- April 25, 2024
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Cole Hash looked up at the bar on the rack over his head. He was about to attempt a 360-pound bench press on his final lift at the state weightlifting championships. And he felt good about it.
The Matanzas High School junior had never benched that much weight before. He had never even attempted it.
“I mean 340 was a struggle at regionals (the week before),” he said. “But I knew I just had to get it done to win. So, the competitive advantage kicked in, and I got it done.”
Hash hit the 360-pound lift to win the championship in the 199-pound weight class in traditional competition at the Class 2A state meet on April 15 in Lakeland.
Hash hit a personal-record 345 pounds on his second bench press attempt. Fleming Island’s Jered Rhodes matched that on his final bench press to take a 15-pound advantage for total weight in the clean and jerk and bench press lifts.
“The funny thing was, like 20 minutes before, me and (assistant coach Jeremy Ossler) were in the stands talking, and he said ‘360 is your magic number,’” Hash said. “We didn't even know what the kid from Fleming Island was going to finish with. But it happened to be. So, God works in mysterious ways.”
Hash and Rhodes each finished with a 650-pound total.
Hash only needed to tie Rhodes to win the title since he weighed in at 195.4 pounds, eight-tenths of a pound lighter than Rhodes, giving Hash the potential tie-breaker.
Hash had no trouble benching 345 on his second attempt. It felt light, he said. And then on his final lift, as soon as he held the bar, he knew the title was his.
“Coming off the rack, I had it at that top position and I just knew right then and there, click, ‘I'm going to get this. I'm going to win this thing,’” he said. “So being able to get (the bar) off my chest and just have it be pretty light and then being able to turn around and see those three white lights was just an amazing feeling.”
The weight on the bar did not pose too much of a problem, but the weight of the moment hit him, and he burst into tears.
I started bawling my eyes out. It was a fantastic feeling, having my mom and my dad there. They were both crying. I was crying. ... It was something I've worked my butt off for three years ... putting my blood, sweat and tears into it.” — COLE HASH
“I started bawling my eyes out,” he said. “It was a fantastic feeling, having my mom and my dad there. They were both crying. I was crying. It was just great. It was something I've worked my butt off for three years being in (the Pirates’ weight room), putting my blood, sweat and tears into it, literally. I mean coming back and winning it was just a great feeling. There’s nothing like it.”
Hash, who placed third at state last year, also finished eighth in the Olympic category (snatch and clean and jerk lifts) this year with a 510-pound total.
Hash is the Pirates’ third state champion during this school year and just the ninth in the 18-year history of the school. Matanzas has had a state champ in each sports season this year. Alexandra Gazzoli won the girls Class 2A golf championship in the fall. And Kendall Bibla won a girls wrestling title to help the Pirates win the team championship in the winter season.
Matanzas had two other lifters finish among the top 10 at state. Aiden Schissler was eighth in both the Olympic and traditional competitions in the 139-pound class. Jaden Sao was ninth in Olympic at 129 pounds.
In Class 3A, Flagler Palm Coast had four lifters finish among the top 10. Nick Lilavois placed third in Olympic and sixth in traditional at 129 pounds. Junior Nick Groth placed fifth in Olympic and sixth in traditional at 169 pounds. Charley Perry placed seventh in traditional and was ninth in Olympic at 238 pounds, and Kobe Murphy placed eighth in Olympic and was 13th in traditional in the unlimited weight class.
Hash, who weighed 193.7 at regionals, gained nearly two pounds before state.
“My preparation going in was not really focused on the weigh-in, but to see how much we could get done, so I could put up my best numbers, and I wouldn’t have to go to that tie,” he said. “But (head coach Matt Forrest) said make sure to keep your weight underneath 196 just in case. But that was our backup plan.”
Hash entered the competition as the second seed behind Rhodes. He trailed the Fleming Island lifter by 15 pounds after Rhodes completed a 305-pound clean and jerk on his third lift. Hash had missed his second clean and jerk of 290 pounds but hit it on his third attempt.
“I was just going to have to go for (290 again) on my third attempt and not risk my numbers,” he said. “I just had to make up the weight on the bench.”
With spring football practice starting on May 1, Hash will now turn his focus back to his primary sport. Although he can out-bench press most linemen, Hash will continue to play linebacker. He also rotates in at wide receiver, and last season he filled in at quarterback. His goal is to play college football.
“That’s my dream,” he said. “So, hopefully I’ll have the best season of my life (this fall).”
He joined the weightlifting team as a freshman when senior football teammates Richard Rigby, Nick Morin and Jason Charles convinced him to try it. At his first meet, he fell in love with it.
“Ever since, I just can't get my hands off weights. I can't be in the weight room enough,” he said. “These past three years I’ve been working toward this goal. And the job's not finished. I still have my senior year, and I got to go win that Olympic title too. So, I want to have three gold medals around my neck before I'm done here.”
