FPC's Matt McFall dominated the unlimited class to win the Olympic title with a state-record 660-pound total at the Class 3A weightlifting championships. Courtesy photo
Cody Strawser won the 129-pound Olympic title and set two state records at the Class 3A state boys weightlifting championships. Courtesy photo
Cody Strawser gets set for a clean-and-jerk lift at FPC's season-opening meet on Feb. 4. File photo by Brent Woronoff
Matt McFall clean and jerks 310 pounds in his first competitive lift of the season on Feb. 4. He clean and jerked 370 at state on May 7 on the way to winning the Class 3A Olympic title in the unlimited weight class. File photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler Palm Coast’s Matt McFall and Cody Strawser celebrated their state weightlifting championships on May 7 with some apple cider at the hotel.
“We acted like it was champagne,” said Strawser who won the 129-pound Olympic title and was runner-up for the traditional title at the Class 3A boys championships at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
McFall won the Olympic championship in the unlimited weight class and placed third in the traditional competition. They both set state records.
“It felt pretty good. There’s no better feeling,” Strawser said. “I would say that I did expect it, but knowing that it really did happen is pretty crazy.”
A day later, McFall said it had not really sunk in.
“It just feels like a normal meet,” he said. “But then it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m a state champ.’”
FPC placed third in the Olympic team standings behind Pace and Spruce Creek. The Bulldogs were sixth in traditional. Pace swept both titles for the third straight year.
“The team did well,” McFall said. “We went into the season thinking we were going to be up there, and we were. We fell just short, and it's bittersweet, but even getting third in 3A, I take that as an accomplishment, because the 3A was absolutely insane this year.”
In addition to McFall and Strawser, three other FPC lifters placed in Olympic competition: Anthony Giacobbe was fourth at 119 pounds, Jackson Fedun was fifth at 169 pounds and Joe Casanova was fifth at 238 pounds.
Mainland’s Ray Tatro placed fourth in traditional in the 129-pound weight class.
At the Class 2A meet, Seabreeze’s Vincent Pedersen placed sixth in Olympic at 129 pounds.
At the Class 1A championships, Father Lopez’s Joseph Abrantes (154-pound weight class) and Maverick Grimm (169-pound class) each won championships in the Olympic competition to lead the Green Wave to the runner-up spot behind Olympic team champ Keystone Heights. Abrantes also placed second in traditional, while Grimm placed third.
Strawser, a junior, broke two state records with a 260-pound clean and jerk and a 460-pound Olympic total. His snatch lift of 200 pounds was five pound short of tying a third state record.
“I originally did want the snatch state record, but honestly, the state championship wasn't really won by numbers, it was really won by consistency,” said Strawser, who went 6-for-6 on his Olympic lifts (snatch and clean-and-jerk). “If I made that jump to 210 [in snatch], and I missed it, I [might] have gotten second.”
Coach Duane Hagstrom had Strawser go up from 190 on his second snatch to 200, a mark he was comfortable with. With the lift secure, Strawser won the title by 20 pounds.
It was a really good play by coach, just to hit a number that I knew I could hit, ... I knew right when I got to the top of the pull that I was going to get under that bar and I was going to stand up with it, because I've hit it before.”
— CODY STRAWSER
“It was a really good play by coach, just to hit a number that I knew I could hit, because then I'll have the confidence going up to the bar,” Strawser said. “I knew right when I got to the top of the pull that I was going to get under that bar and I was going to stand up with it, because I've hit it before.”
Strawser hit a 225-pound bench press on his second lift to give him a 485-pound traditional total. Ethan Martin of Punta Gorda won traditional with a 500-pound total.
“I feel like I've come really far,” said Strawser, who placed third in Olympic and fourth in traditional at state last year. “My first attempts in snatch and clean and jerk were five pounds over my third attempts last year. So, that shows the progress I’ve made. It’s a great feeling knowing that, even though I stayed the same body weight, my numbers were going up.”
McFall won the unlimited Olympic title with a 660-pound total, breaking the state record by 15 pounds. He won the title by 70 pounds over runner-up Luis Feliz of Lake Howell.
McFall snatched 290 pounds and hoisted 370 in the clean and jerk, breaking his own school record. With a 360-pound bench press, he put up a 730-pound traditional total, five pounds behind runner-up Kyvon Love of Sarasota Riverview.
“I had fun in traditional for once,” McFall said. “That was a good battle. I’m really happy I got third.”
McFall has already turned his sights to the USA Weightlifting National Championships on June 20-28 in Colorado Springs. Strawser and other FPC lifters will be joining him.
“I’m really excited about that,” McFall said. “I’m really happy I won states, but I won by 70 pounds. It's going to be so much more fun when I get competition at nationals. I’m super excited for it.”
McFall plans to continue weightlifting in college next year. The senior is considering scholarship offers from several small schools. He joined FPC’s weightlifting team as a sophomore after only lifting previously for football. He quit football a year later.
“I realized I probably have a better chance to go to college with weightlifting,” he said.
Father Lopez’s Abrantes totaled 480 pounds to win the Class 1A Olympic title by 10 pounds in the 154-pound weight class. Grimm won the 169-pound title by 60 pounds with a 525-pound total.
