LIVE OAK - Intent on at least a respectable effort to push to the FHSAA boys weightlifting championships on Friday, the Keystone Heights High boys team, led by an explosive last bench press highlight from Anthony Rozier-Tyler, snuck out of Suwannee High School with a region 2-1A team title by just three points; 56-53, over the formerly Class 2A host Suwannee High Bulldogs, also the defending Class 2A team champion now in Class 1A in the Olympic Snatch scoring; second in Class 2A in Traditional.

"We missed a lot of our first and second lifts and against a team like Suwannee, now in Class 1A, you can't do that and win," said Keystone Heights High coach Lantz Lowery, who is a back to back state title coach in all disciplines and scoring. "This was a good first look at them in a championship atmosphere of course in their home gym and that makes things even tougher."

In the Olympics format, Keystone Heights finished second to Suwannee by a more decisive score; 74-54.

"Their technique is flawless and they are disciplined in that format," said Lowery. "We are more of a power lifting team and do better in the Traditional format. We'll tweak our technique this week and hope to get a better effort at state."

In the Traditional scoring, with Keystone Heights banking on massive bench press totals from their upper weight veterans; Bryar Schenk, Landon Hovsepian; both in 183 going second and third; Dakota Roper and Bryson Wester in 199; second and third; Larry Jeffries III in 219; Traditional champion, Rozier-Tyler in 238, Traditional champion, Lowery and coach Steven Reynolds were feverishly crunching numbers for the possible upset.

"Our veterans; Landon, Bryar, Bo Overton, Wyatt Van Zant, did what they were supposed to do; clean lifts, competitive totals," said Lowery. "We got the seconds and thirds; Landon, Reid Begue and Bryar, that we expected. They have to realize that we are the hunted now."

In one of the more exciting weight class battles of the day, Rozier-Tyler waited and waited until his 238 weight class competitors finished their lifts before entering the fray.

"Coach says to don't think, but just lift," said Rozier-Tyler, who hit his first lift on bench press at 330 with an bench-rattle finish that nearly flipped the platform. "From there, it was just to get mentally ready to go big and push my confidence."

Rozier-Tyler, with teammate Jeffries on his six; Jeffries after winning his 219 weight also with a 330 start and a 350 finish, had enough of the competitive fire to share with his teammate to get Rozier-Tyler smoothly past 350 and successful at 370 to a roaring gym crowd.

"It's all about mental confidence," said Lowery. "He has a a 375 maybe 380 in him and that may be what's needed at state. For now, we have that in our back pocket."

Jeffries, in equally dramatic fashion, missed on his opener in Olympic Snatch, but recoverd to tie the best lift; 225, in the event then opened with two big clean and jerk lifts; 290 and 315 with Suwannee's Brandon Robinson staying steady to his final 315 and Jeffries missing at a 325 attempt to get second by body weight. In lift totals, a tie is determined by body weights of individual lifters with Jeffries heavier at 216.10 to Robinson's 201.30.

"He showed his was going to be competitive in a tough weight class and we will keep and eye on the numbers next week to decide his lifts," said Lowery. "It's sometimes a matter of five pounds here, 10 pounds there."

In the lower weights session, Lowery got Brian Overton as Traditional champion at 169 with multiple top 10 finishes from Colton Hollingsworth and Jeddiiah Tisdale at 119 (5th, 7th); Begue and VanZant at 139 (2nd, 3rd); Samuel Ulsch and Damien Dunlap at 154 (2nd, 10th) and Overton and Vernell Jackson at 169 (1st, 9th).

At 183 and 199, Suwannee and Keystone Heights had double 1-2-3 finishes with Suwannee winning both weight groups and Keystone Heights getting second and third; Sam Wainwright at 183 with Hovsepian and Schenck; 640-615-575; and, at 199, Will Wainwright besting Dakota Roper and Bryson Wester, 675-575-560.

"Those two Wainwrights will be state champions if they show up," said Lowery. "We get the second and third and we will be okay. We had our first title won on our guy going big against a favorite (Kaleb Vojnovski in 2021) for fourth place instead of fifth."

In the Olympics scoring, Suwannee got five individual titles to cruise to that team title with Keystone Heights getting individual titles to Overton, and Rozier-Tyler with Van Zant and Begue second and fourth, Ulsch fifth, Schenck and Hovsepian second and third; Wester and Roper fifth and 10th; Jeffries second with Jayden Goodman third at 219, Jackson Herman third at 238 and Tyler Duncan fourth at Unlimited.