Wednesday, March 24, 2004
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Wednesday, March 24, 2004 |
| Giving the Tigers a big lift FCHS senior wins state powerlifting title By MONROE ROARK There’s another state champion walking the halls at Fayette County High School. Just a couple of weeks after Drake McCoy’s wrestling win, senior Adedamola Osilaja came back from Watkinsville with a state title in powerlifting, hoisting a mind-blowing 1,410 pounds in three lifts to take the heavyweight crown. Osilaja, known as Ade (Ah-dee), mastered 290 pounds in the power clean, 420 in the bench press and set a new state record with a 700-pound squat. The previous squat record was 610. A starting defensive tackle for the Tigers the past three years, Osilaja began lifting weights in the 10th grade to stay in shape for football. As for lifting as a sport of its own, his only meet experience before this year consisted of a couple of meets during his sophomore year. This year, he won the Starr’s Mill Invitational and then took the area title at Northgate before moving on to state, where the top two in each of the state’s eight regions would gather to vie for the championship. He carries about 300 pounds on his six-foot frame, but one would be hard-pressed to find an ounce of it in the wrong place. Simply put, Osilaja is built like a rock. His mother owns her own business and her father is a scientist. Both of them came here from Nigeria. With his grades in good order for moving on to college, Osilaja is trying to decide what to do and where. His football coach, Tommy Webb, has tried to help him get some attention from college recruiters in that sport, and his powerlifting championship has left the coaching staff trying to educate itself a bit of late, since none of them have much direct experience in powerlifting as a sport. Coach Keith Killingsworth heads up the lifting team at Fayette County. While he is undecided on whether he will continue his football career, Osilaja said that he will definitely continue lifting. Back to the Top of the Page
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