BY GENE NARDI
The annual Sunshine State Games drew more than 1,500 athletes from around the state last weekend to the Palm Beach County Convention Center for competitions in seven different Olympic sports: fencing, judo, wrestling, powerlifting, tae kwon do, weightlifting and karate. BMX was also included, staged at the Okeeheelee Park BMX track.
The Sunshine State Games are Florida’s longest-running sports festival, which debuted in 1980 in an effort to help promote the amateur sports arena. The competitions have been focused on directing amateur athletes with the desire to take their skills to a national and international level. In their fourth decade, the games continue to support youth and adults to engage in an active and healthy lifestyle.
The games drew several local athletes and clubs from the western communities. The Wellington Warriors Wrestling Club brought 22 competitors to the two-day event. The Warriors competed in the individual event and the dual meet. The Tribe Wrestling Club also brought in nearly 20 wrestlers.
The Warriors placed fourth overall in the dual meet on day two. In the individual competition the first day, they had four gold medalists: Gian Ortiz, Jesse Weinberg, Tony Widrig and Jared Abramson; five silver medalists: Tori Brown, Donovan Ortiz, Cameryn Townsend, Bailey Laster and Eric Saber; and two bronze medalists, Robert Saldarriaga and Jacob Treanor.
Powerlifters also represented the area. From Wellington, Andrew LeMay, Evan Higbee and Nick Israel competed in the two-day powerlifting event. Israel is a top-ranked lifter by USA Powerlifting and posted a record-setting squat of 518 pounds and a 363-pound bench press in the open division. Higbee, a rising junior at Wellington High School, set an American Teen record with a 414-pound deadlift.
Jordan Berke of Palm Beach Gardens also set an American Open record with a deadlift of 622 lbs. The top female lifter in the Sunshine State Games was Jennifer Schrage of West Palm Beach, with a combined lift of 394 pounds (220 clean and jerk, 174 snatch).
Timberlee Hubbard of Royal Palm Beach won a silver medal in tae kwon do, sparring in the junior red belt division. Timberlee trains at Kickin’ It at the Zoo Health Club in Royal Palm Beach.
Family members competed against or with each other in some events. A son defeated his father in the Men’s Foil gold medal match when Marcello Olivares of Hollywood, 14, outlasted his dad Frets, 15-14. And Sam and Megan Neal, a brother and sister from Gainesville, won gold medals in karate events.
To learn more about the Sunshine State Games, conducted in cooperation with the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, visit www.flasports.com.
ABOVE: Palm Beach Central High School/Tribe Wrestling Club wrestler Hunter Llano works on a reversal during the dual meet on day two in the 120-pound weight class.
