Manatee weightlifter Seth Walter gets first medal shot in two-sport spring

Each day during his quest to win a pair of state medals in two sports during the spring season, Seth Walter’s afternoon routine would take him from an hour of lifting weights with head coach Rich Lansky in the Manatee High School weight room to a field behind the school for track and field practice where another hour of training awaited.

His practices with the weightlifting team are typically rigorous — with three potential top-six state finishers, Lansky had Manatee maxing out two times during some weeks. Once he made it out to the field, he had an hour to dedicate to breaking the school record in the shot put: Walter is about 2 1/2 feet off the mark.

But first, Walter needs a quick nap. Only 30 minutes. Or maybe just an ear to hear him complain about how sore this double duty is making him during his final semester in Bradenton before he leaves for Dartmouth, where he’ll play guard for the Big Green football team.

“I really don’t remember ever being so tired that I can barely keep my eyes open,” said Walter, a star in the shot put and a 238-pounder for the Hurricanes’ boys weightlifting team. “This year it was definitely more exhausting than last year.”

Walter is among the favorites to win the Class 4A title in the shot put next month when the track and field state championships come to Bradenton, but first he’ll have to make a push to get into the top six at the Class 2A weightlifting meet on Friday in DeLand. Walter will be in the first group to compete at DeLand High School as the 183-pound weight class and above will open the weekend at 10 a.m. The lighter weights in 2A follow, and then Saturday will bring the same schedule for the Class 1A meet at the same site.

A year ago, Walter finished ninth at 238 pounds, missing a spot on the 2A medal stand by 55 pounds. He enters this Friday as the No. 9 seed at 238 on a bodyweight tiebreaker. His 625-pound total at the Class 2A-Region 7 meet puts him in a tie for seventh, 10 pounds out of the top six weight qualifiers. His season-best of 640 pounds would have placed him in a three-way tie for the No. 4 seed.

To return to maximum performance at the state meet, Walter has ditched shot-put practice for a week, and Lansky has the Hurricanes ramping down for the first time this season. They didn’t max at all during the week, topping out at an 85 percent lift Wednesday.

He also took this week off from the shot put except for Tuesday’s Manatee County meet, at which Walter produced a season-best 17-meter effort to win.

“It’s a good sign,” Lansky said.

And Walter hitting the top-six finish he needs to win a medal wouldn’t just set himself up for a personal feat. It would also position the Hurricanes’ boys weightlifting program under Lansky to make history. The Canes have never had multiple lifters win medals in the same year with Lansky as head coach. Walter is one of three chances Manatee will have to set a new milestone.

“Come home with three medals. That’ll be our best finish yet,” Lansky said. “If we can come with three medals, I’ll be very happy with that.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2017 at 7:50 PM with the headline "Manatee weightlifter Seth Walter gets first medal shot in two-sport spring."