For most Florida high school athletes, winning championships at the district, regional, and state level is a pretty big deal. But for St. Cloud’s Mikey Ziss, those achievements have become almost mundane, as the senior weightlifter has already made a name for himself at the national level -- and has now started to tackle the world stage in his sport.
Ziss is currently the No. 1 ranked lifter in the nation in both the Youth (Under 17 Division) and Junior (17-20 Division) and is the second ranked lifter overall regardless of age (Elite Division). When the new rankings next come out, he may be top ranked overall, as the lifter in front of him is moving up a weight class.
This summer has been a whirlwind for Ziss. In June, he made his debut at the Junior World Championships in Peru, and two weeks ago, he competed in the Pan American Under 17 Youth Championships in Quayequil, Ecuador – bringing home three silver medals for the United States team.
Participating in the 55-kilogram weight class (121 pounds) at the Pan American Championships, Ziss lifted 194 pounds in the snatch competition to take second place and then – despite dealing with a hand injury – set a new personal best of 258 pounds in the clean-and-jerk on his last attempt – to claim silver in that discipline. His 456-pound combined total was enough to take home second place in the overall, giving him three silver medals in the prestigious competition.
It was the first international medals for Ziss, after a couple of Top 10 finishes at the Junior World Championships.
“It was essentially the 17-and-under championships covering the North, South and Central Americas,” said St. Cloud coach Cory Aun, who also served as coach for Team USA in the competition. “Mikey hurt his hand earlier in the clean-and-jerk and was bleeding pretty bad. We taped it up, he sucked it up, and hit a personal best on his last attempt to move into second past a solid competitor from Mexico. It was a gutty performance.”
“It’s really different lifting at international competitions, it’s a much more individual thing than high school meets – where you have teammates—and sometimes even opponents-- cheering you on," Ziss said about the Ecuador experience. "It’s more like a business environment. The guys around you aren’t necessarily cheering against you but they are competitors so they are not rooting for you either.”
He added that the international experience was a confidence-building event. “At both Junior Worlds and the Pan Am games, I looked around and realized I was competing against the best athletes in the world in my group,” Ziss said. “I came away from both meets feeling I belonged and that can help build your confidence moving forward.”
The three silver medals were just the latest achievement in a growing list of impressive showings for Ziss, who did not even start lifting until his freshman year of high school. In additional to numerous conference, district and regional championships, Ziss collected his third and fourth state championships last spring and was voted Florida Dairy Farmers’ Mr. Weightlifting in the sport, as well as Orange Belt Conference Male Athlete of the Year for 2023-24. He has won numerous medals on the national levels in both the open, junior and youth categories for USA Weightlifting-sanctioned competitions.
A good all-around athlete, Ziss said like most young men, he grew up wanting play football and basketball.
“Heading into high school I was working out in the weight room and Coach Aun immediately started pitching me the idea of coming out for the weightlifting team. Because of my size, I eventually realized I probably wouldn’t see much success in other sports, so I just turned by energy to that sport.”
Aun says that Ziss has the total package needed to excel in the sport. “He is one of the really rare athletes that has a great understanding of the technical aspects of the sport. But he also has the devotion, motivation, work ethic and drive needed to be great.”
Barring any type of injury, Ziss will be highly favored to win gold at the FHSAA State Championships next spring in both the traditional (bench press plus clean and jerk) and the Olympic (clean plus snatch). If he does, he will become the first six-time state champion in school history – having won double gold medals the past two years.
Following graduation, Ziss hopes to attend either Florida State or UCF, where he will have access to facilities where he can continue to train for national and international competitions while he plans to major in business and pursue a minor in sports nutrition. He also hopes to continue to train under Aun, who he says along with his mother Sonya have been the key to his success.
“There is no way I could accomplished anything without those two at my side,” Ziss said. “Mom has been my biggest supporter and has sacrificed so much to allow me to pursue my dreams. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure what Coach Aun saw in me when I was a skinny incoming freshman, but he believed in me and has taught me so much about the sport. I definitely want to keep working with him after graduation.”
As for the future, Aun believes the sky is the limit for Ziss.
“The sport is a different animal and there are hundreds of different factors and road blocks that could hinder an athlete’s development,” the veteran coach said. “But if Mikey can stay healthy and continues to work as hard as does, anything –including success at the elite level on the world stage is possible.”