The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/947382
The Press-Dispatch Sports Wednesday, Februar y 28, 2018 B- 3 "It's definitely sunk in now, that's for sure," Lunsford said. "At first, no. It took a little time for it to sink in, first, that I won Mr. USA. That was real exciting, like, what I was most proud of right away. The fact that I turned pro didn't settle in until I was actually compet- ing on stage the next week- end in Tampa. So it kind of was like a week that it took me to realize that I was a pro. And then, qualifying for the Olympia and actually com- peting at the Olympia didn't really even set in until the night before I was on stage again." "I always train hard and I always am focused and ev- erything is to the T when it comes to diet, training, nutri- tion, all of that, and my car- dio. All that is on point all the time, no matter what compe- tition that I do. But it didn't really settle in that I had ac- complished what I had until it had already almost passed." Lunsford said that he was particularly proud of the fact that he won the title of Mr. USA and Rookie of the Year honors in the same year. "You only get the chance to do that one time," Lunsford said. "If you win your class at the USAs and get your pro card, you'll never be able to compete at that show again, because you're a pro. So if you don't win the over- all, you're not Mr. USA. So I earned that one. And also Rookie of the Year – you're only a rookie one time. So be- ing able to accomplish both of those was definitely the biggest honor." Over the last several months, Lunsford has been busy working with several of his sponsors – including Universal Animal, Pro Tan, Mall Nutrition and Muscle Potential – to promote them, as well as himself and the sport itself. "I've been working close- ly with Animal, doing pho- to shoots and training vid- eos out in New Jersey and New York for them and then, of course, going to dif- ferent gyms and supplement stores to promote not only myself, but Animal as well," Lunsford said. "It's been re- ally great to meet a lot of peo- ple at these events, and just build camaraderie amongst the bodybuilding communi- ty." Lunsford has also been hosting monthly posing clin- ics at various gyms, includ- ing Nitro Fitness in Evans- ville, and will be making an appearance as a guest pos- er during the NPC Indiana Muscle and Expo on Satur- day, March 18 at the Old Na- tional Events Plaza. Lunsford, who will be ap- pearing at the Arnold Clas- sic in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend, will also be go- ing overseas, where he will compete in several competi- tions, including the FIBO in Cologne, Germany, in April. "I'll be traveling a lot for my sponsor, but also for my- self, too, as well," Lunsford said. "I've already qualified for the Olympia, but I don't want to do just the Olympia alone. I want to do it and do well at it, but I also want to compete overseas, helping market myself, promote my- HIGH SCHOOL BOYS' BASKETBALL Pocket Athletic Conference Standings PAC Overall Team W-L W-L Forest Park ...........................................7-1 ................ 19-4 Heritage Hills .......................................7-1 ................ 20 -3 Pike Central ........................................ 5 -3 ............... 11-11 Gibson Southern ................................. 4-4 ............... 11-11 North Posey ........................................ 4-4 ............... 11-12 Tell City ................................................ 4-4 ................ 15 -8 Southridge ........................................... 2-6 ...............10 -13 South Spencer ..................................... 2-6 .................8 -15 Tecumseh ............................................ 