River Ridge senior weightlifter Andrew Hutchison and Wesley Chapel senior Tommy Edwards already have sound bodies.
Saturday, they intend to be of one mind:
To win state.
The pair are the most favored contingent Pasco County has ever sent to the state weightlifting championships, which will be held at the University of Florida's Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville.
"Both are extremely strong, both are frontrunners," Zephyrhills coach Chris Bounnell said. "They would be great state champions, and they've earned it."
Said River Ridge coach Mike Marlin: "This is the best pair of lifters that the county has produced that I can remember."
Edwards was so focused on his own quest that he didn't think about how big a day it might be for the county on the medal stand until Hutchison approached him at a meet.
"I didn't realize that until Andrew told me," Edwards said. "When he said that, I thought, that's pretty strong, that would feel pretty good to have us both win."
Hutchison said the company will only make winning that much sweeter.
"We've built a friendship over the last couple of weeks," Hutchison said. "He knows I'll be there for him, and I know he'll be there cheering me on and that helps because he's such a strong competitor. Everyone looks at him like they look at me."
Both are not only looking at state titles, but at state records as well. Hutchison enters the Class 2A 169-pound division with the most total qualifying poundage: his bench press is 365 pounds, his clean and jerk is 285 and his total weight lifted is 650. That's 25 pounds more than Port Orange Spruce Creek's Chad Jensen, who has a better clean (305) but inferior bench (320). The state record in that weight class is 690 total, and the bench record is 375. Both are within Hutchison's reach.
"Andrew is capable of 380 in the bench already," Marlin said, "and we've done a 680 total at the conference.
"So we're very capable of breaking both those records. You've got to be on that day and you've just got to do it. Hopefully we'll put it all together Saturday."
Edwards is chasing the 2A 183 record of 725 total pounds and 405 bench. His best total this season is 405 in the bench and 275 in the clean. That 680 total is the largest in his state weight class, 30 pounds more than Orange Park Spruce Creek's Ben Collmer.
"I'm hoping to bench 425 come Saturday," said Edwards, "and for the total I'm like 30, 40 pounds away, which I'll make that up with my extra pounds in the bench."
Both Hutchison and Edwards are longtime lifters who have dreamed of winning state. Performing on a large state like the O'Connell Center, Hutchison said, can only prime his attempt at success.
"I'm the kind of lifter, and I know it doesn't sound right, who lifts for other people to watch me," Hutchison said. "I like to put on a show for people, I like that feeling in front of the crowds."
But each lifter said they're away of what has to be done, and what can't go wrong.
"I've got to be focused," Edwards said. "I've got to be pumped, my adrenaline's got to be going all the way. I really can't think about anything else except what I have to do. That's basically all it takes to complete your goals, and to tell you the truth, I can't wait for it."
For Hutchison, a clear mind is his best path to a state title: "I can beat myself. That's the only thing that can happen to me, if I start thinking about the weight I'm lifting, I won't lift it."
There is one exception: Hutchison's brother, Jerry, a corporal in the U.S. Marines serving in Iraq, in Fallujah, is never far from the lifter's thoughts.
"Ultimately he's the most important thing in my life right now," Hutchison said. "He's in the heart of what's going on over there."
