It has been a busy year of competitive weightlifting for Avery County native and Marion resident Blake Stanley. In February of this year at a competition in Georgia, Stanley set the North Carolina all-time record for 242-pound weightlifters in the squat, bench press, deadlift and total weight. He squatted 255kg (562.17 pounds), bench pressed 175kg (385.8 pounds) and deadlifted 275kg (606.27 pounds). All of those weights combined to reach 705kg (1,554.25 pounds).
Stanley, 29, will next compete in the United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) Drug Tested South Carolina State Championship on August 15 in Columbia. Stanley has also qualified for the 365 Strong World Powerlifting Games in Wilkesboro, October 16-17, and the International Powerlifting League (IPL) Drug Tested World Championship set for November 4-7 in Costa Mesa, California.