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Clay County boys weightlifters lead the way at state championship meet

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was a very good weekend for boys high school weightlifters from the area, especially from Clay County.

Eleven local lifters claimed individual state titles, while a pair of teams from Clay brought home team crowns at the state championships on Friday and Saturday.

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In the Class 1A meet, Keystone Heights had individual titles by Kade Sanders and Zach Glover and brought home to team title. In 3A, Fleming Island’s Will Stephens won the lone individual championship, but the depth of the Golden Eagles powered them to the team title. In Class 2A, Ridgeview’s Alex Beaufort and Clay’s Isaiah Jones won individual titles in the 154-pound and 129-pound class, respectively, to make it a Clay-heavy kind of event.

Union County had a pair of state champs, Quinn Raulerson at 183 pounds, and Blake Bass at 129 pounds. Raulerson had a total of 650 pounds in the bench and the clean and jerk, a total higher than all but five lifters in Class 1A. West Nassau’s Wyatt Butler nearly hit the 700-pound mark in winning the 238-pound class, lifting 695 pounds total.

In Class 2A, Baker County’s Damontae Gibson had a 710-pound total to win the unlimited class. He was the lone local lifter to hit that 700-pound mark.

Julius Moreland of Columbia (670 to win 219 pounds) and Jaquez Moore of Suwannee (605 to win 183 pounds) also won titles in Class 2A.

Class 3A

119: 3. Andrew Feeks (Creekside), 380; 9. Alfred Austin (Fleming), 340.

129: 2. Domonique Bennett (FPC), 470; 4. Justin Nolley (Fleming), 425; 7. Paul McGee (Oakleaf), 400.

154: 1. Will Stephens (Fleming), 550; 5. Isaiah Rivers (FPC), 520; 6. Nicolas Bethea (Fleming), 515.

169: 4. Musthafa Marshall (Fleming), 550.

219: 8. Timothy Thomas (Fleming), 605; 10. Tanner Owens (Creekside), 600.

238: 2. Alex Maier (Fleming), 650; 8. Vincent Approbato (Creekside), 615.

Unlimited: 2. Joseph Rickey (Fleming), 665; 9. Will Aaronson (Creekside), 625.

Team scores: 1. Fleming Island, 24; 2. University, 18; 3. Spruce Creek, 16; 4. Venice, 15; 5. Navarre, 15.

Class 2A

119: 5. Ricardo Garcia (Suwannee), 365; 8. Keenan Tucker (Suwannee), 355.

129: 1. Isaiah Jones (Clay), 470; 5. Chris Baptiste (Ridgeview), 420; 6. Xander Kirkland (Suwannee), 415.

139: 6. Kai Hagy (Yulee), 455.

154: 1. Alex Beaufort (Ridgeview), 570; 7. Deshawn Brown (Yulee), 505.

169: 4. Davean Jacobs (Yulee), 555; 7. Auston Nelson (Baker County), 550.

183: 1. Jaquez Moore (Suwannee), 605; 4. Noah Morris (Columbia), 575.

199: 3. Bryce Kearce (Suwannee), 635; 4. Joe Reed (Ridgeview), 630.

219: 1. Julius Moreland (Columbia), 670; 7. Miika Tuisano (Ridgeview), 610; 9. Aly Louis-Charles (Matanzas), 605.

238: 4. Prince Savea (Ridgeview), 630; 5. Tyler Ford (Columbia), 615.

Unlimited: 1. Damontae Gibson (Baker County), 710; 6. Nick Morin (Matanzas), 670; 7. Nathan Walmsley (Columbia), 670.

Team scores: 1. Pace, 23; 2. Charlotte, 23; 3. Ridgeview, 15; 4. New Smyrna Beach, 15; 5. Arnold, 15; 6. Suwannee, 14; 8. Columbia, 12.

Class 1A

119: 2. Wyatt VanZant (Keystone), 350; 5. Christian Simmons (Union), 325; 6. Ishmael Foster (Palatka), 325; 7. Reid Begue (Keystone), 325; 8. Caleb Keaton (West Nassau), 305.

129: 1. Blake Bass (Union), 465; 4. Colton Conner (Hilliard), 405; 9. Riley Horton (West Nassau), 360.

139: 1. Zach Glover (Keystone), 460; 2. Arthur Brown (Union), 435; 5. Benjamin Velasquez (West Nassau), 410; 8. Sam Ulsch (Keystone), 400.

154: 2. Huntley Moore (Hilliard), 520; 3. Colton Tibbetts (Keystone), 520; 4. Nathan Tisdale (Keystone), 505; 8. Delton Nealy (Palatka), 485; 9. Joseph Jones (Interlachen), 480.

169: 1. Kade Sanders (Keystone), 565; 4. Spencer Malm (Union), 535; 10. Cooper Jevic (Episcopal), 480.

183: 1. Quinn Raulerson (Union), 650; 2. Jesse Rochay (West Nassau), 600; 4. Kaleb Vojnovski (Keystone), 565; 6. Tyler (Keystone), 560.

199: 10. Russell Weeks (West Nassau), 530.

219: 4. Caleb Moncrief (Keystone), 600; 9. Lovan Mayo (Bolles), 555.

238: 1. Wyatt Butler (West Nassau), 695.

Unlimited: 3. Mason Dicks (Keystone), 670; 9. DJ Polite (Interlachen), 625.

Team scores: 1. Keystone Heights, 37; 2. Mount Dora, 30; 3. Union County, 24; 4. Wewahitchka, 22; 5. West Nassau, 14; 6. Hilliard, 8.


About the Author
Justin Barney headshot

Justin Barney joined News4Jax in February 2019, but he’s been covering sports on the First Coast for more than 20 years.

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