Topic: News: 2008 Florida High School Girl's Championships

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Spruce Creek girls roll to 5th straight Florida High School Championship
By Larry Bugg

NEW PORT RICHEY -- The Spruce Creek High girls weightlifting team may lead the world in bling this week.

Spruce Creek's heavy lifters took their fifth straight state title Saturday by winning at the FHSAA Girls State Weightlifting Finals at River Ridge High School.

Five of the girls took home individual state titles.

Spruce Creek is the only team to win the title, and Florida is the only state with a state girls weightlifting competition.

Spruce Creek coach Tom Bennett was calm but happy.

"It's good," Bennett said. "I can't complain.

"The girls work hard. They do what we tell them to do. They train as hard as the boys do."

Spruce Creek scored a state-record 56 points. Navarre and New Smyrna Beach both tied for second with 11 points each.

Brittany Adamek reclaimed her state title Saturday. The Spruce Creek senior won a state title as a sophomore and took second in 2007. She won this year with 370 pounds. She had a bench press of 180 pounds and a clean and jerk of 190.

"I'm just relieved," she said. "Second (last year) was horrible. It was such a downgrade. I wish I could have gotten the 200 pounds (in the clean and jerk)."

DeLand's Christine Baranet won the 119 title, and broke the record for total weight with 310 pounds. The junior had a 150-pound bench and 160 clean and jerk.

"I'm proudest of both the state record and title," Baranet said. "I went through a little rough spot. I got through it. I'm so excited. I have been working so hard for this. I am finally getting it. I took it away from everyone.

"I enjoy everything about it. I tell the coach, 'I didn't mean to be good. I really want to go to national competition. I want to go to Olympic competition."

"She was lighter than everyone else in 119," DeLand coach Al Smith said. "She weighed 113 pounds. She worked out pretty hard. I present a challenge and she takes it on. She will talk the trash, but she will back it up."

Creek's Kaysie Junco won her second title at 101 pounds. She lifted 120 pounds in the bench press and 145 in the clean and jerk for a 265 total.

"I'm so happy," Junco said. "I never got 145 pounds before. I won by 10 pounds."

It was a day of records for Spruce Creek.

Spruce Creek's Morgan Candage endured some pain for her gain, but she set a state record with a 205-pound clean and jerk. She won the 154-pound title.

"I'm hurt in the chest," she said. "It's a good hurt."

Spruce Creek's Heather Wolfe tied a record in the clean and jerk in the 110-pound class. She won the title with 265 pounds. She had a 125-pound clean and jerk.

Spruce Creek's Sara Cowles won the 129-pound class with a 320-pound total. She benched 150 pounds and cleaned and jerked 170 pounds. Teammate Alyssa Indelicato was second with 245 pounds.

New Smyrna Beach's Maranda Whitley won the 169-pound class. She had a 235-pound bench press and a 190 clean and jerk for a 425 total.

TEAM SCORES: 1. Spruce Creek 56; 2. Navarre (Na) 11; 2. New Smyrna Beach 11.

INDIVIDUAL WINNERS: 101 -- Kaysie Junco (SC) 120-145-265; 110 -- 1. Heather Wolfe, (SC) 140-160-300; 119 --1. Christina Baranet (Del) 150-160-310; 129 -- 1. Sara Cowles (SC) 150-170-320; 139 -- 1. Enchantre Argo (Lym) 165-165-330; 154 -- 1. Morgan Candage (SC) 195-205-400; 169 -- 1. Brittany Adamek (SC) 180-190-370; 183 -- 1. Maranda Whitley (NSB) 235-190-425; 199 -- 1. Kasey Franks (Boz) 195-160-355; UNL -- 1. Lakita Johnson (NM) 250-215-465.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Hooker, Figueroa Improve At Florida High School Championships
By Larry Bugg

NEW PORT RICHEY - Brianna Hooker had a problem with her neck at the worst time - while she was competing in the clean and jerk at the state girls weightlifting meet Saturday at River Ridge.

