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National treasures

Velocity team excels in national meet

For the average high school athlete, a normal day consists of school, sports training, and study in an effort to win a state championship. For a group of athletes in Peachtree City, that routine is quite different. In addition to the schoolwork, the sports training, and book studies, Team Velocity Weightlifters spend an extra two hours in preparation for a national championship. This past weekend, that dream became a reality.

USA Weightlifting (the national governing body for Olympic-style weightlifting in the United States) hosted the National School-Age Championships in Merrillville, IN. Weightlifting clubs from around the country bring lifters to compete in this event annually, and this year Team Velocity, who has yet to appear on a national platform, showed up with a team of six girls and seven boys. A total of 15 personal records were broken among the 13 lifters in the different lifts.

In Olympic-style weightlifting, a lifter gets six attempts: three snatches, which the bar is snatched straight from the ground to the overhead position in one fluid motion, and three clean & jerks, which the bar is brought to the shoulders and then jerked overhead. The best snatch and best clean & jerk are added together to get a total. The person with the highest total in each weight class and age division wins. In addition, each lifter represents a team, and whatever place each lifter in a team achieves corresponds to a number of points. Whichever team receives the highest number of points wins.

In their first national championship, Hope Stockel of Newnan and student at the Bedford School, Emma Lee of Peachtree City and student at Braelinn Elementary School, and Taylor Doster of Fayetteville and student at East Fayette Elementary School won third place in the 13 & under girls division.

• Stockel won silver in the 39 kg (86 lbs.) weight class with a snatch of 22.5 kg (49.5 lbs.) and a clean & jerk of 35 kg (77 lbs.) to total 57.5 kg (126.5 lbs.).

• Lee placed 5th in the 48 kg (106 lbs.) with a snatch of 20 kg (44 lbs.) and a clean & jerk of 27.5 kg (60.5 lbs.) to beat her personal best in the total of 47.5 kg (104.5 lbs.).

• Doster became the national champion in the 58 kg (128 lbs.) weight class by snatching 42.5 kg (93.5 lbs.) and cleaning & jerking a new personal best at 52.5 kg (115.5 lbs.) to break a new total of 95 kg (209 lbs.).

The younger males proved their skills on the platform as well by winning 2nd place team in the 13 & under boys division in their first appearance on a national platform.

• Mike Melear of Peachtree City won his national title in the 39 kg (86 lbs.) with a snatch of 42.5 kg (93.5 lbs.) and a clean & jerk of 47.5 kg (104.5 lbs.), totaling 90 kg (198 lbs.).

• Richard Myers of Peachtree City placed 5th in the 44 kg (97 lbs.) weight class by snatching 25 kg (55 lbs.) and cleaning & jerking 30 kg (66 lbs.) to total 55 kg (121 lbs.).

• Sean Carney of Peachtree City and student at J.C. Booth Middle School won the silver medal and broke three personal records in the snatch with 65 kg (143 lbs.), a clean & jerk of 77.5 kg (170.5 lbs.), and a total of 142.5 kg (313.5 lbs.).

The senior lifters of Team Velocity showed their skills on the platform as well and posted high numbers, providing various future opportunities for these athletes to lift in. Madison Stockel of Newnan and student at Woodward Academy, Lesley Ireland of Peachtree City and senior at Woodward Academy, and Brittany Williams of Peachtree City and junior at Starr’s Mill High School lifted well enough to pull points to tie for 3rd in the overall girls team division, despite a recent setback of back injuries with Williams and Ireland.

• Stockel won the silver medal in the 44 kg (97 lbs.) weight class, snatching 32.5 kg (71.5 lbs.), cleaning & jerking 47.5 kg (104.5 lbs.), totaling 80 kg (176 lbs.).

• Ireland placed 5th in the 69 kg (152 lbs.) weight class with a snatch of 52.5 kg (115.5 kg), a clean & jerk of 67.5 kg (148.5 lbs.), and a total of 120 kg (264 lbs.).

• Williams placed 6th in the 75 kg (165 lbs.) weight class and snatched 45 kg (99 lbs.), clean & jerked 55 kg (121 lbs.), and totaled 100 kg (220 lbs.), all three new personal records.

In addition to the girls, Jamael Owens of Fayetteville and senior at McIntosh High School, Travis Cooper of Tyrone and senior at Sandy Creek High School, and Jeff Messer of Peachtree City and junior at Starr’s Mill High School represented the boys team for Team Velocity.

• Owens placed 11th in the 77 kg (169.5 lbs.) weight class, breaking all three personal records for a snatch of 80 kg (176 lbs.), a clean & jerk of 97.5 kg (214.5 lbs.), and a total of 177.5 kg (390.5 lbs.).

• Cooper won a national title by a long shot in the 77 kg (169.5 lbs.) weight class by snatching 105 kg (231 lbs.), cleaning & jerking a new personal record of 135 kg (297 lbs.), and totaling a new personal record at 240 kg (528 lbs.). This achievement allowed him to spend a week at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO in July at the School-Age National Squat Camp, a week of intense training with the best coaches and athletes in the country.

• Messer received 11th place in the 94 kg (207 lbs.) weight class. He snatched 85 kg (187 lbs.), clean & jerked 110 kg (242 lbs.), and totaled 195 kg (429 lbs.).

“As the meet went on the buzz was in the air that there was a new team in town,” said Coach C.J. Stockel, head coach of Team Velocity.  “Watching our kids stand on the podium for the first time at a National Championship was exciting.  Ten out of 12 medaled and three top three team finishes is excellent for a team less than 1 year old. I am so proud of these athletes and our coaching staff.”

“It was scary in the beginning because it was my first national meet,” says Williams. “But after I started nailing my lifts, I was in a whole different world. It was cool!”

“I could not have been prouder of our athletes on their performance,” said Coach Chandler Alford, student assistant coach and senior lifter for Team Velocity. “Although we did not take home the gold, no one on that platform this weekend worked harder, was more determined, and was more prepared, mentally and physically, than Team Velocity. It’s amazing to see such heart in each kid. I could not have wanted nor asked for anything else of them.”

Because of the results Team Velocity have yielded, several of those members have opened opportunites to futher their weightlifting career. Brittany Williams, Sean Carney, Mike Melear, Madison Stockel, and Chandler Alford will join Travis Cooper at the Olympic Training Center for the USA Weightlifting Junior Pan American Qualifier. This will be an opportunity for these lifters to experience living and competing at the Training Center the weekend of July 15-17.

“The success of our athletes goes back to the athletes commitment and the dedication of our coaching staff Scott Byrd and Chandler Alford,” Coach Stockel continues. “Running a program like this is a team effort and without these coaches it would not be as successful.”

The next event for Team Velocity will be the Kenesaw State University Georgia Games. This state-wide event will be held at Velocity Sports Performace in Peachtree City on July 9.