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Three Madison County High School seniors will attend the State Weightlifting Championship in Kissimmee, Fl. on Saturday, April 18. The students are: Zack Sprenkle in the heavyweight class; Marc Robinson in the 154-pound weight class; and Andrew Strom in the 139-pound weight class. Zack Sprenkle has been on the weightlifting team since 9th grade. He won his weight class at the regional meet on March 31 with a total of 765 pounds. He recently broke Madison County High School’s clean and jerk school record. He broke the 325-pound record by five pounds. “I’ve been to state the past two years,” said Sprenkle. “This will be my third year going. Each year, so far, I’ve came up short. This year being my senior year, I want to finally win.” After graduation, he plans to attend North Florida Community College and transfer to University of North Carolina to study physical therapy. “I would like to thank God first off,” said Sprenkle. “He’s the one who gave me the ability that I have. I also want to thank my family, friends and coaches for supporting me and pushing me to be the absolute best I can be.” Marc Robinson has been on the weightlifting team since 9th grade. He won his weight class at the regional meet on March 31 with a total of 510 pounds. “I feel like it’s a lot of hard work paid off,” said Robinson about heading to State. “It’s something I’ve looked forward to doing because I’ve worked really hard for the past few years to get there.” After graduation, he plans to go on a two-year mission trip for his church, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He does not know where he will go yet. After the mission trip, he plans to attend Florida State University and study physical therapy. “Thank you to my family for all the support and for my coaches for helping me get to where I am,” said Robinson. Andrew Strom has been on the weightlifting team since 9th grade. He placed third at the regional meet on March 31 with a total of 440 pounds. This is his third year attending the State Championship. “It feels great to go again and have a chance to place in the top six after all the hard work,” said Strom. After graduation he plans to attend University of West Florida and major in Pre-Med. “I would like to thank my mom,” said Strom. “She’s been the only person there for me all these years.” Weightlifting Coach James Ertzberger said, “I’m really proud of the guys. They’ve done a tremendous job all year and the thing that makes me happiest as a coach is, I’ve had other coaches come up to me and other people in the community talk about the character the kids have, even the ones that didn’t make it to state. I’m always getting compliments about how polite they are and what good young men they are becoming. It’s been a good year for us and I'm looking forward to the 18th and seeing the guys compete on the big stage.” If you cannot make it to the State Weightlifting Championship in Kissimmee, Fl. on Saturday, April 18, you can watch it online at www.nfhsnetwork.com.