The MHSAA state powerlifting championships will be held Friday and Saturday at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. McAdams will have 12 lifters in the Class I girls meet for 1A and 2A schools Friday and 12 in the boys 1A meet Saturday.
McAdams qualified its entire boys’ and girls’ teams as a result of both finishing second in South State meets.
Ethel will have five lifters in the boys meet who qualified by finishing in the top three in their weight class at South State.
Based upon performances at South State and North State meets, McAdams girls would finish third and the boys fifth.
Team points are awarded for the top five lifters in each weight class as 7-5-3-2-1. If every lifter does the same as in the North State or South State, East Union would be the girls’ winner with 68 points, followed by Velma Jackson with 32 and McAdams with 20. East Union has the top qualifier in seven of the 12 weight cases.
For boys, the totals would be East Union 46, Tupelo Christian 37, Vardaman 32, Okolona 25 and McAdams 24.
But it has been nearly a month since McAdams boys finished second to Vardaman at South State and more than a month since McAdams girls were second to Velma Jackson. Coach Kenneth Nelson feels there will be improvement by some of his lifters, as there was between district and South State meets.
“I think we have a pretty good chance to jump to second,” he said of the girls’ teams.
In practice, the lifters have been working on explosiveness. “How fast we can get the bar off the ground,” said Nelson.
McAdams has one top qualifier. Chris Harmon won South State at the 165-weight class with a total of 1,040 pounds for the squat, bench press and dead lift. That was 100 pounds better than the next best qualifier making him a strong favorite to win a gold medal.
Two boys and two girls are second – Tydarrius Williams at 132 and Malique Greer at 275 for boys and Jalynn Riley at 198 and Daniell Smith at 242 for girls. Williams and Smith were only 10 pounds below the top qualifier.
Ethel boys were fifth at South State. Marcus Jones was second at 181, Anton Clark second at 198, Ladarrius Hubbert second at 220, Kendarius Payton third at 114 and Jesus Collins third at 308-plus. Hubbert has the best chance of getting on the awards podium. He is third among qualifiers.
