{"id":16267,"date":"2026-03-24T20:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=16267"},"modified":"2026-03-24T20:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T20:30:00","slug":"gators-send-four-championship-contenders-to-class-6a-state-powerliftin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=16267","title":{"rendered":"Gators send four championship contenders to Class 6A state powerliftin&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\"><span>\u201cLast year Garrett (Ouder) was stronger than me so I was just trying for second. This year I\u2019m first,\u201d Drake said. \u201cThe goal is probably to get a ring.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\"><span>Drake seemed philosophical about his runner-up finish. He lost to Pearl River Central\u2019s Garrett Ouder by nearly 200 pounds. Thomas, however, scratched on the deadlift because of a technical violation. He was still about 100 pounds behind Lake Cormorant\u2019s Tyler Wallace for first place, but would have been on the podium in third if his lift had counted. <\/span><\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\"><span>Thomas said he\u2019s used the experience as a motivational tool. He totaled 1,475 pounds at the North State meet, which was 100 pounds ahead of last year\u2019s total at state \u2014 and about the same amount ahead of this year\u2019s Nos. 2 and 3 seeds Cordero McDaniel of Brookhaven and Eli Cantrell of Caledonia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\"><span>\u201cWin it all. I got cheated last year because I moved too slow. They said I scratched on deadlift because I was moving too slow and using all my knees. I could have had that,\u201d said Thomas, who has signed to play football at Mississippi Delta Community College, and also in the shot put and discus for VHS\u2019 track and field team. \u201cAfter that it wasn\u2019t even like I could go play football again. It was straight back to the gym.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\"><span>Brown is the newcomer to the Gators\u2019 state-bound group. The sophomore will compete in the girls 242-pound division in her first year in the sport. She also participates in band and archery, and said she joined the powerlifting team to help with those activities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\"><span>\u201cI would have joined last year if I knew, but I kind of didn\u2019t. My other sports seasons were ending. I wanted to get stronger and be better for myself, so I said, \u2018Why not try weightlifting?\u2019\u201d Brown said. \u201cMe and a couple friends signed up and liked the experience. It was calm and relaxing, so we said we\u2019d stick it out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\"><span>Brown is seeded fifth of out six lifters in her weight class, but Nos. 3 through 6 all lifted either 555 or 560 pounds at North and South State. It might take some effort and things falling into place to win a state title \u2014 No. 1 seed Raven Stenson of Laurel is a clear favorite after totaling 810 pounds at South State \u2014 but that didn\u2019t stop Brown from smiling when she thought about climbing to the top step of the podium.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\"><span>\u201cMy coaches, directors and everything tell me I\u2019m strong enough to do this, so I feel like I do have a good chance to win. Even if I don\u2019t win I still feel like the greatest in my group,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWhen you asked them (the other VHS lifters) about winning, I\u2019m going to be honest. I saw gold confetting falling everywhere and me on top of the world. That\u2019s how I imagine it for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\"><span>Warren Central will have two lifters in the boys Class 6A meet on Saturday. Chase Johnson is seeded third in the 165-pound weight class, and Sam Ross is the top seed in the 220-pound division.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\"><span\/><a data-wisiwig-link=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vicksburgpost.com\/sports\/vicksburgs-blackmore-wcs-ross-win-state-powerlifting-championships-715878\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"text_$sec cursor_pointer transition-prop_color duration_$fast ease_east-out hover:text_$sec_D hover:duration_$fast hover:ease_east-out hover:transition-prop_color\"><span>Ross won the 220-pound Class 6A championship<\/span><\/a><span> in 2025, and totaled 1,450 pounds at this year\u2019s North State meet. Saltillo\u2019s KJ Robbins and Forest Hill\u2019s Tydarion Johnson are the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds at 1,410 and 1,400 pounds, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vicksburgpost.com\/sports\/gators-send-four-championship-contenders-to-class-6a-state-powerlifting-meet\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cLast year Garrett (Ouder) was stronger than me so I was just trying for second. This year I\u2019m first,\u201d Drake said. \u201cThe goal is probably to get a ring.\u201d Drake seemed philosophical about his runner-up finish. He lost to Pearl River Central\u2019s Garrett Ouder by nearly 200 pounds. Thomas, however, scratched on the deadlift because [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":639,"featured_media":16268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[273],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-powerlifting-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gators send four championship contenders to Class 6A state powerliftin... - World Bodybuilding News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=16267\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gators send four championship contenders to Class 6A state powerliftin... - World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cLast year Garrett (Ouder) was stronger than me so I was just trying for second. This year I\u2019m first,\u201d Drake said. \u201cThe goal is probably to get a ring.\u201d Drake seemed philosophical about his runner-up finish. He lost to Pearl River Central\u2019s Garrett Ouder by nearly 200 pounds. 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