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Former BH Football Player Taking National and World Honors


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Cameron Swart - BH Class of 2007 videos just go to youtube and search his name

Barbers Hill grad takes national honors

By Michael Pineda

Baytown Sun 

Published March 2, 2008

MONT BELVIEU — Cameron Swart is a big fish in a little pond — literally.

The 5-10, 290-pound weightlifter is once again dominating the 20-and-under super heavyweight division.

At the National Junior Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn., Swart took first place with a combined lift total of 345 kilos (759 pounds), easily outdistancing Caleb Ward of Wichita Falls who lifted 301 kilos (662 pounds).

“There has been more competition in the past two years but everyone got older,†Swart said.

It was the third consecutive national championship for Swart at the junior level and his sixth overall since he began to compete at the age of 11.

Swart’s main competition now comes on the international stage. Currently ranked No. 2 in the world, he will be competing in the Junior World Championships in Cali, Columbia in June where he will look to become the first United States entry to medal since 2002.

Tim Swords, Swart’s coach as well as a coach for the junior national team, feels that Swart is poised to not only medal but also break the national clean and jerk record of 202.5 kilos (446 pounds) held by Baytown Sterling graduate Josh Moreau.

“He can break the record,†Swords said. “He is strong enough and athletic enough. He has gone from a talented athlete to the best in North and South America and I think he will medal in Columbia.â€

Last December at the American Open, Swart came close to breaking the clean and jerk record only to see his lift of 203 kilos (447 pounds) slip out of his hand.

Swart also had the opportunity to compete in the Junior World Championships in Prague, a city in the Czech Republic. Swart finished fifth and learned what it will take to become one of the best in the world.

“It’s pretty intense,†Swart said. “There is a lot of competition. It’s fun but it’s the world level so you can’t go out there and joke around.

“I was really pleased with how I did. I could’ve finished third, but I missed some of my lifts.â€

Swart is a freshman at Lee College, where he attends classes in the mornings and then works out in the afternoon. Three times a week, he travels to League City for Olympic lifting.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays he works out at Eagle Pointe in Mont Belvieu, where he focuses on the upper body and stomach. Since graduating last fall, Swart has added 30 pounds to his frame.

This will be the last year that Swart will compete at the junior level. In 2009, he will begin competing at the senior level where he will work towards his next goal.

“If I keep progressing, I should make the 2012 Olympics in London,†Swart said.

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