By Judie Mackie on April 23, 2012

The Yulee Hornets made an impressive showing at the Weightlifting State Finals in Kissimmee, Florida! For the first time in their school’s history, they won the regionals and sent six kids to The Finals.

Weightlifting requires self-discipline and stamina and these young athletes put themselves to the test.   Total weights are combined from both the Bench Press and the Clean and Jerk lifts.

Here are the results:

-Gunnar Cox

 (169 lbs) – Totaled 600 lbs in the Bench and the Clean and Jerk for 2nd place in the State as a Junior

-Brandon Stewart

 (183 lbs) A senior, place 4th in the state.

-Bret Edenfield

 – Received top 10 honors as a Sophomore lifting over 620 lbs in the Heavyweight class, 315 on the Bench and 305 Clean and Jerk

-Justin Murphy

, a senior, finished 12th in the state with 555 pounds.

-Stone Lakey

 place 12th in his weight class with 475 pounds.

-Jason Ray

 finished 9th lifting 570 pounds.

Josh Burch is in his 2nd year as Head Weightlifting Coach at Yulee High School he said, “I am so proud of their accomplishments this year. Their work ethic, committment and dedication led to a great season. Two kids went to state in both 2010, and 2011, and this year we sent six. That is quite an improvement.”

“Most of the kids are football players, so they lift year round.” Burch said. “In January, after the holidays and football season is over, we concentrate more on finesse, technique, and form.”

In Florida, there are nine weightlifting districts in the state. Yulee High School is in district 4, with 13 other teams. Pre-qualifications to get to State include sub-sectionals with one half of the district’s teams (7 teams). Sectionals take place a week later with all 14 district teams. While some of the Yulee team placed well individually at sub-sectionals, Yulee won at sectionals, qualifying them for the state finals.

Is there a weightlifting career in their future? Quite possibly. Team member Brandon Stewart is currently looking at schools with Olympic Weightlifting programs.

Congratulations to these Hornets!!!

Strong kids are healthy kids!

Register Here!

This single elimination contest is a seeded bracket tournament that challenges participants to a 1000m row for time.    Once the times are submitted from area gyms, the athlete will advance through the bracket (as long as they win!)    This is a GREAT way to rank yourself against other CrossFit athletes and within other affiliates.    So…who has the fastest time?

We will find out in May!      The GREAT thing about this challenge is that all the money raised stays locally to help our kids…especially the ones within our boxes!

Round 1:  May 7-11

Round 2:  May 14-18

Round 3:  May 21-24

Finals:  May 28-30

Compete in Male, Female and Team Categories…Age Groups 19 & Under, 20-39, or Master’s Division

When the competitor registers, they will be asked to submit  a 2000m row time using a Concept 2 rower.      This is done for bracket seeding purposes.     Entries MUST be received (with 2k row time)  by May 4, 2012.    Athlete will row and submit a new 1000m row time each week – for bracket advancement.     Row time must be submitted and verified by athlete’s box owner or coach by the last date of each week (this will be the last day of each round as well).

Prizes will be awarded for the the following:

1. Boxes and/or gyms with the most participation (i.e., the more athletes that participate), the higher the value of the prizes your box can win!     Each box will receive any one of the following:

10 event registrations = 10 jump ropes for the affiliate
20 event registrations = 24kg Kettlebell for the affiliate
50 event registrations = 1 – 20kg barbell for the affiliate
Overall most registrations = complete barbell set for the affiliate

1. Box/gym with the best overall time, including all rounds will receive the COVETED “Golden Oar” to display in their gym for the next year.    Annually, the Golden Oar will be passed from gym to gym in a ceremonial fashion, that is sure to be a statement!

Did you have a bad day on the rower?     Or….were you eliminated too soon?     Buy your way back in to the Loser’s Bracket, and continue on with the challenge to see how much farther you can get!    It’s only $5!

