On April 3, Coral Shores and Marathon sent some of the strongest young men in the Florida Keys to the FHSAA 1A Region 4 Championships in Frostproof. For four of them, it won’t be the final stop in their postseason journey.
Marathon had a strong showing, securing a third-place team total in Olympic lifts and a runner-up trophy in traditional. Fueling the team’s successful showing at regionals was a pair of first-place titles as well as multiple second-place finishes to stack on points to their team totals, much as they do with plates on their Olympic bars. Coral Shores did not place in the top 10 at regionals as a team, but had some success in individual weight categories.
Two lifters left Frostproof with automatic qualifications for the state meet by winning their weight classes outright. Marathon’s Matthias Martinez-Velez won the regional championship in the traditional event in his 139-pound weight class. He combined 225 pounds on the bench with 180 on his clean and jerk to win the title outright and punch his card to states. Martinez-Velez is in a three-way tie for the eighth-place ranking for states. The talented junior came in fourth in the Olympic competition, missing a second state bid by a five-pound one-place margin.
Joining Martinez-Velez at the top spot on the podium last week was senior Damian Stasiewicz, who claimed a regional title in the Olympic competition and a runner-up medal in traditional. The 169-pound lifter paired a 185-pound snatch lift with 185 pounds in the clean and jerk to win the title. Stasiewicz is tied for eighth in the state rankings in Olympic lifts and will also compete in the traditional event at states.
Marathon’s best shot at a medal lies with junior Max Childress, who brought home a pair of second-place medals from regionals in the 183-pound class. In the Olympic event, Childress snatched 185 pounds and added a 275-pound clean to secure his medal and qualify for states, where he is ranked fourth. Given that he failed his final snatch, it is likely that Childress has the ability to add at least 10 pounds to his total and could bring home some hardware. In traditional lifts, he is ranked fifth with a 265-pound bench added to his clean lift. Childress likely has more in the tank at bench, as well.
The final competitor to qualify for states in boys weightlifting this season is Tanner Ross. Like Childress, Ross secured a pair of runner-up medals at regionals. In the 199-pound Olympic category, the senior put together 205 pounds in the snatch with 265 pounds in clean to tie for an eighth-place ranking at states. Ross failed both of his final lifts at regionals, giving him a potential extra 20 at states, which could easily bump the senior into medal contention. In the traditional event, Ross benched 265 in his second lift and went for a big 15-pound increase in lift number three, which was recorded as a fail. Should he find the fortitude to dig deep and clear his best attempts from regionals at the state meet, Ross could also find the podium in that event.
Coral Shores did not have any state qualifiers this season, but did have some notable performances at regionals. Tyler Bettner placed third in the traditional event and fifth in Olympic at 139 pounds, bringing home a pair of medals. Teammate Aaron Lykins was the runner-up behind Stasiewicz in the 169-pound class in Olympic lifts. Despite coming in second, Lykins missed the state cut by two places with just five pounds of combined weight separating him from the big dance. Lykins was third in traditional lifts, giving him two regional medals this season. At 154 pounds, William Roberts medaled in sixth place in the Olympic category to end his season on a high note.
The four Fins and their coaches head to Lakeland’s R.P. Funding Center this week for the FHSAA 1A State Championships, which will occur Saturday, April 12.
