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Hot off the
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Results & Ranking
State Results & Florida Elite Ranking Posted
We are pleased to announce the results from
the State Championships and the final Florida Elite Ranking. The State
Championships was the primary qualifier for the Florida Elite and the group
that qualified (top 10 "active" men & women) will represent our State for
all of 2009 as our elite athletes.
Before we discuss the highlights of the
tournament, the FWF would first like to thank Coach Tyrone Harvey for
working so hard to host this year's State Championships. Coach Harvey
and his athletes (Team Florida Orlando) put on a great show with a
wonderfully arranged meet site. We would also like to thank the TFL-Orlando
athletes who single handedly worked all the loading for the meet, a feat in
itself. Thank you very much for making this year's record breaking
meet a success.
This year's State Champs had nearly double
the competitors than in 2007; 31 to 56. There were many exciting
moments during the day, with a total of 5 sessions. In the Women's
divisions, there were numerous personal bests made along with a couple 6 for
6 performances. ***Most notably, and not previously posted in the
first report, Morgan Candage of Team Florida Volusia County broke 3 State
Records in the 69kg class with a C+J of 90kg (broken across all 3 age
divisions). This, combined with her best Snatch, also gave Morgan the
record in Total as well, 153kg. Her teammate, Kristian Rainge-Campbell also
broke a C+J record, in the 69+ Schoolage & 75kg Junior age divisions with
85kg on her 2nd attempt***. In the end, Team Florida Volusia County walked away
with the Women's State Championship title.
In the Men's divisions, as in the Women's,
there were many 5 for 6, and 6 for 6 performances made. Two unique
lifters, Ryan Borges and Chris Lenahen, broke several state records; 7 in
all. In the end, Team Florida Altamonte earned the State Championships
title.
Congratulations to all the athletes and
teams. Below is a quick snapshot of the award winners. Please
refer to the
State Results and
Florida Elite ranking for further details
(you can also view the "Results" and "Florida Elite" pages.
Best Female:
Morgan Candage - Schoolage
Robin Feuerman - Junior
None - Senior
Best Male:
Chris Lenahen - Schoolage
Keith Mitchell - Junior
Brian Secrest - Senior
Women's Team
Team Florida Volusia County - State Champs
Team Florida Atlamonte - 2nd Place
Men's Team
Team Florida Altamonte - State Champs
Team Florida Volusia County - 2nd Place
(11/14/08)
9/07/08 -
Lenahen Breaks his 31st Record
8/10/08 -
Flag Football Tournament Complete
7/22/08 -
Another New Team in the Neighborhood
7/01/08 -
Full Story of National Schoolage at Disney
6/26/06
-
Timber Creek Has a New Face
6/24/08 -
National Schoolage Was a Huge Success
5/28/08 -
There's another new kid on the block
5/28/08 -
Schoolage Last Chance Qualifier a success
3/24/08 -
Another Florida lifter makes the paper
3/12/08 - 2 Florida lifters Competing Overseas
2/22/08 - Florida Gator, Florida Lifter? That's right!
Archives
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FLORIDA LIFTER
OF THE MONTH
(November)
Sponsored by
Advocare
Steve Adams, Sales Representative
Name: Chris Follenius
Team: Team Florida
Hometown: Gainesville, FL
Age: 41
Weight Class:
69kg
Snatch:
110kg
Clean + Jerk:
135kg
Total:
245kg
Experience:
14 years
Next Goal: Retirement
November's Athlete of the Month is someone who
has had a long lasting name in the Florida Weightlifting community. For
those athletes who have either competed against him recently or have simply seen
him lifting at your meets, what you may not know is that your coaches also may
have competed side by side with him when they were athletes like yourselves.
Yeah, he's been around that long, lifting weights with the same motivation as if
he just began.
Those who don't know him call him by his name,
Chris Follenius. But for the rest of us we call him our friend.
Chris began his weightlifting career as a Powerlifter. He holds two Teen
American Records in the Bench Press; 364lbs then re-breaking that record with
391lbs. Oh yeah, and he weighed only 148lbs! His name is permanently
in the record books of the old United States Powerlifting Federation (USPF)
before they changed the name and weight classes in the new USA Power Lifting (USAPL).
