Raiders lift ninth state title
Published 8:30 pm Monday, March 2, 2009
Shelby Academy is building a powerhouse, winning its ninth powerlifting AISA co-ed state championship in 10 years Saturday.
While the Raiders strongly relied on its smaller weight classes in years past, after losing three competitors due to transfer and having five others unable to make the trip Saturday, Shelby was forced to look to its heavier lifters.
“I was kind of surprised by the complete domination of our heavy classes,” Shelby head coach Shannon Jones said. “You’d look over there and it would be all green shirts left.”
Leading the way for Shelby was Chase Cleveland, who set three records Saturday, squatting 505 pounds, benching 395 pounds and collecting a total weight of 1,405 pounds in the 242-pound weight class.
“He’s built for weight lifting with his height,” Jones said of the 5-foot-7, 240-pound senior from Alabaster. “He was dead set and determined to get all of the records this year, and worked hard. It paid off.”
Shelby had four other individual state champions and three other state records.
Lee Parsons won the 175-pound class and set the bench press record at 315 pounds. Jerame Brown set the deadlift record in the super heavyweight class with 565 pounds and took first place, while Jeremy Ikner was third.
Colton Wingard took first in the 258-pound class, while Daniel Michael was second in 140 pounds, but set the state record for deadlift at 400 pounds.
Michael Thomas and Bobby Sexton placed second in their respective weight classes.
Others competing were: Courtney Baugh, Austin Boothe, Zach Bush, Chelsea Carter, Krystal Fotchmann, Katlyn Green, Savannah Smith, Hunter Winslett and Kaitlyn Wilke.