By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer

Dominic DeMunno had everything going for him at the Class 2A state weightlifting meet in April.

The Harmony senior, lifting at the 139 pound weight class, was essentially playing a home game at the Kissimmee Civic Center, so he woke up at a decent time in his own bed.

After posting a respectable 260-pound bench press, DeMunno then hit his first two clean-and-jerk attempts, the second a 260-pound effort that would be the best in his weight class.

He had a sixth-place finish, and a medal, locked up already. But, after a fifth-place finish last year, he had room for improvement if he hit one final lift. He put 275 pounds on the bar, knowing he’d climb up to second place with a good lift.

He didn’t hit it, the only thing that went wrong for DeMunno in two seasons on Coach John Wallauer’s weightlifting team. But it was a solid showing for the two-time Orange Belt Conference and district champion, and now back-to-back Osceola News-Gazette Weightlifter of the Year.

DeMunno called his state meet, “All right.”

“ I really wanted to hit that last lift,” he said. “I knew it was my last shot. In that spot you’ve got to go big. I threw it up for the jerk and I thought I had it. It was definitely worth the risk.”

DeMunno felt like he could improve on his state meet showing from last year, when he benched 240 and cleaned 215 in the 129-pound weight class. He, along with the five other Longhorns, who qualified for state, anticipated a big showing at the Civic Center, despite no lifter being seeded any higher that 8th out of 18 lifters from the district qualifying meets. DeMunno was the only county lifter to bring home a medal.

“It was a lot nicer, having like a home-field advantage,” he said. “We were excited, we thought we should do better.”

He said he had to prepare a little differently this year lifting in a higher weight class.

“I had to do more weight this year. That makes you push yourself a little more,” he said. “I wanted to be undefeated all season, and I did that. Heading into the state meet, I thought I’d do all right.”

Wallauer said he was rooting just as hard as anybody in the Civic Center building for DeMunno to hit that final lift.

“You always want a guy to get the last lift of his career,” he said, noting that one lift doesn’t define DeMunno’s career.

“Everything he did was a testament to how hard he worked,” Wallauer said. “He went from a 455 top combined lift last year to 525. A 70-pound increase in one year is impressive. He’s a great kid and a great lifter, he definitely will be missed by this program.”