Seminole Ridge’s Gonzalez takes home gold at state championships

Seminole Ridge’s Yosbany Gonzalez won the gold medal at the Class 3A weightlifting state championships over the weekend at St. Cloud High School.

Gonzalez placed first in the heavyweight class with a 430-pound bench press and 270 pounds in the cleanand-jerk for a 700-pound total, besting Fleming Island’s Joseph Rickey (665) as well as Venice’s David Raney (665).

Ending with seven team points, Seminole Ridge finished tied for ninth with Windermere in the total team scores. Fleming Island won the state title with 24 points, while Orange City University (18) and Spruce Creek (16) rounded out the top three.

Gonzalez, who also played defensive tackle for the Hawks’ football team, qualified for state by winning the regional championship, beating out West Boca’s Nick Mazur (560) and Olympic Height’s Dat Nguyen (550) with a 425-pound bench and 275 pounds in the clean-and-jerk for a total of 700 pounds.

Falling just shy of winning the championship, Boca Raton’s Daniel Libow finished tied for second in the Class 3A 238-pound weight class with a 385-pound bench and a 265 cleanand-jerk for a 650-pound total. Libow and Alex Maier, of Fleming Island, (650) both narrowly were edged out by Navarre’s Jordan Moon (655).

Libow, a senior, won the regional title in the 238-pound weight class by a wide margin, recording 385-pounds on the bench and 260 pounds in the clean-and-jerk for a 645-pound total. Jordan Reyes, of Seminole Ridge, and Gilson D’Haiti, of Olympic Heights, finished with 500-pound and 495-pound totals, respectively.

Also coming up short at state, Archbishop McCarthy’s Jacob Berdeal placed second on April 23 at Port St. Joe High School in the Class 2A 119-pound weight class behind Pace’s Cooper Brisby, who finished with a 420-pound total.

Berdeal recorded 215 pounds in the bench press and 185 pounds in the clean-and-jerk for a total of 400 pounds. Winning the regional title, Berdeal qualified for state with a 205-pound bench press and 180-pound clean-and-jerk, totaling 385-pounds.

Olympic Heights teammates Fuge Theodore and Tyler Park each placed within the top five of their respective weight classes at the state championships.

Placing third in the Class 3A 199-pound weight class, Theodore, who is a senior, finished with a 255-pound bench and a 340-pound clean-and-jerk for a total of 595 pounds, while Park received fifth place in the Class 3A 119-pound weight class with a 170-pound bench and a 185-pound clean-and-jerk for a total of 355 pounds.

Park, a junior, won the regional championship in the 119-pound weight class, submitting 165 pounds on the bench and 200 pounds on the clean-and-jerk, totaling 365-pounds.

Finishing sixth in the Class 3A 219-pound weight class, Wellington’s Landon Davis recorded 310 pounds on the bench and 300 pounds on the clean-and-jerk for a 610-pound total. Claiming the regional title in his weight class, the senior scored 310 pounds on the bench and 285 pounds on the clean-and-jerk for a 595-pound total.