Dawson County High School senior Tommy Lin won the weight lifting state championship for the 140-pound and under weight class in March.

The tournament was held in Perry at the national fairgrounds.

Perry was seeded No. 1 in region one.

At the tournament, 24 lifters competed in each weight class. The competition consisted of three maneuvers: bench press, power clean and squat.

After bench press and power clean, Lin was in seventh place in points. For the squat competition, the first place competitor was only able to squat 370 pounds.

Lin knew if he could squat 395, then he would win the competition.

According to Lin’s coach Jeff Lee, the decision was an easy one to make.

“Even though that was a lot of weight for him to squat, we decided that he should go for it,” Lee said. “I asked him if he came here to win or if he came here to place lower than first. He said he came here to win. So he tried 395 and made it.”

The total points from Lin’s lift pushed Dawson County into second place overall for the tournament. Lin’s totals were 225 pounds in the bench press, 395 pounds in the squat and 235 pounds in the power clean.

“It was pretty special to have Tommy win the lifting competition,” Lee added. “I am very proud of his accomplishment.”

Lin competed against all classifications in the state. He finished ahead of runner-up Charlie Albritton of Valdosta High School. Lin’s total for the three lifts was 855 pounds, which was five pounds better than Albritton.

The only AA wrestler to finish in the top six was Dontrel Williams from Jefferson High School, who finished third.