With both Sam Craven and Harris Jammes traveling to Lakeland for the FHSAA Class 2A boys weightlifting state championships on Wednesday, May 6, the goal was to win medals, a state title and earn a state record.

County teams had to settle for medals.

In a tough bout of lifts, Craven, at 183 pounds, was the top area finisher with a third-place finish in Traditional scoring (clean and jerk/bench press), while Jammes, at 129, was fifth in Olympics (Snatch/Clean and Jerk).

For Craven and Jammes, both district and region champions in both disciplines, the totals ahead of them were impressive, with Craven at 650 in Traditional and 675 as the top total.
Jammes, in Olympics, totaled 370 with 425 as the top total.
Also scoring top 10 finishes were Austin Davis of Fleming Island in seventh at 139 Traditional with a 455 total and Clay's Unlimited Touni Saoud with a seventh-place 640 total in Traditional.
In Olympics, Middleburg's Darius Swilley was eighth at 219 with a 500 total (610 tops) with Saoud eighth at Unlimited at 495 with a 615 total.
South Sumter won the Olympics team title with 28 points, with Leesburg finishing second at 16 and Suwannee in third at 10.
In Traditional, in a close battle up top, Columbia was a 19-18 winner against Mosley, with Port Charlotte in a close third at 17.
Others who competed were Wyatt Moore of Ridgeview, Wyatt Hickox, Ajax Sgro,  Skyler Phoenix Dean and AJ Bivins of Clay, CJ Williams and Ashton Harp and Caiden Thigpen of Middleburg and Brady Digman of Fleming Island.
Thursday will be the Class 3A championship meet featuring Oakleaf and the Knights' seven lifters: Daniel Israel and Ari Simon (129), Garvens Bonhomme (139), Noah Shevchook (169), Lucius Manley (199) and Ethan Simons (238). Shevchook is a 2025 154 state champion in Traditional.
On Friday, Keystone Heights brings a double-district and double-region team champion bevy of lifters, likely to battle for the Class 1A title. Elijah Mize is defending Traditional champion.