Chris Kamp
Written by Michael Harris, photos and video by Anthony Rao
Just making the state tournament for any high school athlete can put a lot of pressure on that individual, but with senior Chris Kamp at Tavares, he put some extra pressure on himself in the Class 1A state weightlifting meet.
Against the wishes of Coach Chris Gauntlett, Kamp stepped up to the platform on April 23rd at River Ridge High in New Port Richey and attempted a 315-pound clean and jerk – and missed. He would go on to miss a second time.
So, with one attempt remaining, Kamp stepped up again and nailed the lift. And with that, Kamp became the first Tavares High lifter to win an individual state title. Kamp, competing in the 169-pound weight class, also had a 325 bench press for a 640-pound total.
“It was the biggest regret I made,” Kamp said about starting at 315. “I was warming up on a different platform and I was doing 305 and that was an easy lift. When I stepped on the platform and tried 315, I missed my first two attempts.”
“My third attempt was … um … do or die. It was perfect,” he said.
Once a lifter starts at a certain weight, he can’t go any lower if he misses and because of it Kamp had to hit the 315.
The truth of the matter was if he had hit the 305, he would have won anyway. Kamp was so mighty that he beat his nearest competitor – Tyler Reeves of Panama City Beach Arnold – by 20 pounds, which in weightlifting is a hefty margin.
“I would have started him off at 305. He was doing that in practice and he was lifting it … it was like a joke,” Gauntlett said. “I told him, ‘You do 305. It seals the deal, you’ve got the win.’ Then after that he’s a senior he could do whatever he wanted. If he wanted to do 400 pounds, I wouldn’t care. I told him, ‘Get this weight and then go for the record.”
The state record, which can only be broken at the state meet, was 335 on a clean and jerk, and Gauntlett said Kamp has hit 335 in practice.
But for Kamp to hit that weight, or any weight for that matter, it goes to his work ethic and Gauntlett says Kamp is loaded with it.
“Chris has put forth more effort than any individual in my life and – not trying to give him a big head or anything, but he does put forth more effort than any individual,” Gauntlett says. “He doesn’t admit it, but pound-for-pound he’s probably the strongest I’ve seen. He squats more than 500 pounds and for someone that’s 165 pounds … that’s ridiculous – that’s the best way to describe it.”
Kamp will admit he pushes himself a bit when it comes to the amount of time training.
“Well during weightlifting season we train four days a week. Then I practice one day at my house – so five days a week,” he says as he looks over at his coach as though he just admitted something he shouldn’t have.
“I tell him he needs 48 hours rest, but hey, he doesn’t listen,” Gauntlett says.
“Of course, now that he’s won, that’s fine,” Gauntlett quickly adds in.
David Bradley, who took fourth in the 183-pound class, Nick Steele, who took seventh in 139, and Stephen Bush, who competed in 154 but didn’t finish, were the other three Tavares qualifiers. It should be noted that Bush also competes in track and had a meet the day before the state weightlifting meet.
Kamp says he was encouraged by his teammates to win the title and Gauntlett says because of the impression that Kamp has made this year, he expects good things for the Tavares High weightlifting team.
“He’s as stubborn as a mule; if he tries a weight – he’ll stay there until 8 o’clock at night,” Gauntlett said. “Now, am I complaining about that? No. If I had a quarter of his work ethic in my football players and weightlifters, we would have won a state championship in weightlifting and had a better season in football.”
“But because of him, he’s encouraged many of the younger kids. He’s going to help this program a lot,” he says.
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