Boys weightlifting | Bayshore, Southeast combine to send five on to region

ENGLEWOOD -- Only two teams at the Class 1A-District 15 meet Thursday at Lemon Bay High School brought something resembling a full roster to Englewood. At the tail end of spring break, most of the eight teams had just a fraction of their full arsenal.

So the winners became obvious. Englewood Lemon Bay and LaBelle were the two with full rosters, and finished first and second, respectively.

Southeast and Bayshore only brought four lifters apiece.

"We're obviously going through spring break," Seminoles head coach Cody Montgomery said, "which is the worst time to have a district meet, but it worked out for some of the other schools."

Because of it, every Bruin and Nole who took the day to compete at the district meet was a hopeful to move along in the postseason. Five of the eight Manatee County lifters who made the trip for the Class 1A-15 meet will return to Lemon Bay for the Class 1A-Region 8 meet April 2. Three BHS lifters finished in the top six to qualify, including the county's lone trophy recipient, and lifters from Southeast nabbed top-six placements.

Bayshore's Deshaun Hobbs, who finished second at 238 pounds, led all area competitors. Max Silvertien, the Bruins' 154-pounder, added a fourth place finish, and 169-pounder John Connerton finished sixth.

Both Seminole performers finished in fifth place. Dequan Williams took the place at 183 pounds and Jonathan Roe advanced as a heavyweight.

"Once we got our schedule I had to come back and tell them that qualifying meets for the state championship starts during our spring break week. A lot of kids just decide they're not even going to go," Bruins head coach Willie Brown said. "These are the dedicated ones."

BHS tried to keep a semi-normal routine despite spring break. His four region hopefuls were in the weight room each day leading up to the 1A-15 meet -- except Wednesday because Bayshore always takes the day off before a meet -- working with Brown to prepare. And with extra stakes and extra time, the workouts became more intense.

To sandwich trips to the beach, the Bruins would lift first in the morning, then again in the afternoon. Nearly all of the lifters the Bruins hoped had a chance to move on stayed alive.

"It's true dedication is what you're going to find out," Brown said. "It's a tribute to them that they were able to go down and reap the

rewards. They earned it."

The Noles took a different approach to their most important meet of the season so far. Montgomery let his lifters work alone for the week leading to the district meet, holding a final team practice March 17.

The final official practice was a particularly intense session to shock the Southeast lifters' bodies. For the next few days, Montgomery let his lifters work individually, and the strategy worked out. All four lifters set personal records and half moved on to the region meet.

"We gave them all this whole week off," Montgomery said. "We wanted to really work the hell out of them Thursday."

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 12:03 AM with the headline "Boys weightlifting | Bayshore, Southeast combine to send five on to region ."