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Red Devil Lifters Flex Muscles

File photo by BRIAN GJURGEVICH

Avon Park's Teddy Allen continues to be a force in the 219-pound weight class for the Red Devil weightlifting team.

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By MARK PINSON Highlands Today

Published: March 24, 2009

BARTOW - Despite going up against some of the top programs in the state, the Avon Park boys weightlifting squad showed they have the power to lift weights with anyone by finishing third in the Bartow Invitational weightlifting meet on Saturday.

"I'm really proud of our guys because we had a good showing against some real tough competition," said Avon Park veteran coach Don Hickman. "We had two guys finish first and a bunch of other guys had personal best lifts.

"This is the kind of competition we want to face because our district is one of the toughest in the state and we need to be at our best when the district meet comes up in a couple of weeks."

Bartow, which is in the same district as Avon Park, finished first in the 14-team meet, while Interlachen placed second and the Red Devils came in third place.

Avon Park senior Alvin Hinson finished first in the 169-pound weight class with a bench press of 325 pounds and a clean-and-jerk of 260 for a combined total of 585.

"Alvin has a great work ethic and has been working out hard in the weight room," Hickman said. "He is very coachable and is improving with each meet he competes in."

Red Devil senior Joel Cuencas won the 129-pound weight class with a personal-best lift of 245 pounds in the bench press and came back with a personal-best lift of 195 pounds in the clean-and-jerk for a total of 440 pounds.

"Joel is another one of our seniors and is a team leader," said Hickman. "He has been solid in every meet we've competed in and just continues to get better.

"Our three seniors have a lot of experience and have done a good job of being an example to our younger guys and showing them the proper way to train and compete under pressure."

Avon Park's Earl Scriven came in fourth and Red Devil senior Marvin Williams finished third in the 238-pound weight class with a personal-best bench press of 350 pounds, while Teddy Allen tied for third in the 219-pound weight class.

"Marvin had a good day and Teddy was solid," said Hickman. "But Teddy ended up fourth in his class because the guy he tied with weighed a little less."

Avon Park's Omar Torres came in sixth in the 154-pound weight class, while Earl Nicholson came in sixth in the 199-pound weight class.

David Edmunds finished third in the heavyweight division with a 360 bench press and a 260 effort in the clean-and-jerk competition for a 620 total.

"David really looked good," Hickman said. "We went up against good schools like Hardee, Lakeland Kathleen and Lakeland and more than held our own.

"I'm really pleased with where we're at as a team," Hickman said. "Most of the guys improved by at least five pounds each in the Bartow meet and that's a good sign that we're still improving.

The district meet will be held at Sebring High School on April 9.

"The district meet is the week we come back from spring break," said Hickman. "We're healthy and I just hope the kids use some common sense when they're out of school.

"To see improvement this time of year is important and I think we have the talent to make some noise at the district meet."

Mark Pinson can be reached at 863-386-5837 or mpinson@highlandstoday.com

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