BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
In the midst of posing for numerous photos outside of Port St. Joe High School, Keystone Heights High School weightlifter Tyler Jenkins summed the day up perfectly.
“It’s great. It’s déjà vu.”
Indeed. For the second straight year, the Keystone boys weightlifting team captured the Class 1A state championship trophy, making it the third championship in program history. (The first was won in 2014.) Keystone is the 18th school to win at least two consecutive titles and the first to do so since Baker County won four in a row from 2008 through 2011.
The Indians graduated only two from its 2021 championship team, so winning state again this year was certainly a realistic expectation.
“This was the goal from the start,” said Mason Dicks, who won the unlimited weight class. “We worked every day for it.”
Jenkins, who competes in the 183-pound class, said, “As soon as got off from the offseason, we just came in and worked hard every day. It definitely paid off.”
Keystone Coach Lantz Lowery said, “We’ve got hard-working kids. They’re just willing to outwork everybody.”
Trey Jeffries, who competes in the 219-pound class, said, “There was a lot of pressure on us, but we did it.”
Keystone didn’t just win won team championship. It became Class 1A’s inaugural snatch champion as well. The snatch was added as a voluntary competition this season.
“We thought we could definitely win it,” Jenkins said of the snatch event. “Look at us now.”
On the strength of two individual champions and 11 total top-six medals, the Indians won the snatch event with 44 points, putting them 24 points ahead of runner-up South Sumter.
Keystone had three individual champions and earned a total of 12 top-six medals in the traditional (bench press and clean and jerk) event, finishing with 55 points ahead of West Nassau’s 17.
“We came here to compete and win a state championship,” said Ulysses Free, who was the 154-pound class champion in both the snatch and traditional events. “We didn’t come here to win individually. That’s a plus, but we came here to place and get points.”
Lowery said, “All I wanted every kid to do was just put up their best total they’ve put up this year and make South Sumter or West Nassau come beat us.” The coach added: “I want every kid to be an individual state champion, but more importantly, I want every kid to be a part of a team state champion.”
The Indians had quite a group of supporters in the stands, with Jenkins saying, “Everywhere I looked, there was somebody from Keystone.
Dicks said each of the 21 competing lifters must have had at least four people there watching them, which is saying something. As he noted, Port St. Joe is a long way from Keystone.
“They are why we win,” Dicks said of the family members and other fans.
Jenkins said, “The community comes together. We can see all these people here. It’s awesome.”
4 win individual titles
Dicks provided the last highlight for his team during actual competition. He cleaned and jerked 325 pounds on his second attempt, which was enough to give him the unlimited class championship by 5 pounds over Bolles’ Brendan Black. On his third attempt, he made a successful 40-pound jump to 365, breaking a school record and finishing with a 730-pound overall total, which consisted of a 365-pound bench press.
“I had won on my second lift,” Dicks said. “Our school record was 350. I had done that (before). I just wanted to go for it and beat it.”
Freed attempted a school record, too, but he failed to clean and jerk 275. Still, he won the 154-pound class with a 540 total (285 bench press, 255 clean and jerk), which put him 10 pounds ahead of Imagine’s Wyett Rightmire.
Freed was unable to compete at state last season due to an injury, so to do so this year and win one championship was an incredibly good feeling. Yet he walked away with two championships, as his 200 total topped the 154-pound class snatch event. He finished 25 pounds ahead of Marianna’s Tequan Cuttino.
“It’s so amazing. It feels so good,” Freed said, adding, “I was so ready. As soon as we parked, and we stepped out of the van, I was ready to go.”
Using the Schwartz formula, which takes body weight and amount of weight lifted into account, Freed was determined to be the strongest lifter at state in the snatch event.
Like Freed, Logan Williams missed out on competing at state last season after he scratched on all three of his clean-and-jerk attempts at the regional level.
He made it to state this year, but admitted he got a little worried as he scratched on his first clean-and-jerk attempt of 245 pounds.
“That kind of scared me,” he admitted.
Williams rebounded quite nicely, successfully getting 245 on his second attempt and then doing 265. With a best bench-press attempt of 335, he finished with a 600 total to win the 169-pound class traditional championship.
“It’s unbelievable,” Williams said. “I’ve never won anything like this. It’s kind of crazy.”
Bryar Schenck was making his first trip to state. It was memorable as he competed in the snatch and won the 183-pound class a 205 total.
“It feels surreal, to be honest,” Schenck said, adding, “I’ve never won a state championship for anything. Winning for something I just learned feels like I really took it in my own hands. I did the work that I needed to. It feels like I’m being rewarded for the right things. It feels good.”
Jenkins, Jeffries finish 2nd in both snatch, traditional
Jenkins finished second to Schenck in the 183-pound class in the snatch event. It was the first of two second-place medals he’d earn that day.
