- November 25, 2024
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Spruce Creek lifter Isaac Attias was in contention when he took to the platform for his third and final lift in the Class 2A Boys Weightlifting State Championship on Saturday, April 7, at Arnold High School. Attias, who bench pressed 380 pounds earlier in the meet, needed to hit 295 on his clean-and-jerk to win the title for the 238-pound weight class.
He had never hit 295 in his entire life.
“Off the ground, it was easily the heaviest weight I’ve ever felt,” said Attias, who lifted 280 on his previous attempt. “My coaches, my teammates, they were all telling me I could do it.
“It was countless summer days of not going to the beach because we had to go work out. But in the end, it was all worth it.”
Hawks lifter Vincent Sneed
“Once I caught it, it just felt light.”
Attias and Vincent Sneed were two Hawks who were able to capture individual championships on Saturday. Sneed, the favorite to win the 169-pound class, benched 330 and clean-and-jerked 320 on his way to an easy win in his division. As a team, the Hawks defeated second place Navarre 26-14 to capture the program’s 27th team title — the most of any school in the state. It was the Hawks’ first outright title since 2013 (they shared the title in 2016).
“If people could understand what we did, not on the platform, but in the weight room, they’d be amazed,” Sneed said. “It amazes me sometimes.”
Hawks coach David Nelson was able to celebrate his first state title as a head coach. He was part of six other Hawks championships — three as a lifter and three as an assistant coach.
“You train and train and train and to see the fruits of that labor is just so awesome,” he said. “I’m so happy for the lifters because they’re the ones who do all the work.”
