ORLANDO, Fla. — For the first time in school history, The First Academy has a state champion weightlifter.
“It’s fun. It’s the progression of me. Like you see more plates and you want more and more. Count them out. It’s fun to hear the weight knock around and then the crowd gets loud when they get real heavy. Everybody comes to join,” The First Academy junior weightlifter Kyler Priester said.
Priester is wrapping up his junior year at TFA. He’s been weightlifting for the last three seasons to help his game on the football field. As a freshman, he made states. Now, this year, he’s capping off the season as the top Olympic lifter.
“The kid’s a competitor. You have to be to win. I’ll be honest. At a state level, regardless of the sport, everybody wants to finish first. But it takes a select person or a group of people to finish first,” The First Academy weightlifting coach Trey Tyler said.
At states, Priester combined to lift 545 pounds between the snatch and clean and jerk to secure a come-from-behind win.
“The whole city comes out. Maybe watch your family come. It’s like just being able to have the ability to do this as a blessing,” Priester said.
“His strength, his determination, his heart to see him to stand on the platform and achieve something he’s been working for would be amazing,” Tyler said.
Over the last two years of hard work and dedication, Priester and his coach have created a special bond both on and off the mat.
“So much time and effort with Coach Trey. I’ve been like, this is the most, like probably the most I’ve ever been in any building,” Priester said.
“You get really invested in them as people. And you stop looking at athletes and you start seeing basically family members. You strive to do your best so they can do their best,” Tyler said.
Now, as he gets ready for his final year on the football field, he believes he’ll be a much more explosive athlete.