He and Schenck both admitted to using strategy to take the top two spots in the snatch event.
“We watched everybody’s weight — what their come-ins were and what they were planning on ending on,” Schenck said. “We just analyzed everything so perfectly, seeing what certain people couldn’t get and how that could place us higher.”
Jenkins finished in a two-way tie with Union County’s Quinn Raulerson. Each had a best snatch of 195. Second place went to Jenkins, who weighed in at a little over a pound less than Raulerson.
“That was great,” Jenkins said of Keystone’s one-two finish in. “We orchestrated that perfectly, like right down to the very pound.”
In the traditional event, Jenkins compiled a 600 total (325, 275) to finish 100 pounds behind Raulerson, who was the clear-cut favorite going into the event.
“Quinn’s kind of insane,” Jenkins said of Raulerson, “but some other kids were actually giving me some competition to where I had to pull a 275 clean and jerk. That secured second.”
Jenkins finished 15 pounds ahead of third-place finisher J.R. Rosenberg of Cardinal Mooney.
Keystone had another lifter earn two second-place medals in Jeffries in the 219-pound class. After missing 205 on his second snatch attempt, he made a successful 5-pound jump with a 210 total, that placed him 5 pounds ahead of North Bay Haven’s Nathan Webb and left him trailing Lemon Bay’s Landon Spanninger by 10 pounds.
In the traditional event, Jeffries had a 635 total (335, 300).
“I personally don’t like second, but second is better than third,” Jeffries said.
Still, he was happy knowing he contributed a total of 10 points to Keystone’s snatch and traditional team scores.
“That’s all that matters,” he said.
Moncrief, Tisdale are also runners-up
Two additional lifters earned second-place finishes, including Nathan Tisdale, who finished 20 pounds behind Williams in the traditional event in the 169-pound class. He had a 300 bench press and a 280 clean and jerk, giving him a 580 overall total that was 15 pounds better than that of third-place finisher Alex Harrison of McKeel.
Caleb Moncrief was a runner-up in the traditional event also with a 650 total (325, 325) in the 238-pound class. He was 20 pounds behind champion Ellis Poplaski of The Villages and 5 pounds ahead of Port St. Joe’s D.J. Oliver.
Indians earn 7 more medals in the snatch
Keystone had seven place fourth through sixth in the snatch, including Moncrief, who was third in his class with a 205 total. He finished tied with Poplaski, but Poplaski weighed in at more than 4 pounds less than Moncrief. North Bay Haven’s Jonathan Serbest was the class champion with a 210 total.
Jayden Goodman placed third as well with a 195 total in the 199-pound class. He tied with Florida High’s Chris Cotton, who weighed in at approximately 4 pounds less than Goodman. South Sumter’s Jackson Sovercool won the championship with a 205 total.
Three earned fourth-place medals: Wyatt Van Zant with a 145 total in the 129-pound class, Ben Ulsch with a 185 total in the 169-pound class and Dicks with a 215 total in the unlimited class.
Ulsch actually finished in a four-way tie for third that included Tisdale. With the weigh-in tiebreaker, Tisdale officially earned fifth place behind Ulsch.
Jackson Herman placed sixth in the 238-pound class with a 185 total.
Sam Ulsch just missed out on earning a medal, placing seventh in the 154-pound class with a 155 total.
Reid Begue finished in a four-way tie for sixth in the 129-pound class with a 135 total, but after employing the weigh-in tiebreaker, the last medal in the class went to Bronson’s Emeril Hall. Begue was officially eighth.
Keystone also had the following snatch results: Luke Snider ninth with a 185 total in the unlimited class, Declan Shine 11th in the 119-pound class with a 105 total and Davin Adams 15th with a 110 total in the 139-pound class.
5 place 3rd-6th in traditional event
The Indians’ team score in the traditional event included points earned by five lifters with third- through sixth-place finishes.
Landon Hovsepian and Tyler Anthony-Rozier placed third in the 154- and 219-pound classes, respectively. Hovsepian had a 515 total (260, 255), while Anthony-Rozier had a 620 total (345, 275) to finish 15 points behind teammate Jeffries.
Like he did in the snatch, Van Zant earned fourth place in his class. He had a 415 total (200, 215).
Clayton Kicklighter earned fifth place in the 183-pound class with a 540 total 295, 245), while Begue took sixth in the 129-pound class with a 405 total (220, 185). Begue earned his class’ last medal by finishing 20 pounds ahead of Marianna’s Tre Harvey.
Keystone also had the following traditional results: Shine ninth with a 330 total (175, 155) in the 119-pound class, Snider 13th with a 600 total (325, 275) in the unlimited class and Bryson Wester 16th with a 510 total (285, 225) in the 199-pound class.
