By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

Harmony hoisted the OBC weightlifting championship trophy for the fifth straight year Wednesday at the St. Cloud gym.

The Longhorns (87) won five of 10 weight classes to outdistance

St. Cloud (62), Poinciana (24), Osceola (21), Liberty (12), Gateway (9) and Celebration (6).

It was the fourth straight championship for Horns Coach John Wallauer Jr.

“This is special for our seniors because they’ve won it every time they’ve been here, and it’s a special group to me because these seniors came in as freshmen when I first got here,” he said.

Harmony’s champs were Jacob Purcell (190-195-385) at 129 pounds; Hunter Perkins (240-225-465) at 139; Justin Kennedy (290-260-550) at 154; Riley Nicholson (300-290-590) at 219 and heavyweight Terry Akers (330-285-615), who edged teammate Ryan Meyers (610).

Nicholson beat Poinciana’s Anderson Yard (590) on body weight.

The meet went according to plan, Wallauer said. If a Longhorn lifter stumbled in one weight class, another from another weight class picked him, he said.

“Most kids, 90 percent of them, stepped up,” Wallauer said. “Riley did a tremendous job winning on his last lift, and he’s a freshman. Phil Laird (590, second at 183 pounds) is one of our seniors who stepped up and hit his clean and jerk (300 pounds). We won by the same margin we did last year, so I was pretty happy.”

St. Cloud had three champions in Chase Butner (285-265-55) at 169, Hans Schroeder (335-285-620, the meet high) at 183 and Austin Ocasio (385-225-610) at 238.

Poinciana’s Tim Williams (210-145-355) won at 119 and Liberty’s Caleb Lucien (275-255-530) was first at 199.

St. Cloud Coach Cory Aun said his team lost a few potential points in the lower weight classes because of misses, but not enough to catch Harmony.

Aun said Butner’s effort to set the school clean and jerk record at 300 pounds was exceptional.

“He missed both jerks, but it was one of the greatest displays of strength I have seen for some time in the county,” Aun said. “Overall, we improved every meet this year, and our guys were nothing less than exceptional.”

A total of eight Osceola County lifters qualified for the state meet next week at the Kissimmee Civic Center.

Perkins, Kennedy and Laird, all sectional champions, will represent Harmony at the Class 2A state meet April 21.

St. Cloud’s Ocasio and Schroeder, an at large qualifier, will compete for St. Cloud

Osceola’s Randy Brown, who scratched on his clean and jerk Wednesday and did not place, won an at large bid at 219, where he is seeded 16th.

Poinciana’s Tim Williams, seeded 11th at 119, and Yard, 10th at 219, will compete at the Class A meet Friday at the Civic Center. Yard’s lift Wednesday puts him 30 pounds away from sixth place and a state medal.

Wallauer and Aun believe that their lifters will be competitive next week.

“We don’t have as many going as we did last year, but I think we have a good chance to get a couple medals,” Wallauer said.

Kennedy is seeded eighth at 154 pounds, just 5 pounds from sixth place. Laird is fourth at 183.

Aun thinks both Ocasio and Schroeder can challenge for top five spots at state.

Schroeder is fifth, one behind Laird, at 183, and Ocasio is 14th at 238, but his lift Wednesday was only 5 pounds behind the fifth seed.

“Hans has a chance at second place and possibly first if he hits the lifts he is capable of, and Ocasio can place second as well if he hits his lifts,” Aun said.

Ocasio, coming off knee surgery, is capable of winning the championship next year, said Aun.

“He’s done great on that bad knee, so it’ll be great to see him next year. He has the potential to have an 800 total,” Aun said.