By Kyle LoJacono
Sunlake senior unlimited weightlifter Nate McCoole posted 750 pounds to win the Class 2A state title April 21 in Kissimmee, the first championship in the program’s five-year history.
He lifted 440 in the bench and a personal best 310 in the clean and jerk, far from the 270 and 185, respectively, he lifted as a freshman.
“This was the goal,” McCoole said. “I said it when I was a freshman I wanted to be state champ.”
McCoole benched 450 three weeks ago at districts. He said he was angry going into cleans, which helped him get 10 pounds more than he’s ever posted in the event.
“I went in there knowing I was going to take it home, but it scared me a little bit when I did an under-par performance on the bench,” McCoole said. “I was able to recover, make up for it on cleans and it turned into a good day.”
McCoole got the 310 in his third attempt after lifting 275 and 300 in his first two tries. He clinched the title when his closest competitor, Crestview’s Earl Reed, scratched on his last attempt, but the newly crowned state champ gave 310 a shot anyway.
“It’s an honor, but I have to give a lot of credit to my coach (Matt) Smith,” McCoole said. “He kind of built me if you will. He stuck with me, and he gave me a passion for the sport.”
