to tremble, I’m able to make those connections with her mentally by saying exactly what she is going through right now. It’s just easier for her to relax and kind of focus on things, knowing it’s safe for her and we’ve all been there,” Wirrig expressed.
Brandon has noticed a few changes in Destiny over the last 3-4 years, the biggest is that of becoming a leader.
“She’s got a couple of eighth-grade training partners that come in with her. And now for her going from having a hard time with her brain doing certain movements to where she’s now actually coaching the younger kids, the next generation of Bradford powerlifters, those same movements that she had the hardest time doing. I mean, it took her almost two years to figure out this one movement, now she’s the one coaching up the youngsters, so just taking on that role of a leader is a dramatic change,” Wirrig confirmed.
Not only has powerlifting changed the way Destiny thinks and acts, it’s taught her how to set goals, overcome obstacles and opened new doors for her future that would not have been there before.
She will compete at the Special Olympics Ohio State Summer Games this summer where she is a two-time defending state champion. Her performances have caught the attention of Cindy Rose, who is the Darke County Special Olympics Director and an advocate for Destiny to be a part of the 2026 Special Olympic USA Games to be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
She’s also talking about college and was recently approached by the powerlifting coach from Defiance.
When Scot and Dondra adopted Destiny for noble reasons they had no way of knowing their daughter would become a State Champion in powerlifting.
Even more important, lifting beyond limits transformed her life, proving that disabilities do not define one’s potential, and that makes Destiny a champion in life.
