LIVE OAK, Fla. — Under the direction of coach Dan Marsee, the Suwannee High weightlifting program is turning back into a powerhouse.

The Bulldogs won the Class 1A-Region 3 Championship on Friday at SHS. Suwannee had two individual champions, two runner-up finishers and a pair of third-place finishes to score 48 points and knock off Baker County, which had 40.

The last time Suwannee won a region title was in 2004 when Marsee was also the weightlifting coach for the Bulldogs. 

“Just a sheer upset — that’s the first time in a while that Baker County hasn’t won — to defeat Baker County,” Marsee said.     

“It was a good, solid competition the whole way though. The kids were cheering for each other to hit lifts. They wanted to win by hitting a lift and not their opponents failing. That’s what high school sports are all about. It was refreshing to see.”

Suwannee’s Skylar Fritz was the individual champion in the 119-pound weight class. He lifted 365 pounds. Antonio White (219-pound class) lifted 605 pounds to win an individual title. Also in the 219-pound division, Hamilton County’s Lorenzo Garcia lifted 600 pounds to finish second. He will be moving on to the state meet.

The Bulldogs had nine lifters qualify for the state meet. Fritz, White, Isaac Henry (129-pound division), Dylan Behrens (139), Caleb Ragan (154), Kale Twiggs (169), Jaquez Moore (183), Nylan Seymour (199) and Tate Van Etta (238) are moving on to the competition that will be held April 13 at Arnold High School.