1-7 .................8 -15 Results of February 20 Pike Central 46, South Knox 43 (OT) Forest Park 58, Gibson Southern 50 Jasper 55, Southridge 51 Northeast Dubois 60, Tecumseh 29 Princeton 58, Heritage Hills 47 Tell City 61, Boonville 51 Result of February 21 Pike Central 64, North Posey 42 Results of February 23 Forest Park 61, Northeast Dubois 50 Heritage Hills 56, Perry Central 40 North Posey 52, Gibson Southern 48 Southridge 63, Boonville 41 Result of February 24 South Spencer 72, White River Valley 52 END REGULAR SEASON STATE TOURNAMENT (All times Eastern) Games of February 27 Sectional 16 (4A) At Evansville North Evansville Harrison vs. Jasper Evansville North vs. Evansville Central Sectional 31 (3A) At Southridge Pike Central vs. Sullivan Princeton vs. Vincennes Lincoln Sectional 32 (3A) At Boonville Heritage Hills vs. Evansville Memorial Boonville vs. Evansville Bosse Sectional 47 At North Knox (2A) South Knox vs. Linton-Stockton Eastern Greene vs. North Knox Sectional 48 At Castle (2A) North Posey vs. Tecumseh Sectional 63 At Loogootee (1A) Barr-Reeve vs. Shoals Vincennes Rivet vs. Washington Catholic Sectional 64 At Springs Valley (1A) Wood Memorial vs. Northeast Dubois Games of February 28 Sectional 48 At Castle (2A) Evansville Mater Dei vs. Tell City, 7 p.m. South Spencer vs. Forest Park, 8:30 p.m. Games of March 2 Sectional 16 (4A) At Evansville North Castle vs. Evansville Harrison-Jasper winner, 7 p.m. Evansville Reitz vs. Evansville North-Evansville Central winner, 8:30 p.m. Sectional 31 (3A) At Southridge Southridge vs. Pike Central-Sullivan winner, 6:30 p.m. Washington vs. Princeton-Vincennes Lincoln win- ner, 8 p.m. Sectional 32 (3A) At Boonville Gibson Southern vs. Heritage Hills-Evansville Me- morial winner,7 p.m. Mt. Vernon (Posey) vs. Boonville-Evansville Bosse winner, 8:30 p.m. Sectional 47 At North Knox (2A) North Daviess vs. South Knox-Linton-Stockton win- ner, 6 p.m. North Daviess vs. Eastern Greene-North Knox win- ner, 7:30 p.m. Sectional 48 At Castle (2A) Perry Central vs. North Posey-Tecumseh winner, 7 p.m. Evansville Mater Dei-Tell City winner vs. South Spencer-Forest Park winner, 8:30 p.m. Sectional 63 At Loogootee (1A) Orleans vs. Barr-Reeve-Shoals winner, 6 p.m. Loogootee vs. Vincennes Rivet-Washington Catho- lic winner, 7:30 p.m. Sectional 64 At Springs Valley (1A) Evansville Day vs. Springs Valley, 6 p.m. Cannelton vs. Wood Memorial-Northeast Dubois winner, 7:30 p.m. Games of March 3 Sectional 16 (4A) At Evansville North Championship game, 8:30 p.m. Sectional 31 (3A) At Southridge Championship game, 7:30 p.m. Sectional 32 (3A) At Boonville Championship game, 8:30 p.m. Sectional 47 At North Knox (2A) Championship game, 7:30 p.m. Sectional 48 At Castle (2A) Championship game, 8:30 p.m. Sectional 63 At Loogootee (1A) Championship game, 7:30 p.m. Sectional 64 At Springs Valley (1A) sectional finals, they had won the event with a time of 1:39.14. • Jasper senior Max Hen- ke placed 35th out of 37 com- petitors in the 200 -yard in- dividual medley with a time of 2:02.38. During the sec- tional finals, Henke won the event with a time of 2:00.07. • Tecumseh freshman Payton Buse placed 33rd out of 36 competitors in the 50 -yard freestyle with a time of 21.86 seconds. During the sectional finals, Buse won the event with a time of 21.84 seconds. • Jasper junior Jason Fleck placed 22nd out of 32 competitors in the 100 -yard butterfly with a time of 51.80 seconds. During the section- al finals, Fleck won the event with a time of 51.88 seconds. • Bedford North Law- rence sophomore Jacob Wer- ley placed 35th out of 35 com- petitors in the 100 -yard free- style with a time of 49.61 sec- onds. During the sectional finals, Werley won the event with a time of 48.44 seconds. • Heritage Hills sopho- more Gavin Fuchs tied for 28th with Noblesville senior Aaron Helms out of 32 com- petitors in the 500 -yard free- style. During the sectional finals, Fuchs won the event with a time of 4:52.16. • Bedford North Law- rence sophomore Andrew Swenson placed 16th out of 32 competitors in the 100 -yard backstroke with a time of 51.77 seconds after placing 12th during prelim- inaries with a time of 51.43 seconds. During the section- al finals, Swenson won the event with a time of 54.34 seconds. • Bedford North Law- rence senior Alec Chastain SWIM Continued from page 1 From left to right, Pike Central High School sophomore Jersey Mills and seniors Lukas Hill, Ty Cassitty and Jacob Bohnert listen as Chargers head coach Mike Bohnert (far right) discusses strategy before the Indiana High School Athletic Association's state swim meet preliminaries on Friday, Feb. 23, at the Indiana