Destin lifters make strong showing at championships

With six area middle schools participating, the Destin Marlin girls and boys teams took first place in the fifth annual Beauty and the Beast Power Lifting Championships at Destin Middle School this week.

The athletes competed in both the bench press and clean and jerk, with each competitor getting the chance to do three each for points. The top five places earned points that counted toward the team total.

The boys competed on Monday with the girls taking to the gym on Tuesday.

In the boy’s competition, Destin captured first with 77 points, with Pryor coming in second with 67 points and Bruner taking third with 56 points.

It was four’s across the board for Destin as the Marlins earned four first place finishes, four seconds and four thirds.

Destin’s Marcus Rockwell “stole the show,” said Destin Athletic Director Daniel Griffin.

Rockwell, competing in the 159-pound weight class, took first place beating three records with 225-pounds on the bench press and 215 on the clean and jerk for a total 440 pounds. Placing second was Trevion Braxton of Bruner Middle with a total of 355 pounds.

Destin’s Emily Pendred did the same taking first in the unlimited weight class. Pendred topped out on the bench at 165 pounds and 170 on the C&J for a total of 335 pounds. Second place went to Alexus Coleman of Destin with a 115 bench and 130, C&J.

“I’m very proud of the efforts of both the boys and girls this year,” Griffin said. “There was a focus and a determination this year both as individuals and as a team that I have not seen in the previous years. It was a total team effort to bring home both of the titles. It was just fun to watch them compete.”

In the boy’s 101-pound weight class, Destin swept the division taking first and second. Dylan Waters took first with a 115 on the bench and 105 on the clean and jerk. Alex Lukin earned second with a 105 on bench and 110 on the C&J.

Richie Cole took third in the 91-pound class with a 90 on the bench and 90 on the C&J.

In the 110-pound class, Destin’s Andrey Lukin took second with 245 points, 110 on bench and 135 on C&J.

In the 119-pound division, Jacob Wester of Destin claimed first with a 135 bench and 125 on C&J.

Destin took second and third in the 129-pound class. Anthony Ordonez came in second with a 150 on both bench and C&J, while Jack Tenholder placed third with 140 on bench and 130 on C&J.

In the 139-pound class, Destin’s Allen Collins took first with a 150 bench and 135 C&J. Tabious Thompson came in third with a 115 bench and 135 C&J.

In the 149 class, Henrey Esigbe of Destin finished third with a 180 bench and 135 on C&J.

Carter Tobik took second in the 169-pound class with a bench of 145 and 175 on C&J.

As for the girls, the Lady Marlins captured eight first place wins, six second place finishes and one third to best the other five schools with 98 points. Placing second overall was the Pryor Pirates with 65 points, and Ruckel Middle took third with 26 points.

Destin cleaned up in the 189-pound class taking first and second. Sophia Krantz took first with a 110 on the bench and 115 on C&J, while teammate Brody Hlavatay took second with 100 on bench and 115 on C&J.

In the 169-pound class, Destin’s Indigo Ussery took second with a 95 on bench and 125 on C&J.

Trinity Treadway placed first in the 159-pound class with a 125 on the bench and 120 on C&J.

In the 149-pound class, Reagan Palmer of Destin took first with a 110 bench and 135 on C&J, while Natalie Denton took third in the 139-pound class with a 105 on bench and 100 on C&J.

Vivian Nantonio took first for Destin in the 129 class with a 105 bench and 120 C&J.

The Lady Marlins swept the 119 class taking first and second. Brianna Horne got first with a 95 bench and 110 C&J. Melanie Molina took second with a 95 on bench and 105 on C&J.

In the 110 class, Destin’s Sernity Howard took first with 90 on bench and 120 on C&J. Kendal Hewitt placed second with a 90 on bench and 110 on C&J.

In the 91-pound class, Destin’s Madi Bartruff took first with a 70 on bench and 90 on C&J. Allie Dowdy took second with a 70 on bench and 80 on C&J.

“This is the fifth year of the Beauty and the Beast. It amazes me each and every year at just how far we have come,” Griffin said. “There is no doubt that this has elevated the sports programs of the county.”