Topic: News: Mike Walton Takes 2nd at FHSAA 2A State WL Champs

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Manatee's Mike Walton Takes Second at FHSAA State Weightlifting Championships
By John Lembo

GAINESVILLE - The final lift of Mike Walton's career slipped out if his hands, the bar and weights bouncing off the rubber mat lining Santa Fe Community College's gym.

The Manatee High senior spun toward his coach, flashed a small grin and held up two fingers. Second place.

It wasn't what Walton was after. He had dedicated his season to leaving Gainesville, the site of Saturday's Class 2A state weightlifting championships, with a gold medal dangling around his neck. Instead, he got a silver.

Yet after embracing the grandparents who had followed him around all season, Walton was able to smile.

"It was a close fight," said Walton, a 238-pounder who finished with a combined lift of 735. "Actually, I enjoyed it. I don't mind taking second at all. I wanted to win, but we fought out just as hard."

Walton finished behind Tate's Andrew Martin, whose 440-pound bench press tied a six-year-old state record. The two hugged and posed for a picture after the competition was over - though for most of the season, Walton figured he had seen the last of his rival.

"Last year, I asked everybody ahead if they were a senior. I swear, he said, 'Yeah,' " Walton said. "Then I see the regional qualifiers, and I'm like, 'Andrew Martin? What is this?' "

Walton benched 430 and topped out at 305 for the clean and jerk. Though his attempts to clean 345 and 355 were unsuccessful, he was able to net the Canes' second top-three finish of the day.

Jeremy Jackson, who struggled with the clean and jerk after benching 290 pounds, placed third at 139 pounds and helped Manatee finish tied for ninth in the team standings with nine points. Spruce Creek won the Class 2A title with 26 points.

"I'm satisfied. The kids did well," Manatee coach Chris Pennington said. "There's always that, 'Could have done better, should have done better.' It's been a good trip.

"Unless you win it all, you always want more."

Lakewood Ranch's Sean Carter earned a medal - awarded to the top six finishers in each weight class - when he totaled 425 pounds at 129, and Southeast heavyweight Terron Sanders placed fifth with 705 total pounds.

"If I'd got my last clean, I would have placed third," said Sanders, an eighth-place finisher last season. "But stuff happens. This year, I placed with a medal. Last year, I didn't.

"I'm not too disappointed in the outcome because I got my medal. The only thing I would be disappointed in is the place."

Bayshore's Derek Bishop also felt a tinge of disappointment Saturday. The top seed at 219, Bishop didn't make weight and couldn't compete. Springfield Rutherford's David Dadouche, whose sectional qualifying lift was 45 pounds less than Bishop's, won the gold.

After eating a little pasta and salad at the Olive Garden on Friday night, Bishop woke up Saturday morning weighing 223. Tournament officials gave him an hour to lose weight, but it wasn't enough - Bishop weighed in at 219.7.

"After I qualified, I wanted to gain a little weight to be as strong as I could," said Bishop, who stuck around to support Walton. "I gained a little too much."

As for Walton, who placed ninth at a national tournament earlier this season, he plans on being back in the gym Monday morning.

"The whole year has been great," he said. "The beginning of the year was fun, and I pretty much grew with Chris."