- April 23, 2025
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It was Jaden Sao’s last chance at the state boys weightlifting championships. Cody Strawser may have two more shots.
Sao, a senior at Matanzas, placed third at 129 pounds in the Class 3A traditional competition on April 12 in Lakeland. Strawser, a sophomore at Flagler Palm Coast, finished fourth in the same weight class and also took home the third-place medal in the Olympic competition.
FPC junior Matt McFall placed fourth in Olympic in the unlimited weight class with a 535-pound total. McFall matched his best snatch lift at 235 pounds.
Strawser went 9-for-9 on his lifts and matched all his best numbers. Strawser had his best meet of the year, FPC coach Duane Hagstrom said. The sophomore lifted a 175-pound snatch, a 235-pound clean-and-jerk and a 215-pound bench press for a 450-pound traditional total and a 410-pound Olympic total.
Sao lifted a personal-record 460 pounds with 215-pound clean-and-jerk and a 245-pound bench press, which was also a PR.
“He took a shot for second (place) on his last bench attempt and missed it,” Matanzas coach Matt Forrest said. “He got his personal best on his second attempt and then tried 260 to get silver. Jayden puts in a lot of work and he’s very humble.”
Sao placed fifth last year in Class 2A with a 425-pound total.
“We were bumped up to 3A this year, so he was going against all new competition,” Forrest said. “He performed really well in the largest division and had his best performance.”
Forrest said Sao plans to continue lifting competitively after graduation.
“I think he has potential, and he’s also gaining a following on social media through his (weightlfiting) content. He does a really good job with it.”
The top four 129-pound lifters in the Region 1-3A traditional competition were also the top four at state. Three out of the top four schools in both competitions were Region 1 teams including Pace which won the team trophy in both competitions. Spruce Creek was second in Olympic. FPC placed 11th in Olympic.
Sao also placed 10th in Olympic. FPC had seven lifters qualify for state. McFall also qualified in traditional and finished 17th. FPC’s other lifters all qualified in Olympic. Anthony Giacobbe was 17th at 119 pounds, Jackson Fedun was 17th at 154 pounds, Dylan Bennett was 10th at 169 pounds, Landon Gates was 11th at 183 pounds and Joe Casanova was 17th at 238 pounds.
In Class 2A, Seabreeze’s Ezra Williams placed seventh in Olympic at 183 pounds with a 485-pound total. Williams also finished 13th in traditional. The Sandcrabs also qualified a pair of 139-pounders with Dean Hayes placing 11th in Olympic and 18th in traditional and Vincent Pedersen placing 13th in Olympic. Mainland’s Ray Tatro finished 13th in traditional and 14th in Olympic in Class 2A 129 pounds.
At the Class 1A meet, Father Lopez had a pair of state runners-up. Joseph Abrantes placed second in 139 pounds in both Olympic with a 410-pound total and traditional with a 450-pound total. Maverick Grimm was second in Olympic in 169 pounds with a 510-pound total. Grimm placed third in traditional with a 550-pound total. Lopez’s Teddy Loach was 14th in 169-pound Olympic.
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