At the end of June, some of Forney’s young athletes took to the national stage at the 2021 USA Weightlifting Youth National Championships. This event held in Detroit, Michigan was the culmination of a year’s worth of hard work by these young men and women.
Forney Barbell Club, a branch of Crossfit Forney, had thirteen athletes qualify for the meet and 11 were able to attend.
Emme Staats, 9 years old, placed 2nd in the 11U category and 3rd in 13U. Addi Staats, 11 years old, is a National Champion, coming in 1st in the 11U group and 3rd in 13U. 12-year-old Harmony Reed ranked first in the 13U category, also earning her the title of National Champion for the second time. Olivia Vincent, 11, placed third in 11U and seventh in 13U. Hannah Hankins, 11, placed 11th in her category. Harland Propes, 9 years old, ranked sixth. David Aguilar, 11, ended in seventh place, and 13-year-old Ricky Dalton came in tenth for his age group. Rylee Willis earned National Champion with first place in 11U and also achieved 5th place in 13U. 15-year-old Ty Milby ranked tenth in the 14-15 category, and Griffin Chambers, 14, achieved second place in 15U.
Coached by Mark Khamboonphet and Grant Dalton, each of these boys and girls worked from May 2020 through May 2021 to hone their skills, eventually lifting at a local meet to qualify for the trip to Nationals. All in all, Forney Barbell Club earned 24 medals while in Detroit (9 gold, 7 silver, 8 bronze), walked away with 3 national champions, and had their 13U girls team rank second overall in the nation. “Grant and I are extremely proud of these kids. The parents of this group of kids are so supportive and dedicated to the team so that makes it easy to work with them,” comments Khamboonphet. “The kids work really hard to get here.”
“It’s amazing that we can compete on this level by lifting about half as much as the other clubs do,” he adds, pointing out that Forney Barbell Club lifts two to three days a week while most of their competition lifts four to six days a week. “Most of the kids that are on the team do this just so they can be stronger and faster for the sports they play. In the 6 years we’ve qualified for nationals, this is the most successful team we’ve ever put together.”
Forney Barbell Club has been in existence for the last 8 years. For more information on Forney Barbell Club or Crossfit Forney, visit www.crossfitforney.com or find both groups on Instagram (@ crossfitforney and @ forneybarbell) and on Facebook (@CrossFitForney and @ForneyBarbellClub).
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