Braylon Pleas Brings Home Marianna’s First Weightlifting State Championship

Braylon Pleas

By Shelia Mader

Marianna High School sophomore Braylon Pleas is making school history, but if you ask him about it, you probably would not hear much fanfare.

Pleas captured the FHSAA Traditional State Championship in the 183-pound weight class, becoming the first state champion in Marianna High School weightlifting history.

For Braylon, the achievement was not about recognition or attention. It was about fulfilling a goal he quietly set for himself years ago.

“I’ve just always had a passion for bettering myself and trying to be the best version of myself that I can be,” Pleas said. “Weightlifting kind of led me to that.”

What many people may not realize is just how much dedication, sacrifice, and relentless work went into the moment he stood atop the podium.

His mother, Kimberly Pleas, remembers when Braylon first decided in eighth grade that he wanted to play football. At the time, she admitted the sport itself did not worry her nearly as much as the weight room.

“I just didn’t want him in that weight room, throwing weight around and pushing his body to the extreme,” she recalled.

Now, she laughs at the memory because the weight room became the very thing her son fell in love with. Football was enjoyable, but weightlifting quickly became his passion.

As a freshman competing in the 154-pound weight class, Braylon immediately showed promise. He advanced through districts and regionals before qualifying for the state meet in his very first season. Though he finished with a score of 420 while scratching three of his six lifts, simply reaching the state stage as a ninth grader was an accomplishment his family was proud of.

But Braylon left that competition with a bigger vision.

“My goal is to get back and make it on the podium,” he told his family. “I want to bring home a state title by the time I graduate.”

From that point forward, everything centered around that goal.

His mother said Braylon’s discipline is not something he turns on only during competition season. It has become a lifestyle. He meal preps, carefully monitors what he puts into his body year-round, and refuses to let distractions or outside opinions affect his focus.

Coach Jarrett Segers has witnessed that commitment firsthand. “He’s as dedicated as you can get,” Segers said. “It’s not just weightlifting. It’s what he puts in his body so he can perform at the highest level.”

Segers laughed while recalling one example that perfectly summed up Braylon’s mindset. During a team meal after weigh-ins, other athletes enjoyed fried food while Braylon carefully picked the breading off fried pickles so he could stay on track by just eating the pickle.

That level of discipline extends far beyond organized practices. After deciding not to continue football following his freshman season, Braylon focused entirely on becoming stronger. He spent last summer working a landscaping job and used much of the money he earned to build a home gym where he trains relentlessly.

According to his mother, there are no excuses in Braylon’s routine. He trains when he is tired, when he is sick, while on vacation, and even after returning home from winning meets. While many athletes celebrate victories with rest days, Braylon simply goes back to work.

The work paid off quickly. By the end of the summer, Braylon had added nearly 30 pounds of muscle and moved up two weight classes to compete in the 183-pound division as a sophomore.

Once the season began, he continued getting stronger every week.

Braylon captured first place at Guys vs. Gravity, first place at districts, and first place at regionals before earning his second consecutive trip to the state championships.

Heading into the state meet, Braylon believed he had a chance to place on the podium. But in the final weeks leading up to competition, his confidence grew. After realizing he was only a few pounds behind the top contenders, he decided he was going to chase the championship itself.

Few people across the state truly saw him coming. Because he is quiet, humble, and avoids social media, Braylon was not widely known among the upperclassmen and favorites competing for the title. Last year’s trip to state had simply been about experience and learning. This year was different.

And when the competition ended, Braylon Pleas had done exactly what he promised himself he would do as a freshman.

He brought home a state championship.

For Coach Segers, the accomplishment means more than one title. It signals a new era for Marianna weightlifting.

“It should start a streak,” Segers said. “It goes from being the hunter to the hunted now.”

Despite the historic moment, Braylon remains grounded in the same values that carried him there. He credits his parents, Kimberly and Trey Pleas, for their unwavering support, but says his faith comes first.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without God and my family supporting me,” Pleas said. “They’re always buying me food and making sure I have what I need to succeed. But definitely God first.”

Soft-spoken and humble, Braylon Pleas may not seek the spotlight, but his work ethic, discipline, and determination have already made history at Marianna High School.

And at only 16 years old, he may just be getting started.