St. Ed’s 2014 boys weightlifting team defeated Florida Air Academy for the third time last week to close out the regular season with a 5-4 record covering five competitive meets against nine schools.
As nice as that sounds for a group of ten lifters generally limited to performing in six weight classes, the real story was told in the number of personal records set – almost without exception – by everyone all season long.
Les Rogers has been a strong proponent of proper technique throughout his dozen years as head coach of the boys and girls programs. That can be observed most prominently at meets when his lifters continuously practice the fundamentals of the clean & jerk before any weights are even added to the bar.
The last meet confirmed the efficacy of that philosophy. Personal records were set in every category (bench press, clean & Jerk, and combined total) by Michael Kaiser in the 119 lb. weight class, Brock Miller at 199, Bryan Brickman and Jad Shalhoub at 219, Brian Carter and Hughie Dunbar at 238, and Cameron Hendricks at heavyweight. Edward Klinsport had PRs for the bench and total at 154.
Kaiser (125, 116, 241) and Shalhoub (320, 320, 640) established new school records as well.
“Most of our guys are new to weightlifting,” Rogers said. “New guys always go through growing pains implementing the proper technique. They’ve struggled with that, but they are all making gains and getting stronger at the same time.
“Michael Kaiser has been doing a great job. I’ve never had a 119 or 129 guy work as hard as Michael. A lot of teams don’t have the lighter lifters. He was ranked as high as No. 2 in the district during the season. It’s a shame that other obligations will keep him out of the district and state meets.
The top five lifters in each weight class were eligible for the district qualifying meet this week. Shalhoub, Klinsport, Miller and Carter represented the Pirates in their respective classes.
Shalhoub has been on the team for five years, with his current prodigious totals a direct reflection of attention to detail. Absent anything totally unforeseen, he is a surefire lock for the state meet later this month.
“Going into districts, I’m going to be working heavy so I don’t plateau,” Shalhoub explained. “I’m going to see what I can do at districts and that will give me an idea of the seedings for states. I’ll be going heavy for about a week after districts, and then give my body time to recover.
“Acknowledging your body’s limitations is critical. Overtraining can be counterproductive. I learned that last year when I really didn’t improve over the course of the season.
“Initially I said I wanted to do 650 at states. If I get 650 at districts, I’ll look at my state opponents and reassess my goal based on that. 650 would be a very satisfying total, but ultimately I just want to do the best I can.”
Klinsport, an eighth grader, also earned a spot in the district qualifier. This is his second year of competitive lifting.
“Qualifying for the district meet is very exciting,” Klinsport said. “It would be awesome to go all the way to states, but that’s a pretty hard thing to do. I’ve been going at least five for six in (successful) reps and I keep getting stronger every meet. I try for PRs in each one.”
Rogers sees a parallel frame of reference in Klinsport’s development. “Edward works really hard and pays close attention to his technique. Like Jad, he is really going to reap the benefits of his early work as he matures and gets stronger.”
Kaiser was only “weightlifting for a few months” when he was presented with a challenge.
“I initially came out just for fun and really got into it,” the Dartmouth bound senior told us. “Then I realized that some school records were within range, so I lost a little weight and was able to somehow get the records. It’s nice to actually work towards a goal, and then achieve it. I didn’t think I would be able to do it, but it worked out.
“I really enjoy weightlifting. It’s a good way to blow off steam after school.”
Kaiser won’t be doing any postseason lifting. Instead, he will be in Orlando presenting a research paper before a gathering of medical professionals. He is the youngest person ever published in the medical journal Ostomy Wound Management.
Sophomore Brock Miller explained how weight training will help him immeasurably in basketball and football. He has been a standout in both sports at St. Ed’s for the past three years. That is about to end.
“I am transferring to John Carroll next year,” Miller said. “I wish the best of luck to the people here, the basketball team and Coach Zugrave, and the football team and Coach Motta. They’ve been great coaches and I love them both dearly.
“It’ll be hard to leave, but I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.”
