Warrior duo shines at state weightlifting meet -- Observer Preps

The West Orange High boys weightlifting team was represented by two athletes last week at the FHSAA State Championships in DeLand.

Seniors Caleb Smith (129 pounds) and Julian Pittman (heavyweight) each were district and regional champions before making it to the state meet.

Smith, appearing at the state meet for a second consecutive year, placed eighth in the state at 129 pounds, lifting 230 pounds for his bench press and 205 pounds for his clean-and-jerk — concluding an impressive career.

“Caleb is a four-year letterman on our weightlifting team,” coach Bob Head said. “As a freshman, he beat out a senior. … He made it last year, had a good experience, and I think that helped him this year.”

In 2016, Smith scratched on his clean-and-jerk and therefore finished toward the bottom of standings — something he used as motivation for this time around.

“Last year was a disappointment because of that, and this year my goal was to come back from that,” Smith said.

Smith, who also was on the cheerleading team this year and competed in water polo and wrestling in years past, said he has improved his bench press and clean-and-jerk by about 60 pounds, respectively, during his varsity lifting career.

For Pittman, a captain on the Warriors football team this past fall, making state in weightlifting was a nice perk after a disappointing senior campaign on the gridiron. 

Pittman scratched on his clean-and-jerk, compromising his chance at finishing in the top 10 at state but still can lay claim to a successful 400-pound bench press in DeLand.

“I’ve never had a kid in high-school bench over 400 pounds,” Head said. “It’s amazing and he’s a great kid — we love him to death.”

Pittman only has been on the team for his junior and senior seasons and said he has improved his bench press by about 50 pounds in one year’s time. He increased his clean-and-jerk by about 40 pounds. Pittman has worked with Head and also coach Vernon Frett to achieve his improvements.

For perspective, had Pittman been able to match the 265 pounds he successfully cleaned-and-jerked at regionals, he would have had a meet total of 665 pounds — good for ninth place in the state.

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].