All monies raised will go toward sending local youth athletes to the AAU Junior Olympics in Houston, TX, this July.    LIFT Florida, a 501(c)3, provides assistance with equipment purchase, weightlifting club membership, uniforms, weightlifting shoes and supplies, as well as team travel expenses.

Don’t forget to friend  us on Facebook at LIFT Florida.

Welcome Jeri and Rebecca from WOD Books!     WOD Books, a product of Sport Journals will be donating a percentage of their profits to LIFT Florida.      Please check them out here!

]]> http://liftflorida.org/welcome-sport-journals-international-sponsor/feed/ 0 http://liftflorida.org/welcome-fernandeli-as-a-new-sponsor/ http://liftflorida.org/welcome-fernandeli-as-a-new-sponsor/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 11:12:51 +0000 doug http://liftflorida.org/?p=276

Thank you to Craig Scott for his commitment and TEAM approach to kids fitness in the State of Florida.     Fernandeli prides itself in many aspects of food….whether it’s creating a delicious salad, preparing our daily soup of the day, roasting our own beef in house, making our own corned beef, pastrami, or cooking our own turkey, their goal is and always has been to serve you the best possible product at a reasonable price.

In Craigs words, “That is our commitment to you, our customer”.

In the Month of March, Craig will be donating a percentage of his ENTIRE DAY’S SALES to our LIFT Florida TEAM!     Please mark your calendars and let’s recruit our friends in the Amelia Island/Jacksonville area to support him and support OUR LIFT FLORIDA TEAM.     One of the BEST things about Fernandeli is that THEY DELIVER locally on Amelia Island for only $1.00 extra!     Mark your calendar and ask ask your friends to mark theirs to get lunch or dinner from the deli on:

• March 6
• March 13
• March 20
• March 27

Online menu’s can be found at:   www.fernandeli.com.    Hours are 10a – 7pm.     Mom’s and Dad’s…that means you don’t have to cook lunch or dinner!     They are VERY Paleo friendly and will customize anything for your needs.

Brandon Stewart, a 17 year old senior at Yulee High School, traveled to Chicago, IL, January 28-29, 2012, to compete at the Junior National Weightlifting Championship and represent Sandbox Weightlifting.

In his first national competition, Brandon placed 7th in his weight class (85 kg) while lifting against athletes aged 17 to 19.  Brandon received the Schutz Award, given to athletes who successfully complete all their lifts during the competition.  Brandon also set a new personal record in the snatch (100 kg), matched a previous best in the clean & jerk (130 kg), and set a new personal record total at 230 kg.

Sandbox Weightlifting is based in Fernandina Beach, FL.  The team is made up of approximately 20 student athletes, age 9 to 19.  Brandon has spent 3 to 5 days each week over the past year training with the team.

Doug Lane, Sandbox Weightlifting’s head coach and Florida Weightlifting Federation’s 2012 Coach of the Year, said, “I have been working with Brandon for less than two years.  His natural strength and commitment to training is some of the best I’ve ever seen.  He has great flexibility and athletic potential.  As an honor roll student and college prospect, we are proud to have Brandon on the team.”

Congratulations, Brandon!

Congratulations to Brandon S, the newest Sandbox Weightlifting State Champion!    Brandon is currently a Senior at Yulee High School, and at 17yrs old was able to Snatch 91kg and Clean and Jerk 125kg.     He narrowly missed his 3rd attempts at 95kg and 130kg respectively.      With these lifts, Brandon has qualified to represent the Sandbox Weightlifting Team at the Junior Nationals in Chicago later in January.     Most of his school classes during his Senior year are within the College Co-op program, as he is an exceptional student.    Brandon is currently exploring University settings for next year that will allow him to lift and pursue a career in the sciences.

Emma G and Cody B, both 14 yrs of age, also competed for Sandbox Weightlifting and received bronze medals at the State Championships.     They competed in the 17 and under age group and both lifted to personal records–an extremely exceptional feat, due to both being physically ill the prior week!