Junior powerlifter comes long way in 11 years

SEALY, TX (KTRK) -- We first met Sealy's Jesse Burttschell in 2005. The spunky young man was strong -- and loud.

Now, 11 years later, Burttschell is all grown up. He recently graduated from Texas A&M with a 3.7 GPA and a degree in petroleum engineering.

Back in April, he also won his first powerlifting national championship, sweeping his competitors and winning by more than 200 pounds.

"To be able to see all of my hard work paying off, the culmination of all my years doing this," Burttschell told abc13," I had the best meet that I've ever had in my life."

He's now taking his 804-pound squat and 622-pound bench press to Poland to compete in the world championship.