For a former high school basketball player from Mineola, last year brought a big change -- from the court to becoming a record-breaking powerlifter.

Bri Ungania was a standout at Sacred Heart Academy before the pandemic. She wasn't the biggest or strongest player, but she wanted to change that.

"I used to be an extremely skinny kid. That's kind of how I got into weightlifting. I used to kind of get picked on, on the court, I weighed about 90 pounds," she says.

So she hit the weights, and one day last year, she had an epiphany -- she wanted to be a powerlifter. Over the next three months, the transformation began and turned into becoming a champion.

In addition to setting a world record, she also set state records in bench press and squats.

"I've always been driven. I want to be different from others," says Ungania. "I feel like in order to be great, you have to be different and powerlifting I feel like makes me different from everyone else."

Ungania's passion has turned into a lifestyle. She started an apparel company called FearLess, and she hopes to be an inspiration for future female powerlifters.