The Pine Belt area brought home several powerlifting state championship titles over the weekend.
Sacred Heart's Maura McLaughlin and Corley Duckworth won state championships for the Crusaders' girls' team, while Purvis' Moses Cummings and Hattiesburg's Makel Jones were the only boys in the area to bring home titles.
McLaughlin and Duckworth were the first-ever state championship for Sacred Heart's girl's program. McLaughlin won the 105-pound weight class as she squatted 220 pounds, bench pressed 110 and deadlifted 245 pounds to post a total of 575. Sacred Heart coach Lonnie Schrader credits McLaughlin, who is a senior, for helping kickstart the program.
"She started a long time ago and was basically by herself, and I had a one-girl powerlifting team, and it kind of stuck with her," Schrader said. "She's a little bitty thing, but she's good at it.
"I think she has changed the perception about powerlifting here at Sacred Heart. She's very strong, and since then, we have had quite a few more girls power lift. This year we won regionals and were second place in South State. She was kind of the pioneer of it all."
Duckworth, who is just an eighth grader, won the 242-pound weight class as she squatted 345 and posted weight class bests of 145 pounds on the bench and 380 pounds on the deadlift.
"She never ceases to amaze me in the weight room," Schraeder said. "She's just amazing. Some people are just gifted at some things. I told her mom that she has God-given ability and God-given strength.
"I've got a feeling that people who are in her weight class should consider gaining weight or losing weight because she is going to dominate for the next four years."
In addition, junior Marion Reese placed fourth in the 148 weight class, which helped the Crusaders finish fifth in the overall standings.
Cummings was another relatively young winner as the Purvis sophomore won the Class 4A 181-pound weight class. Cummings overcame a slow start to the season, but at the state meet, he benched 300 pounds and squatted a weight class best of 535 pounds and a best of 600 pounds in the deadlift.
"When he started off, he was playing soccer, and so he was kind of trying to balance soccer and powerlifting, so he couldn't lift a lot during soccer, and he started off a little weaker than last year," Purvis powerlifting coach Dave Johnson said. "Once he came back full-time with us, he started gaining. He won the district title but lost got second place in the regional, and that kind of lit a fire under him.
"I don't know if there is a max that he can't lift in the deadlift. He's a great kid and works hard. He's just naturally strong."
The Tornados had three other lifters place at the state meet, with junior Konor Daley finishing in sixth in the 308 weight class, junior Tytus Bridges placing fourth in the 123-pound class and senior Noah Cummings finishing in fifth in the 123 class.
Finally, Jones capped off his senior season at Hattiesburg as he closed out his career after finishing second place in last year's state meet. Jones took him the title in the 198-weight class in Class 5A.
Jones won his division by 120 pounds after he squatted 520, benched 275, and deadlifted 650 to total 1,445 on the day.
"Makel had a great year," Hattiesburg coach Marcus Thornton said. "This was kind of a redemption year for him because last year, he competed in the state meet in the same weight class and ended up finishing in second. Coming into this year, this was something that he wanted to do before he graduated, which was to win a state championship in powerlifting.
"He let the other guys know that this was his year to win it with the numbers that he was putting up. It was a great year for him."
In the boys' Class 6A meet, Oak Grove senior Nader Beauti finished second in the 198-weight class. In Class 4A, Sumrall's Hudson Marcel placed sixth in 148. In the girls' Class 6A meet, Petal sophomore Ma'Lahni Doyle finished in fourth place in the 198-weight class.
