Known for his strength and power at Apollo High School on and off the football field, senior and offensive lineman, Daniel “DC” Boone has been garnering attention in the weight room since he was in eighth grade. Now standing at 6 foot 1 inch tall and weighing 330 pounds, Boone has accomplished something he has been dreaming of for five years — on his first try at a sanctioned meet.
Boone competed Saturday in the 5th Annual Bourbon Barbell Bash in Winchester, Kentucky, a sanctioned meet through the United States Powerlifting Association (USPA). While there, Boone set the non-drug tested super heavyweight raw bench press state and national record with a lift of 475 pounds.
“I also had the highest bench press at the meet and qualified for nationals as well,” Boone said. “This was my first sanctioned powerlifting meet, so to set a state and national record at my first one is a pretty big deal.”
Prior to this weekend, Boone benched 460 pounds at the Apollo High School weightlifting meet on February 9. On March 16, he has his sights on breaking the Kentucky high school state record of 435 pounds.
While Boone is proud of his accomplishments Saturday, and continues to set goals for the future, he admits it “took a lot of time and hard work.”
Much of that hard work has been witnessed by AHS Strength and Conditioning Coach Tyler Matthews.
“When he walks into a weight room it’s not just business, it’s like he’s walking into a sacred temple, which as a strength coach for a school I strive to have all athletes take in that mentality with their training,” Matthews said. “We knew he had a special ability in the weight room as an eighth-grader when he was already earning his name on our leader board while he was still in middle school.”
Matthews said the coaches told DC then that he was special and his gift needed to be used to its fullest potential. Matthews has worked with Boone for the past four years focusing on building overall strength as an athlete in preparation for football and track.
Boone said he also trains three days a week as part of his program with coach Thomas Biddle, who he’s worked with since December to focus on powerlifting, specifically on bench press.
When asked if Matthews had ever worked with a student of Boone’s caliber in his tenure as a strength coach, he was quick to give credit to the AHS athletic program.
“I’ve had kids that I thought could be freakishly strong, but I never was able to put in the time and resources into them like I’ve been able to here at Apollo,” Matthews said. “Apollo has allowed me to pour everything needed into someone like DC so they can soar above and beyond, which is what we want for all our kids. He’s the first kid that I’ve had like that — that I’ve been able to put everything into. But I can’t go without saying Apollo has bought into developing our kids and that’s a huge reason I’m here and was lucky enough to get to coach him.”
