Mili’s Gym hosts first Orange County Classic Powerlifting meet

Mili’s Gym hosted its first Orange County Classic Powerlifting meet Saturday, June 4. 

Athletes from throughout Florida, including from as far away as Gainesville and Coral Springs, attended the meet, which consisted of two sessions.

“All the lifters seem to have enjoyed themselves,” said Mili’s Gym owner and event organizer Adam Militello. “We stayed on schedule, which is always a good thing.”

Powerlifting competitions consist of three main lifts— squat, bench press and deadlift. Contrary to weightlifting movements, powerlifting sequences are performed in a slower tempo, because the weight being carried is heavy. 

University of Florida rising senior Alyssa Dellutri, 21, competed at the meet and earned the trophy for Overall Women Best Lifter.

“I feel really good; I wasn’t really expecting this,” she said. “It’s really cool to have gotten it. I’m really excited for what’s to come. I kept it semi-conservative today. I’m doing states in December, so I want to spend this six, seven months just building and see what I can do then.”

As part of the Women’s Raw Junior 69 category, Dellutri was able to squat a high of 125 kilograms (275.5 pounds), bench press 67.5 kilograms (148.8 pounds) and deadlift 160 kilograms (352.73 pounds). 

“Deadlifts are my favorite lifts, because I am good at them,” she said. “I feel like I can push myself the most in them; it feels the most comfortable for me. It was the only lift I didn’t feel nervous about. For the squats, I was so nervous; for the bench, my arms were like noodles, but for deadlift, I was like, ‘I got this.’”

Raymond Wong, 20, earned first place in the Men’s Raw Junior 74 category after squatting a high of 185 kilograms (407.8 pounds), bench pressing a high of 137.5 kilograms (303.1 pounds) and deadlifting a high of 230 kilograms (507 pounds). 

“It’s very cool to see all my hard work being shown on the platform, because hard work and dedication mean a lot to me,” he said. “I was pretty confident, my coach always tells me to be confident, I knew I had it in the bag.” 

Nicolas Caicedo, 21, and Dellutri’s boyfriend, was the one who introduced her to the sport. He placed second in his category. 

“I’m very happy about (getting second place),” he said. “But it’s more motivation to get first next time.” 

Militello hopes to continue to host the Orange County Classic Powerlifting meet for years to come.

“I am very proud of the event staff, the meet workers and referees, because it takes a lot to put an event like this together,” he said. “From loading, spotting, concessions, admissions, judging, it’s a lot of work. I just hope the athletes were able to benefit from all the good coordination.”