BIG man on campus

Eight-year-old Mark Valentine didn't know why he wanted a weight set so badly -- he just knew he wanted one.

"I always thought I wanted to lift weights," Valentine, now a 20-year-old junior industrial engineering major, recalled. "I have no idea."

So Valentine's father, John Valentine, bought his son some weights. A couple five-pounders, 10s and 25s. He then cut a one-inch metal bar to go with the weights. With the weights, John taught his son some basic exercises.

Valentine, along with nine other students from various universities, received a full page devoted to him. On it are two pictures -- a dominant shot of Valentine holding a bar and a smaller shot of him doing dumbbell military press -- and a table with some basic biographical information.

Valentine said he was nervous before he saw the layout but was happy with the way it came out.

"It's pretty good. I don't think they have a very good shot of my abs though," he laughed. "I think I have bigger abs than what they showed."

The location of his feature was also a pleasant surprise for Valentine. It was placed first, with the story's headline atop his page.

Valentine, who concentrates on powerlifting, found out about the search after the deadline and wasn't going to do it. After a change of heart, however, he decided to send in a picture anyway. Not only did he apply late, he also put the wrong address on the application.

The people at Muscle and Fitness must have liked what they saw, however. About a month after Valentine sent his already very late application, they found the address of his parents and sent them a letter via express mail telling Mark to call the magazine as soon as possible.

Valentine said the entire process has been unbelievable.

"I've been surprised the whole way through," Valentine said. "I was surprised I got picked, then when I picked up the magazine and saw I was first, I was like, 'Woah.' "

Chris Klepeiss (junior-mining engineering), who lifts with Valentine five or six days a week at Rec Hall, said Valentine deserved to get into the magazine.

"If there's anybody who I lift with who I'd want to lift as hard as, it's him," Klepeiss said. "He's really put the time in. If there's anybody who deserves it, it's Mark."

Klepeiss added that despite the exposure, Valentine has remained as modest as ever.

"He's real humble about it," Klepeiss said, "and he's real cool about it. He's a real humble guy."

Valentine, who wrestled in the 152-pound class at St. Mary's High School, now tips the scales at 205. He competed in two local powerlifting competitions last year, winning them both with the help of a 425-pound maximum bench press. Currently, he's working on bulking up to 220 and increasing his maximum to 500 pounds.

With the Muscle and Fitness article on the newsstands, though, many of Valentine's friends are trying to convince him to try bodybuilding. Citing shyness and an uncertainty at his skill for the sport, Valentine said he'll just stick with powerlifting for now.

"If I was ever really confident in my ability, like no one could touch me, then I'd do it," he said.

And maybe then he'd remember to put the right address on the application.