BY TIM GUERCIO

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Natchez High School’s Powerlifting team will compete in the state powerlifting championship Saturday at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.

Coach Nickie Davis said he is proud of his team and believes a few of the lifters have a chance of doing well at Saturday’s Mississippi High School Activities Association event competing against the state’s other top teams.

Davis, a former Wilkinson County High School football player, said the six teams in the region are a good sample to determine who the best teams or individuals might be.

You might be the best at one particular meet, but you will  have to work hard to prove that over and over and over again, Davis said.

At the South State meet held March 16, Davis said Bryson Armstead set a South State record when he dead lifted 630 pounds and finished second overall in the meet.

Davis said Merit Health Natchez voted Armstead the male athlete of the month in March.

“This was as much about his grades and leadership as it was for his meet record,” Davis said.

Other members of the Natchez High powerlifting team, now in its third year, include 255-pound junior Zavier Vonderson; Trent Richardson, a sophomore, who qualified for South State and finished fourth overall; and junior Adam King.

All 12 of the team’s members, Davis said, compete in the three disciplines of powerlifting: the bench press, the squat and the deadlift, and competition is contested by weight class.

Armstead at 6-feet, 1-inch tall and weighing 315 pounds competes in the super heavyweight division, Davis said.