Hernando High sweeps District 2A-9 weightlifting titles at Weeki Wachee

Hernando High turned a crowded District 2A-9 meet into a sweep, winning both the traditional and Olympic boys weightlifting titles at Weeki Wachee High and showing why the Leopards are peaking at the right time.

The Leopards finished first in traditional with 47 points, ahead of Central’s 37 and Nature Coast’s 36. Springstead followed in fourth with 30, while Weeki Wachee finished seventh with 15. In Olympic, Hernando widened the gap with 60 team points, outpacing Nature Coast’s 40 and Central’s 39. Springstead was sixth with 17, and Weeki Wachee again placed seventh, this time with 3. The district field was not limited to familiar county matchups, either, since Fivay and Hudson also were in the mix at the meet held Thursday, April 9.

The scoring split showed a balanced program rather than a team leaning on one specialty. Traditional weightlifting combines the bench press and clean-and-jerk, while Olympic scoring uses the snatch and clean-and-jerk. Hernando delivered in both. Koleton Cannon led the charge with a pair of titles at 139 pounds, winning traditional with a 425-pound total and Olympic with a 345-pound total. Caden Heater added an Olympic championship at 119 pounds with a 260 total. Braden White won the Olympic title at 199 with a 485 total, and Wesley Howard claimed the Olympic crown at 238 with a 495 total. Brice Naugler also gave Hernando another presence in the unlimited class.

Coach Wyndell Alexander said the district win reflected the athletes’ work in the weight room and their commitment to the program. That mattered because the county conference meet limits teams to 10 lifters, while the district meet allows all lifters to compete, giving Hernando more room to score across the lineup. Alexander has guided champions before, including Citrus High’s Class 1A state title team in 2019, and this group has now built its own postseason profile under the same kind of disciplined approach.

The result also shifted the county balance. Nature Coast and Central had collected the conference championships earlier, but Hernando answered at district, where the stakes tightened and the depth showed. First-place finishers advanced automatically to regionals, sending the Leopards to the Region 2A-5 meet at Wesley Chapel on April 23. For Hernando, the sweep at Weeki Wachee signaled a program winning on strength, depth and timing.