[12/01/02]Filled with modern day gladiators, Wyatt’s Gym was awashed with the sound of clanging weights and enough muscle to form an Arnold Schwarzenegger convention.

Among this group, Trent Smith paced before the yellow cushioned weight bench in the center of the room, rubbing talc on his black shorts unconsciously as he studied 260-pounds worth of weight clamped on a thick iron bar.

Records were made to be broken, the old saying goes, but some records carry a heavier burden than others.

Down and up. Smith seemed to lift the weight as easy as lifting a pillow from his face, and at the same time, broke the American Power Lifting Association record for boys 13-14-years-old. The meet was the first of its kind for Vicksburg.

“I got the record, but I wanted 305,” Smith said in reference to the 300 plus pounds he had attempted to lift in the final round. “I want to break the 300 mark in competition.”

Smith, a 220-pound 14 year old at Warren Junior High School, began lifting weights after doctors discovered his father had diabetes. Through lending a hand in his father’s workouts, Smith found himself doing more than just spotting.

He was also pleased to discover that weight lifting competitions lend the same type of moral support that he provided for his father.

“I like the way everyone pulls for you, cheers you on even when they are against you,” Smith said. “Weight lifting is something to look forward to, to come out and set goals for yourself, and when you get them, set more goals.”

Even though he set a record, Smith placed second in the 13-15-year-olds’ competition because the contestants were judged by how much they lifted in regard to how much they weigh.

Porters Chapel Academy’s Kenny Sims placed first by lifting 220 pounds in the 148-pound class.

Jay Barlow, a 2001 Warren Central graduate, won the Best Overall Dead Lift award with a 405-pound lift and placed first in the 132-pound open class with a bench press of 250 pounds.

Sean Gilman, a 2000 Warren Central graduate, placed first in the 20-23-year-olds’ age group by bench pressing 300 pounds, and Chad McMullin, Warren Central’s powerlifting coach, placed second in the 222-pound weight class with a bench press of 370 pounds.

The competition was a first for the Warren County area, but if James Wyatt and the APA have their way, the weight lifting extravaganza may become a yearly event for Vicksburg.

“I wanted to let them have a place to compete. This is the first sanctioned power lifting meet in the area, and they asked me to make this a yearly event, and we’re going to do it,” Wyatt said. “This is a great event.”