The 2026 FHSAA Boys’ Weightlifting State Championships opened Wednesday at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, with the 2A classification kicking off the three-day event.

Here’s a look at how the area’s two 2A programs — Choctaw and Fort Walton Beach — fared.

Choctaw — Traditional

For the first time since 2022, the Indians will not bring home the 2A traditional state championship.

After losing several state champions and runners-up to graduation, Addison Kendrick’s squad finished tied for fourth with 11 points, level with LaBelle and Beachside (St. Johns). Columbia (Lake City) won the team title with 19, followed by Mosley with 18 and Port Charlotte with 17.

Threepeating is hard. Pulling off two separate threepeats is harder. A fourpeat is harder still. And while the team hardware didn’t come home this time, Choctaw is still Choctaw, and the Indians backed that up with several top-10 finishes Wednesday.

Leading the way was Von Keller, who finished third at 219 with a 710-pound total. Keller went 6-for-6 on the day, posting a 335-pound clean and jerk and a 375-pound bench press. He finished 10 pounds behind runner-up Justin Delery of Nature Coast and 15 pounds behind state champion Garrett Shipley of Columbia, who totaled 725.

At 119, Emiliano Alvarado finished as the state runner-up with a 395-pound total — a 195-pound clean and jerk paired with a 200-pound bench press. Alvarado attempted 200 on clean and jerk and 210 on bench but failed both. He finished 15 pounds behind state champion Collin Burger of Port Charlotte (410).

Alvarado’s teammate, Alan Telez, placed seventh at 119 with a 345-pound total — a 185-pound clean and jerk and 160-pound bench, with failed attempts at 190 and 165.

In the 154 class, Justin Nguyen finished fifth with a 550-pound total, hitting 275 in both the clean and jerk and the bench press. At 169, Emilio Welchez placed eighth with a 560-pound total, posting a 255-pound clean and jerk and a 305-pound bench press.

Choctaw — Olympic

The Indians, the defending Olympic state runners-up, finished tied for third with 10 points — six behind defending state champion Leesburg. But nobody had an answer for South Sumter, which ran away with the title behind a 28-point team total, 12 points clear of the Bulldogs.

Alvarado headlined Choctaw’s Olympic slate, taking third at 119 with a 335-pound total built on a 140-pound snatch and a 195-pound clean and jerk. He finished 15 pounds behind Burger and 20 behind state champion Julian Smith of Pine Forest.

Telez took fifth at 119 with 325 pounds, also snatching 140 to go with his 185-pound clean and jerk.

At 129, Ian Deardurff finished eighth with a 355-pound total — a 150-pound snatch and a 205-pound clean and jerk. Nguyen added a fifth-place finish at 154 with 475 pounds, complementing a 200-pound snatch with his 275-pound clean and jerk.

Jabari Weeks placed seventh at 219 with a 505-pound total (225-pound snatch, 280-pound clean and jerk).

In the 238 class, Kevin Bravo finished fifth with 555 pounds, dropping a tiebreaker for fourth to Suwannee’s Colton Hagedorn. Bravo posted a 240-pound snatch and a 315-pound clean and jerk. Teammate Barry Schieber placed 10th with a 505-pound total — a 215-pound snatch and a 290-pound clean and jerk.

Fort Walton Beach

The Vikings, who finished as state runners-up in traditional a year ago, did not produce a top-10 finisher in either event Wednesday after losing every one of their top-10 placers from last season’s roster.

Sebastian Reyes led the way however at 238, totaling 485 pounds in Olympic and 580 in traditional. Reyes posted a 205-pound snatch, a 280-pound clean and jerk and a 300-pound bench press.