University Natatorium on the IUPUI campus in Indianap- olis. Submitted Photo Right top: Pike Central High School senior Ja- cob Bohnert competes in the 200-yard freestyle during the Indiana High School Athletic Associ- ation's state swim meet preliminaries on Friday, Feb. 23, at the Indiana University Natatorium on the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis. Bohnert placed 30th with a time of 1:48.40. Submitted Photo Right middle: Pike Central High School sopho- more Jersey Mills competes in the 200-yard free- style relay during the Indiana High School Ath- letic Association's state swim meet preliminaries on Friday, Feb. 23, at the Indiana University Na- tatorium on the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis. Mills teamed up with seniors Jacob Bohnert, Ty Cassitty and Lukas Hill to place 30th with a time of 1:33.14. Submitted Photo Pike Central High School senior Ty Cassitty competes in the 200-yard freestyle relay during the Indiana High School Athletic Association's state swim meet preliminaries on Friday, Feb. 23, at the Indiana University Natatorium on the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis. Cassitty teamed up with seniors Jacob Bohnert and Lukas Hill and sophomore Jersey Mills to place 30th with a time of 1:33.14. Submitted Photo Pike Central High School senior Lukas Hill competes in the 200-yard freestyle relay during the Indiana High School Athletic Association's state swim meet preliminaries on Friday, Feb. 23, at the Indiana University Natatorium on the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis. Hill teamed up with seniors Jacob Bohnert and Ty Cassitty and sophomore Jersey Mills to place 30th with a time of 1:33.14. Submitted Photo Professional bodybuilder Derek Lunsford (left) and Pike Central High School wrestling coach Billy Hewig (right) chat during an appearance by Lunsford during a practice on Thursday, Jan. 25. Lunsford, who graduated from Pike Central High School in 2011, won the title of Mr. USA along with his pro card last July and competed in the Olympia competition in Septem- ber, where he placed fifth and earned Rookie of the Year honors. Also pic- tured is Charger senior Silas Goff (background left). Submitted Photo Derek Lunsford spots and encourages William Happy Capps as he competes in the bench press contest at The Zone recently. He benched 185 pounds 18 times. placed 30th out of 32 com- petitors in the 100 -yard breaststroke with a time of 1:02.31. During the section- al finals, Chastain won the event with a time of 1:01.69. In addition, Heritage Hills senior Austin Schnuck placed 24th and Bedford North Lawrence senior Aid- en Crosby placed 30th out of 32 competitors during div- ing preliminaries on Satur- day, Feb. 25. The top 20 div- ers advanced to the semi-fi- nals. LUNSFORD Continued from page 1 self, promote everything that I back like Animal and Pro Tan. It's just going to help market me over there and not just be a guy that does one show a year." On Thursday, Jan. 25, Lunsford – at the request of Pike Central High School wrestling coach Billy Hewig – spoke briefly to the team during its practice at the former Otwell Elementary School gym. "He had a great wrestling career," Hewig said while introducing Lunsford. "He was a guy that wanted to give it up, fought and perse- vered through all the nega- tive times, and became one of the best wrestlers I've ever coached. He was a fantastic wrestler. He worked his butt off, and took what he did to the next level through hard work." "I don't want to talk long," Lunsford said. "Basical- ly what I want to get across to you guys, if you guys can take away one message from today, it's find what you're passionate about, and go for it." "I don't wrestle anymore; I'm now a bodybuilder," Lunsford continued. "I'm a professional bodybuilder and I compete at the highest level at the Mr. Olympia competi- tion. But, basically, what I'm trying to get across to you guys is, find what you're pas- sionate about and work for it. Don't let anybody else tell you what to do. Don't settle for average." Lunsford told the team that they should listen to whatever Hewig told them. "I promise you, I'm not just See RISE on pg 5