Moore, Moreland won Class 2A state titles to finish off postseason sweeps
They both won district titles.
Then regionals titles, and then the big prize.
Columbia’s Julius Moreland and Suwannee’s Jaquez Moore took home Class 2A state titles in April to finish off their postseason sweeps. Moreland took home gold in the 219 class, while Moore won the championship in the 183 class.
For their outstanding achievements, Moreland and Moore have been named the Lake City Reporter’s Boys Weightlifters of the Year.
Moreland lifted a total of 670 pounds at state, benching 370 with a 300 clean and jerk. He made big gains on the biggest stage as a junior, improving from his 640 total at districts before watching his number drop to 625 at regionals.
But Moreland was determined to set new personal bests at the state meet and he did just that, winning Columbia’s first state title since 2017. His final clean and jerk attempt was just enough to beat Charlotte’s Hunter Pritchard by five pounds.
“I pushed myself to my limits,” Moreland said. “Every time we had practice, I wanted to make myself stand out from teammates. I kept working myself hard and results came.”
Moreland says his max clean and jerk last year was about 275 pounds, while his bench was about 315. That wasn’t going to cut it if Moreland was going to make the medal stand at state, a goal he marked down at the beginning of the season.
But Moreland says he worked out a lot last year during the covid-19 pandemic. His dad bought him a bench and he went to the gym to do clean and jerks to stay in shape.
It paid off. Moreland says he compared numbers in Class 2A after the district meets and knew he not only had a shot to reach the medal stand, but win the whole thing.
“I knew I was going to get there, and when I got to state I just had to take it one lift at a time,” Moreland said. “But I came through with it.”
Moore’s title capped off a senior season where he helped Suwannee win the District 3-2A title as a team. He went from lifting 580 pounds at districts to 605 at both regionals and state, benching 295 with a clean and jerk of 310 to beat Sunlake’s Andreas Portillo by five pounds for Suwannee’s first state title since 2014.
Football pushed Moore to take weightlifting seriously from the moment he got to high school. He qualified for state as a sophomore, placing 15th, and the potential was there to one day win a state title.
“Honestly, when I went to state my sophomore year, I just knew right then and there that weightlifting could be special for me,” Moore said. “I fell in love with the sport of weightlifting. It clicked from that point on. I always looked forward to weightlifting season.”
Moore says the strength he’s built from weightlifting has benefitted him in football immensely. As a running back in his junior season, Moore rushed for 745 yards and scored five touchdowns before moving to quarterback for his senior year, where he rushed for 1,270 yards and 19 touchdowns while throwing for 1,259 yards and 16 more scores.
That led to a scholarship offer from Duke, and he signed with the Blue Devils as a running back in December. He was also named the LCR’s Offensive Player of the Year.
“Honestly, weightlifting started off kind of mandatory,” Moore said. “If you’re on the football team, then you kind of had to do weightlifting. But as the sport got going on, I kept falling more and more and more into it. It kind of became a passion at that point. Getting stronger and actually seeing my game, that made me feel good about myself, made me feel good about the team and what I could bring to the team.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
183: Jaquez Moore
Suwannee, senior
The LCR’s Boys Co-Weightlifter of the Year swept gold medals in the postseason while helping the Bulldogs win the District 3-2A title as a team. Moore won the Class 2A state title with a 605 total after lifting the same weight to win the Region 1-2A title and 580 for the District 2-3A crown.
219: Julius Moreland
Columbia, junior
The LCR’s Boys Co-Weightlifter of the Year swept gold medals in the postseason. Moreland won the Class 2A state title with a season-best 670 total after lifting 625 to win the Region 1-2A title and 640 for the District 3-2Acrown.
119: Ricardo Garcia
Suwannee, junior
Placed fifth in Class 2A and runner-up in Region 1-2A totals of 365 after lifting 370 to win the District 3-2A title.
119: Keenan Tucker
Suwannee, senior
Placed eighth in Class 2A with a 355 total after taking runner-up in District 3-2A and fifth in Region 1-2A
129: Xander Kirkland
Suwannee, senior
Placed sixth in Class 2A with a 415 total after winning the District 3-2A title and finishing runner-up in Region 1-2A.
183: Noah Morris
Columbia, junior
Was runner-up in District 3-2A and had a season-best 585 total to placed third in Region 1-2A before placing fourth in Class 2A with a 575 total.
199: Bryce Kearce
Suwannee, senior
Placed third in Class 2A and was runner-up in Region 1-2A with 635 totals after lifting 625 to win the District 3-2A title.
199: Jacob Lites
Fort White, senior
Won the District 7-1A with a 470 total and was runner-up in Region 2-1A with a 475 total before placing 17th in Class 1A.
238: Tyler Ford
Columbia, senior
Placed fifth in Class 2A with a 615 total after taking fourth in Region 1-2A and finishing runner-up in District 3-2A.
238: Brian Robinson
Suwannee, senior
Finished tied for 10th in Class 2A with a 585 total after lifting 610 to take runner-up in Region 1-2A and 590 to win the District 3-2A crown.
HW: Nate Walmsley
Columbia, senior
Placed seventh in Class 2A with a 670 total, losing a weight tiebreaker for the medal stand, after runner-up finishes in Region 1-2A and District 3-2A.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Dan Marsee, Suwannee
Marsee led the Bulldogs to the District 3-2A title, sending an area-best 16 lifters to regionals. Six of them made it to state, with Jaquez Moore winning a state title for the school’s first since 2014 and seventh overall, while three others made it to the medal stand.