HEARTLAND, Texas — A 13-year-old Heartland teenager took 2nd place overall in the 2016 USA Weightlifting Youth National Championships last week in Austin, Texas, and broke three state weightlifting records in the process.
HEARTLAND, Texas — A 13-year-old Heartland teenager took 2nd place overall in the 2016 USA Weightlifting Youth National Championships last week in Austin, Texas, and broke three state weightlifting records in the process.
Not only did 13-year-old Rees Cooksy set three new state records, he more than doubled the previous records set in 2011.
Cooksy competed in the 2016 United Stated of America Weightlifting Youth National Championships in the 13U 62kg weight class where he lifted 63kg in Snatch and 79kg in Clean and Jerk for a total of 142 kg — all Texas records.
Cooksy’s lifts tied him for first place but, due to a weight difference of just over 1kg, the lighter competitor took first place.
“Rees has been motivated since he's started training with us,” CrossFit Forney owner Mark Khamboonphet told inForney.com.
Cooksy, who attends Crandall Middle School, has been training at CrossFit Forney since he was nine years old, according to Khamboonphet.
“He's constantly pushing himself to get better and stronger,” stated Khamboonphet. “He wants and expects his lifts to be perfect.”
“There are lifts that he makes but he still gets angry because he knows it could have been better,” stated Khamboonphet. “I think that's what makes him different from most other kids.”
Cooksy’s next major competition is the Texas State Championships where Khamboonphet expects Cooksy will break his own records or break and set new records in the 69 kg weight class.
“Last summer he grew six inches and gained 20 lbs so we're expecting some growth this summer,” stated Khamboonphet.
Cooksy’s unofficial personal records are 70 kg in Snatch, 80 kg in Clean and Jerk, 91 kg in Clean, and 114 kg in squat — all while he was 12 years old.
“We currently have him doing competitive CrossFit programming with adults and he's pushing them to be better because no one wants to get beat by the 13-year-old kid,” Khamboonphet said. “His ultimate goal is to make it to the CrossFit Games as a teenager.”
“We believe he'll make it,” he said.