Devlin “Rock” Maloney, a senior at Lawrence High School, earned a gold medal in bench press at the Special Olympics New Jersey 2025 Regional Powerlifting Competition on April 12. The event took place in New Jersey and featured athletes from across the region competing in bench press, squat, and deadlift. Maloney also placed fourth in both the squat and deadlift events.
This is Maloney’s third year competing in Special Olympics powerlifting. He started the sport in his freshman year at Lawrence High School after encouragement from staff member Mr. Deak. The following year, Mr. Reardon noticed his talent and invited him to join the Special Olympics team. Mr. Reardon became his first official coach and helped him get started in formal competition.
Maloney trains with fellow Lawrence High School senior Nicholas Shenouda, who has been supportive in helping him prepare during practice. Their partnership has contributed to Maloney’s recent success.
After his performance at regionals, Maloney was invited to the Superintendent’s Suite for an interview with LTPS Communications Manager Jen Baldassari and Board of Education President Michele Bowes. During the interview, he showed his medals and talked about his training routine, how the competition went, and what he hopes to achieve next.
Maloney will compete in all three powerlifting events—bench press, squat, and deadlift—at the Special Olympics New Jersey Statewide Championship. This will take place on June 7, 2025, during the 2025 Summer Games hosted at The College of New Jersey, located at 2000 Pennington Road in Ewing. The Summer Games run from June 6 to June 8, with powerlifting competitions scheduled throughout the weekend.
Special Olympics powerlifting requires consistent training, proper technique, and focus. Athletes train from January through June to prepare for the competition season. Events are judged using the Official Special Olympics Sports Rules for powerlifting, which follow international standards. When conflicts arise between a sport-specific rule and the general rules found in Article 1 of the Special Olympics Official General Rules, the general rules take priority.
In the 2025 competition season, Special Olympics New Jersey is offering five event categories: bench press, deadlift, squat, a combination of bench press and deadlift, and a full combination of bench press, deadlift, and squat. Maloney is scheduled to compete in the full combination event at the Statewide Championship.
Looking further ahead, Special Olympics New Jersey will hold a Team New Jersey Tryout Camp on July 26, 2025. The tryouts will take place at several locations, including the Special Olympics New Jersey Sports Complex. Athletes who perform well in statewide events may be selected to advance to additional levels of competition through tryouts like these.
Special Olympics New Jersey provides training materials and coaching resources to help athletes reach their full potential. Coaches are expected to use updated guides and the Special Olympics International Powerlifting Resource Center to stay current on best practices.
