The Ethel Tiger powerlifting team claimed the first athletic team Class 1A State Championship in school history on April 14 in Jackson at the Mississippi Coliseum. Setting an MHSAA Class 1A state record with a 535-pound deadlift in the 165-pound weight class, senior lifter Terrance Barnett also claimed an individual Class 1A State title in that weight class with a total lift of 1165 pounds. Senior Corey Felton also claimed an individual MHSAA Class 1A state championship with a total lift of 1200 pounds in the 242-pound weight class.
Second place finishers for the Tigers were sophomore Austin McDaniel with a total lift of 730 pounds in the 132-pound weight class and eighth grader Luther Clark with a total lift of 1060 pounds in the 181-pound weight class.
Freshman lifter Tanner Reeves finished third in the 165-pound weight class with a total lift of 950 pounds; seventh grader Cyrus Rone finished fourth with a total lift of 425 pounds in the 114-pound weight class; freshman Lanarkes Davis finished fourth in the 220-pound weight class with a total lift of 1030 pounds; senior Hayden Bain finished fourth in the 198-pound weight class with a total lift of 875 pounds and junior Sean Williams placed fifth with a total lift of 880 pounds in the 181-pound weight class.
The Tigers scored a total of 31 team points, beating out Sebastopol’s 29 total points and Nanih Waiya’s 26 total points to claim the MHSAA Class 1A State Powerlifting championship.
“We needed each and every one of their points as each lifter had at least one personal best at the State Meet and we ended up beating out 14 1A teams,” said Tiger head powerlifting coach Corey Parish. “In the end, we stuck to our plan and trusted the process and hard work that got us there. Fortunately, it paid off. We feel truly blessed to have won this championship and thank God for the results and the abilities that He has blessed us with, and the wonderful opportunities He has placed before us.”
