2A-4 BOYS WEIGHTLIFTING
SPRING HILL –
Thanks to a pair of first-place performances during Wednesday’s Class 2A, District 4 Meet, two Hernando County senior lifters, Central’s Mike Bailey and Springstead’s Armando Noury, automatically qualified for April 15’s 37th annual FHSAA State Boys Weightlifting Finals at the Kissimmee Civic Center.
Only the 10 individual weight-class winners earned automatic berths to the state’s elite competition in Osceola County. Anyone finishing second or third – including six Springstead Eagles – will await the results of the state’s other district qualifiers for the remaining at-large bids. Lifters are expected to know their state fates in a week.
Marion County was well-represented as Ocala-Vanguard took home a trio of first-place blue ribbons while Ocala-Forest took home a pair.
Lake County’s Leesburg High walked away with two champs while Clermont-East Ridge rounded out the champions with one blue ribbon.
Noury rules
Springstead, which has been paced by Noury and David Stevens all season, again rode its solid 1-2 punch at 183 pounds.
Noury did not match his county-best 630-pound total, instead “he settled” on a 355-265–620-pound total. In the process, Noury edged Stevens by 15 pounds.
“Overall, I did pretty good,” said the 18-year-old Noury. “Maybe I got a little too comfortable after last week. It seemed like I had to cut a lot and as a result I lost a lot of energy.
“Still, I’ve got two weeks to fix my mistakes. I’ll eat better and watch my weight,” noted Noury. “To do better, I have to have better form.”
How about reaching states for the first time?
“Going to states is huge,” said Noury. “I’ve worked so hard to get there. And it’s my senior year. I’m real excited about going. I know I have the opportunity to medal. I realize I’m only going to get one shot at states, so I don’t want to mess up at the finish line.”
For his part, Stevens just missed reaching a personal record (PR). Instead of a 610 total, he finished at 605.
“Today my bench was a little off,” described the 18-year-old Stevens. “But I got a PR in my cleans. I got second; I can’t complain.”
Does Stevens believe he’ll be one of the fortunate lifters to earn an at-large bid to states?
“We’ve done our research. Usually 580 gets you to states. So I like my chances. I thank God for keeping me going and keeping me healthy enough to compete. I’m blessed,” said Stevens. “Right now, whether I go to states or not is in His hands. I’m still gonna keep working out either way.”
Other Eagles
Besides the 1-2 punch of Noury and Stevens, SHS had several quality efforts in their gymnasium.
Besides Stevens, Chris Goforth and Chris Lamb also finished as runners-up at 154 and 169 respectively.
Earning third-place ribbons were Richie Bliss at 119, John Morrison at 129 and Peter Napoli at 139.
Despite the one individual district champion and six others in contention for state berths, Springstead Head Coach Mike Garofano was pleased with his charges.
“Overall? I was very pleased,” said Garofano. “We had a lot of guys in the top three (3). Now it’s time to wait and see. I think David (Stevens) has a great chance of advancing. So does Chris (Goforth) with that 500 total. I think Richie (Bliss) is 50/50, so is Peter (Napoli) and Chris (Lamb). There’s a good chance we could still get 3-5 guys to states.”
According to Garofano, who entered the District 4 Meet by qualifying 21 previous Springstead lifters to states, Wednesday’s biggest positive was a tone-setting effort at 183.
“Those two have carried us all season,” pointed out Garofano on Noury and Stevens. “Both continue to be strong. Not only should both guys reach states, they should both medal. Everyone sees how hard those two work. Now we’ll see who else joins them next week.”
Bailey rules
Unlike last spring when the Bears were blanked in the then Section IV Meet, this time senior Mike Bailey captured the 169-pound weight class with a personal-best matching 310-265-575 total. Bailey edged Springstead’s Lamb by 40 pounds.
“I’ve waited a year to get another crack at this meet,” recalled the 18-year-old Bailey. “I went up in my bench and stayed even with my cleans. I really wanted to get a PR (personal record), but feel like I still have two weeks to work on some things. To me, today was well worth the wait.
“I think placing fourth last year helped motivate me for this year,” added Bailey. “I just want to take advantage of this opportunity. I was really hoping as captain that some of my teammates would also join me at states. Even though I personally did well I would have liked to have seen some of my younger classmates make it to states.”
The Bears’ second-best performance came from junior Matt Callaci at 139. The defending county champion finished fourth, 70 pounds behind Ocala-Forest’s Jarosh Adams’ winning 505-pound total.
Class 2A, District 4 Boys Weightlifting Qualifying Meet Individual Results
(Features highest bench press, clean & jerk and total weight lifted. Weight class winner automatically advances to April 15 2A State Finals)
119 – 1. *Ingram (OF) 215-185-400, 2. Norman (CIT) 180-175-355, 3. Bliss (SPG) 180-165-345.
129 – 1. Miller (ER) 245-220-465, 2. Belton (LEES) 245-215-460, 3. Morrison (SPG) 195-145-340.
139 – 1. *Jarosh (OF) 275-230-505, 2. Lawrence (OV) 245-220-465, 3. Napoli (SPG) 240-200-440, Others: 4. Callaci (CEN) 240-195-435, 5. DeLucia (SPG) 235-200-435.
154 – 1. Graham (OV) 310-240-550, 2. Goforth (SPG) 260-240-500, 3. Brown (WGR) 300-185-485. Others: 5. Maynard (CEN) 225-205-430.
169 – 1. Bailey (CEN) 310-265-575, 2. Lamb (SPG) 305-230-535, 3. Fontana (OF) 290-245-535.
183 – 1. A. Noury (SPG) 355-265-620, 2. Stevens (SPG) 315-290-605, 3. Kruse (HUD) 285-245-530. Others: 8. Teater (CEN) 235-195-430.
199 – 1. Aisbey-bonsu (LEES) 330-305-635, 2. Mayo (OV) 310-290-600, 3. Herdon (OF) 300-275-575.
219 – 1. *Alvin (OV) 365-275-640, 2. Myers (OV) 340-260-600, 3. Schwarz (RR) 300-285-585.
238 – 1. Stewart (OV) 350-275-625, 2. Harris (RR) 300-290-590, 3. Myrick (HUD) 275-275-550.
HWT – 1. *Erving (LEES) 335-315-650, 2. Scott (OV) 365-255-620, 3. Douglas (LEES) 350-250-600. Others: 6. Stansell (SPG) 315-250-565.
KEY – Spring Hill-Springstead (SPG), Brooksville-Central (CEN), Hudson (HUD), Inverness-Citrus (CIT), Leesburg (LEES), Ocala-Forest (OF), Ocala-Vanguard (OV), New Port Richey-Ridgewood (RW), New Port Richey-River Ridge (RR), Wesley Chapel-Wiregrass Ranch (WGR), Clermont-East Ridge (ER), Ocala-Lake Weir (LW), Ocala-West Port (WP), Zephyrhills (ZEP).
* Denotes repeat district champion
Sports Editor Tony Castro can be reached at 352-544-5278 or online at [email protected].