At age 27, Chris transitioned into Olympic
Weightlifting. He competed in the 1994 Sunshine State Games. In the
following 14 years, Chris earned medals in four National Senior Championships
(Silver: '97, '00, '01 & Bronze: '04). He also earned medals at six
American Open Championships (Silver: '97, '02, & Bronze: '98, '03 (C+J), '05,
'07) and competed in an additional two AO but did not medal ('96, '06).
These weren't the only "big" meets Chris competed in however. He
represented the United States in an international competition, Criollo Cup, and
earned a Bronze medal ('99). 5 years later he would have the privilege of
competing in one of the most prestigious U.S. tournaments...the U.S. Olympic
Trials ('04, St. Joseph, MO). Chris did not make the Olympic Team but
being there and walking away with "no bomb", said Chris, was an honor in and of
itself.
In a recent interview, on October 27th, Chris
said, "I've been around a long time. So long ago that I actually
out-totaled Robert Murphy." Chris reflected on the "old days" and
mentioned that he was competing "when Coach Mac was still coaching, when Danny
(Coach Camargo) was regularly lifting 300kg+ total as a 76kg lifter, and when
Coach Tom Bennett was lifting for Spruce Creek in high school. Heck, I've
been around so long that Coach Joe Hanson was working on his History degree,
Coach Jesse Reynolds was in middle School, and Chris Singleton achieved the
little known fact of winning the Collegiate Championships in '97."
Of course, being around this long makes Chris one
of few Team Florida members still left in the sport who witnessed Coach Mac
(founder of Team Florida) pass the torch to Rich Lansky; who catapulted Team
Florida for the following 10 years and made Florida the power house state it is
today.
Chris' most recent achievement was competing at
the Joe Dube Weightlifting Classic last month. He battled head-to-head
with an athlete half is age....literally (21 year old). The other athlete
had two last attempts for the win but came up short. Immediately after
claiming the Gold Medal, and before his competitor reached his coach, Chris
approached him with a hand shake and a hug. This is what being a Florida
Weightlifter is all about and was an excellent example for young kids to see;
sportsmanship. This was also to be Chris' last time on the platform.
Chris has endured the test of time, and now, at
age 41 has decided to hang it up.....for now. There are some of us who
doubt he'll be able to stay away for long. After all, he told us in his
interview, "Man, I love this sport!" With enthusiasm like that, after 14
years, how could you possibly stay away. In the mean time, we wish Chris
the best and thank him for his loyalty, ambition, sportsmanship, and influence
he's had on us all.
Congratulations Chris....more
If you wish to extend any personal message to
Chris please email us at the webmaster address below
To learn more about FWF rewards please
click here for records or
click here for the Florida elite program
.
Nominate an Athlete
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Altamonte Open
&
6th Annual FWF Awards Banquet
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Entry Form
Our first meet of 2009
will be the Altamonte Open (formerly known as the "1st of the Year Open").
This is a routine open meet with final lifting schedule to be posted after all entries are
received. This will be 1 of 2 last chance qualifiers for the National Jr.
Championships in San Francisco, CA.
Awards
As always we will hold the annual awards where we honor and recognize 2008's best athletes,
coaches, etc. from around the State.
Elections 2009
Also, 2009 is an
election year. This means we, as a state, will be electing the FWF
President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and
two Athlete Representatives. The FWF Board is elected every 2 years
and is charged with enforcing the Federation's mission:
to promote the Olympic sport of weightlifting
at all levels throughout the state and to communicate with all outside bodies as
the principal authority of Olympic Weightlifting in Florida.
Meet
Bids 2009
Lastly, we are accepting meet applications from those who want to host meets in
2009. Please refer to the calendar page and view all the open months where
meets have not been scheduled. If you're interested in securing a month
for your facility it must be done in writing and submitted by the deadline for
consideration.
Below are the offices of the FWF Board and their
duties. Individuals running for any of the below positions will be posted
as they are received with information about them.
(note: deadline via email or postmarked is Wednesday, December 31, 2008)
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