| PRESS RELEASE | Richard C. Lansky, CSCS |
TEAM FLORIDA GULFCOAST WEIGHTLIFTING ATHLETES EXCEL AT THE 2007 COACH MAC MEMORIAL IN ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLORIDA
(March 24, 2007 - Altamonte Springs, Florida) – Local weightlifting athletes from the Team Florida Gulfcoast Weightlifting club took to the platform once again this past weekend to compete in the Coach Mac Memorial, a USA Weightlifting sanctioned event and qualifier for national competition later in the year.
The Gulfcoast weightlifters, both boys and girls and young adults, had a great day all-around, scoring personal best performances in the snatch, clean and jerk and total while making over 90% of their attempts en route to medals and qualification for national meets.
Coach Rich Lansky and Assistant Coach Andrew Sweeney of the Sarasota- Bradenton area non-profit sports and lifestyle education club were extremely proud of their team, as they conducted themselves as true athletes both on and off the platform this past Saturday.
Leading off the list of great performances was our youngest member, Sydney Borges of Bradenton, who once again demonstrated quickness, coordination and speed as she successfully made six out of six attempts, scoring personal bests in both lifts and the total and winning second place in the 48 kg class. Sydney, who turns ten next Friday, was a true joy to watch as her technique continues to improve each week. Her big beaming smile was as engaging to the audience as her lifts themselves.
Next up was Samantha Kaufman, 16, of Port Charlotte, who was competing following a gymnastics injury earlier this month. Samantha continued her inspirational comeback as she also was perfect on all of her attempts and earned a second place silver medal in the 53 kg class.
Her teammate, Jessica Fides, 25, formerly of Sarasota and now attending college at UCF, earned first place in the same 53 kg class as she also had a perfect day on the platform, snatching and clean and jerking personal best lifts at her new weight division. Jessica had previously competed in the 58 kg class, where she won the 2004 National Collegiate Championships and also finished eleventh at the Olympic Trials that same year. Jessica is currently preparing for the 2007 National Collegiates in Reno next month.
In the 63 kg class, Brittney Benson, 20, of Bradenton and a Booker High School graduate, won a silver medal as she completed five of six attempts, including a personal record clean and jerk and personal record total. She is also preparing for the National Collegiates next month. Brittney attends MCC in Bradenton.
In the 69 kg class, Jamie Moore, 18, of Port Charlotte, also made five of six attempts, scoring personal bests in the snatch, clean and jerk and total while winning the gold medal in the division. Jamie will graduate from Port Charlotte High later this year and plans to attend MCC in the fall.
In the 75+ category, Deanna Poelsma, 16 of Bradenton, a student at Manatee High School, also continued the trend of great successes as she made all six lifts in her very first meet and won the silver medal in her class. Deanna demonstrated tremendous potential and will surely continue to improve as she gains more experience in the sport.
Not to be outdone by their female teammates, the boys of Team Florida Gulfcoast also put on a demonstration of skill, speed, strength and ultimately, success.
Jordan Borges, a ten year old powerhouse of energy and laughter from Bradenton, went to work in the 56 kg class, even though he weighed 20 lbs under the class limit (note -in open contests, the lowest division is 56, unlike school age and youth contests). Not to be intimidated by the older and heavier opponents, Jordie made five of six lifts as he tied his personal best in the snatch, exceeded it with the clean and jerk and registered a new personal record total while finishing fifth. At only ten years old, this little dynamo could teach many of the older lifters a thing or two about jerk technique. Look out for this one in the future as he also qualified for the National School Age Championships later this summer in Missouri.
His older brother, Ryan, 15, is a bit more serious on the platform, his smiles only appearing after three white lights (the three officials' signal as to a good lift). As has been the case so often in the past, Ryan smiled six times as he made every attempt on the platform and registered personal records in the snatch, clean and jerk and total. His 100 kg (220lbs) clean and jerk in the 62 kg weight class was as impressive a lift for a school age athlete as has been seen on the Florida platforms in a while. Ryan is also preparing for the National School Age Championships in Missouri, where he has already won national titles in the 51 and the 56 kg classes the last two years. Ryan was also selected by USA Weightlifting to attend the 2012 Rudy Sablo Developmental camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs the last two years. Ryan is a student at Braden River Middle School in Bradenton.
In the 69 kg class, former Sarasota resident Jason Aun, 28, now living in St Cloud as he finishes up his Masters Degree, took to the platform. Jason had a rough day in the snatch, making only his first attempt, but came back strong in the clean and jerk with three successful lifts to win the division and qualify for the National Championships in May in Chicago.
In the 94 kg class, recent newcomer to the team, Alex Beauchene, 14, of Bradenton, had a great first meet, making five of six attempts, each of which were personal records over his previous training. He looked like a seasoned pro out on the platform, with technical proficiency that belied his short three weeks in the gym. Look for more to come from this young man.
Our last Team Florida Gulfcoast athlete to compete was Zach Roper, 16 or Sarasota. Zach had a great day as he made five of six attempts, registering personal bests in the snatch, clean and jerk and total while winning his 105 kg weight class and qualifying for National Schoolage Championships this summer. Zach is a student at Pineview High School and plays Defensive End for the Riverview Rams on their varsity squad.
Zach continues to improve by leaps and bounds and looks to be another football-weightlifting success story for our club, following in the footsteps of Riverview Alumni Drew Miller (Florida Gators). Charles Robinson (Duke University), Wendall 'Kellen' White ( Iowa State ), and Armwood Athlete Torrey Davis (committed to Florida for next year) , Cardinal Mooney alumni Pat Judge ( St. Xavier) and Matt Shaeffer ( Sarasota Knights Arena Team), Bayshore alumni Derrick Bishop ( Liberty) and Ocala Trinity alumni and Palmetto resident Seth Varnadore (West Liberty).
Overall, Coach Lansky was extremely proud of all of his Team Florida Gulfcoast athletes as they accomplished their goals for the meet: MAKE LIFTS, MAKE PERSONAL RECORDS and HAVE FUN DOING IT.
For more information on Team Florida Gulfcoast Weightlifting, Inc, 501 3 c not-for-profit sports and lifestyle education club dedicated to using the drug free Olympic sport of Weightlifting to improve the physical , social and psychological well-being of Florida's Gulfcoast youth and young adults, please call (941) 342-0454 or log onto www.teamfloridaweightlifting.com.
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