Stevenson, DeMunno went into state meet as undefeated lifters

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer

An undefeated regular season, a trip to the state meet and a fifth-place finish that brought home a medal.
That’s a rather impressive competitive weightlifting season. Two guys in Osceola County accomplished the feat.
And, both guys were under 130 pounds.
Harmony’s Dominic DeMunno and Poinciana’s Keith Stevenson each spun the feat, thus sharing this year’s Osceola News-Gazette Boys Weightlifter of the Year honors.

Stevenson bench-pressed 205 pounds and clean-and-jerked 140 for a 345 total at April’s state meet, the final competition in the senior’s career. He said he felt good about the lifts because it resulted in a medal, but could have been higher.
“I scratched on my first two cleans,” he said. “I was pretty nervous going in, but I was confident because I had won at all my other lifts during the year. But all the cameras and people shook me a little bit.”
Stevenson played football and wrestled in the fall and spring of his junior and senior years, before lifting in the spring with the weight team.
“My dad used to lift, and he got me into it,” Stevenson said.
Poinciana Coach Joel Campbell said a push from him probably got him into the weight room.
“I’d been bothering him about him getting in there during his sophomore year,” Campbell said. “But he’s a great kid. After he missed those first two cleans at state, he went up five pounds. I was like, ‘You sure? It’s either you do it or you don’t place.’ I’m very proud of him.”
His bests this season came at the Orange Belt Conference meet, where he won the 119-pound division with a 210-pound bench and 145-pound clean. Teammate Tavarus Alcime also won, at 169 pounds.
“Keith and Tavarus, they were pushing each other all year,” Campbell said. “They helped to get the best out of each other.”
DeMunno, one of four Longhorns to lift at the state meet, hit a personal-best 240 pounds in the bench at the state meet, and his 215-pound clean tied his best.
He said that the crowd at the state meet, easily the most folks he’d ever lifted in front of, actually helped him.
“The people helped push me, and the competition motivated me,” he said. “I was pretty pleased with how I did. After my first meet of the year I felt like I could go all the way to state undefeated.”
DeMunno played linebacker on the football team last season, and in practice the first week of October he broke a bone in his hand. The injury didn’t hinder him at all in the weight room.
“It bothered me early on, but I pushed through it,” he said. “By the end of the year, it stopped hurting.”
Harmony Coach John Wallauer, Jr. said DeMunno was the program’s most consistent lifter and a catalyst for the Longhorns’ third consecutive OBC title.
“He set all three school records at 129. Next year our goal is for him to Win the state championship,” he said. “Dominic is a great kid with a lot of desire. He is definitely one of the leaders of this program.”
DeMunno, who also won the OBC title at 129 pounds, will likely lift at 139 next year, which means seeing a whole new level of opponents.
“I know I’m going to have to push myself hard this next year to meet all of my goals,” he said.

All-county boys weightlifting
Lifters of the year: Keith Stevenson (Sr., PHS)
All-county team: Poinciana: Tavarus Alcime (Sr.). Liberty: Luis Cruz (Sr.). St. Cloud: Nate Green (Jr.). Harmony: Justin Kennedy (Sr.), Justin McCullough (Sr.), Cameron Dulgar (Sr.), Hunter White (Sr.), Julian Rivera (Sr.). Celebration: Matt Benacquisto (Sr.).