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UPSON
BEACON
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Trever Young stares down his opponent. Jacob Stewart/Upson Beacon
Athlete of the Week: Trever Young
FRA Varsity
Football Team Holds
End-Year Banquet
The Flint River
Academy varsity football
team recently held its an
nual year-end banquet at
Warm Springs Baptist
Church. During the ban
quet, team members were
recognized for their ac
complishments.
Players were intro
duced and award letters
were given. Several indi
vidual awards were given.
Individuals selected for
All-Region and All-State
were recognized during
the banquet.
The following awards
were presented:
Most Outstanding Of
fensive Lineman: Bennett
Kirk
Most Outstanding Of
fensive Skill Player: Cale
Cartwright
Most Outstanding De
fensive Lineman: Ben Tay
lor
Most Outstanding
Linebacker: Hughston
Brantley
Most Outstanding De
fensive Back: Andrew
Brown
Coach’s Award: Tyler
Pasley and Dayton
Stephens
Players Selected All-
Region: Andrew Brown,
Hughston Brantley, Cale
Cartwright, Ben Taylor,
and Bennett Kirk
Players Selected All-
State: Hughston Brantley,
Cale Cartwright, and Ben
Taylor
Jacob Stewart
Sports Editor
sports@upsonbeacon.com
Trever Young showed
what Upson-Lee wrestling
under Coach Dominic
Stuckey is all about. In the
first period of his match
against a Crisp County op
ponent, Young suffered an
injury to his ribs. In a fall
during the match, the op
ponent crashed hard into
Young’s ribs and Young
described that the pain
was “like a shock” and he
struggled to breathe.
Following the first
period, Young was
granted an injury timeout
in which his coaches
asked him if he needed to
be taken out of the match.
Young denied for a simple
reason: “I hate losing. It
bothers me so much.”
Young continued to
battle and was in visible
pain throughout the
match. The match ended
going all three periods
until Young eventually
pinned his opponent.
“Every time I was
thinking about quitting, [I
knew] I would be quitting
on the team and our wres
tling team is about team
mates and not to give up
on them,” Young ex
plained.
Young, a freshman, as
pires to wrestle in college.
He has a 16-5 record this
season and already ex
hibits the needed tough
ness to be successful for
many years to come.
“White Lighting” is his
nickname, given to him by
his coaches since he wres
tles at such a fast pace.
The Fighting Knights
are building a culture with
the help of efforts like
Young put on the mat. It’s
a winning culture and one
that is promising.
Smith Challenges Himself
so He Can Challenge Others
Micah Smith grits through a deadlift at the USA Powerlifting Savannah Winter Classic.
Submitted
Players Selected All-Region: Andrew Brown, Hughston
Brantley, Cale Cartwright, Ben Taylor, and Bennett Kirk
Players Selected All-State: Hughston Brantley,
Cale Cartwright, and Ben Taylor
Submitted
Jacob Stewart
Sports Editor
sports@upsonbeacon.com
On Dec. 4, Thomaston
native Micah Smith
placed third place at the
USA Powerlifting Savan
nah Winter Classic.
Smith weighed 79kg/i73
pounds and competed in
the 83kg/i83-pound
class. Smith began pow
erlifting just a few
months ago, but his fit
ness journey started long
before.
When Smith was in
fifth grade, he read
Through My Eyes by Tim
Tebow, and he got in
spired to start doing
pushups and running.
From then through his
high school days, he was
very active in weightlift
ing and was the captain of
the Upson-Lee cross
country team his senior
year. When he graduated
high school and went to
Kennesaw State Univer
sity, he soon decided to
pursue personal training.
He got certified and even
launched his own online
training brand called
“Muscle Fit,” as well as
working at the recreation
center for KSU.
Smith has spent most
of his weightlifting career
primarily focusing on
bodybuilding and overall
fitness until early last
summer when he was
first exposed to powerlift
ing. At the time, he was in
the middle of a transfor
mation competition
where he was cutting
down on body fat. Once
the summer competition
was finished, he began
his powerlifting cycle.
Smith trained for four
months with the help of
friends in the sport and a
coach, and was pleased
with his outcome. Smith’s
squat/bench/deadlift was
320/220/396 as he
placed third in his divi
sion.
Powerlifting interests
Smith, but he is not inter
ested in making a career
out of it. Smith is more
focused on the personal
training aspect of it all. In
order to be the best pos
sible trainer, Smith be
lieves that he needs
experience in different
areas.
During his body trans
formation contest, he was
able to experience what it
is like for potential clients
of his that are struggling
to lose weight.
With his new experi
ence in powerlifting, he
feels better equipped to
help those looking to get
into the sport.
His next challenge re
turns to his cross-country
endeavors. He plans to
run two 10-kilometer
races this summer while
still training himself to
maintain weight and gain
strength.
“It's about being able
to see how much I can
push myself,” Smith said
of his various training ex
periences, “but also being
able to have more empa
thy for others because I
know what it’s like to go
through all that kind of
stuff.”
Smith is currently
working for Excellence in
Exercise in Atlanta and is
continuing to pursue his
career in personal train
ing. He is still a student at
KSU and commutes on
the weekends back to
Thomaston, where he
serves East Thomaston
Baptist Church as the
youth director.
Since fifth grade,
Smith has been challeng
ing himself and pushing
toward being the best
version of himself. He
now finds himself in a po
sition with both ministry
and personal training
where he is helping
others do the same.