Duane Hagstrom has been coaching weightlifting at Flagler Palm Coast High School for 19 years. During that time, he’s coached many state medalists (both boys and girls), with his first state champion being Robert Paxia in 2008 (who now is the head football coach at Lake Gibson Senior High School). Since then, five more have joined the exclusive club of champions and Isaiah Rivers, Domonique Bennett and Malakai Grant look to be the next group of Bulldogs to join the group.
On Saturday, April 10th, FPC competed at the 3A-Region 1 championships where the team looked to qualify as many out of the tough region. Only three remained after Rivers finished second in the region for his weight division (129), Bennett finished third (154) and Grant took fifth in his respective weight division (199).
Flagler Palm Coast High School weightlifter Annie Buchanan has officially joined the winner’s circle after her top finish at the Class 3A FHSAA Girls Weightlifting State Championships on Feb. 13.
Buchanan earned her spot after completing all six lift attempts (235 for the bench press and 215 for the clean and jerk) for a total of 450 in the 199-pound weight division. George Jenkins’ Dallas Dickey was second place with a 365-pound total.
“I was super excited,” Buchanan said. “I was just smiling ear to ear after I finished lifting!”
Buchanan is only the third lifter in FPC’s history to walk away as a state champion. One of the other two is her older sister, Lexi Buchanan then a sophomore who took the state title in 2018 (425 total). Three short years later, the two share the same honor.