Hooker, a River Ridge junior, took third in the 110-pound class with a bench press of 150 pounds and a clean and jerk of 135 pounds. There was a three-way tie for second, and she finished third because of her weight. Hooker was fourth in her class last year.

"I went to do a 140-pound lift in the clean and jerk and my neck started bleeding," she said. "It had two weeks to heal. I never had a problem with it before."

Her coach, Mike Degennaro, said she cut her neck on the bar during a lift two weeks ago at the Belleview sectional.

"There's always next year," Hooker said. "We had six people qualify this year. I'm looking forward to it, even though it's a year away."

Gulf's Carmen Figueroa took fourth in the 129-pound class, with 155 pounds in the bench and 145 in the clean and jerk. She finished fifth last year.

"I am a little disappointed in myself," Figueroa said. "It was just lack of focus. I just needed 10 pounds more on the bench."

She will compete at the Checkers/Rally's 2008 NHSCA Boys and Girls National High School Weightlifting Championships in New Port Richey on May 9-10.

Coach Steve Franks was impressed with Figueroa.

"She has improved one place this year," he said. "She has the national competition, and I believe she can take it. She is the most dedicated lifter I have ever known."

Ridgewood's Christal Rose tied for ninth in the 139-pound class. Rose bench pressed 150 pounds and added 145 pounds in the clean and jerk.

Daytona Beach Spruce Creek took its fifth team title with a state-record 56 points and had five individual champions. Spruce Creek is the only team to win the girls state weightlifting title.

Navarre and New Smyrna Beach tied for second with 11 points.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Padgett takes 12th, Candage Wins at Florida High School State Championships
By Keith Pearlman

NEW PORT RICHEY — Cori Padgett didn’t have any reason to leave the FHSAA girls weightlifting state finals disappointed this year.

Padgett, a senior lifter for The Villages High School, finished in 12th place in the state in the 154-pound weight class with a total of 300 pounds Saturday at River Ridge High School in New Port Richey. Padgett, one of 27 lifters competing in the weight class, bench pressed 155 pounds to tie her personal record. She then successfully lifted 145 pounds in the clean and jerk.

Padgett advanced to the state finals in 2007 but failed to record any weight after scratching out in each of her attempts.

She made up for that in her final competition Saturday, tying with Jessica Whidden, of Fort Walton Beach, with 300 pounds. Whidden won the tiebreaker because she weighed nine pounds less than Padgett at the morning weigh-in.

Morgan Candage, of Port Orange Spruce Creek, won the state championship in the 154-pounds weight class with a state record 400 pounds. Candage had a bench press of 195 pounds and set a state record with a clean and jerk of 205 pounds.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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North Marion's Johnson Captures Florida High School Championship

NEW PORT RICHEY - The North Marion girls weightlifting team has been stellar all season long, but now they can truly say they are among the state's elite programs.

The Colts returned home from the state weightlifting meet, held on Saturday in New Port Richey, with a state champion and an exceptional fourth-place overall finish.

Odds-on favorite, sophomore Lakitta Johnson, did not disappoint when she arrived in New Port Richey.

In fact, she overachieved..

Johnson not only beat the state runner-up in the unlimited weight class by 90 pounds, she set two state records in the process.

Johnson's 215-pound clean-and-jerk was the highest total ever lifted in that event.

The 215 pounds, coupled with her 250-pound bench press, accounted for her 465 total, which was another state record.

"She did just what we expected," said North Marion coach Ron Simmons, "I knew she'd set a state record."

Other North Marion lifters also placed well at the state meet.

Martesha Williams placed fourth in the 169-pound weight class with 335 total.

Joy Thompson finshed seventh in the 101-pound weight division.

All five North Marion athletes that competed at the meet left everything they had out on the floor, as each one lifted for a personal best.

Simmons reiterrated just how impressed he was with his team.

"We expected to place sixth or seventh overall, but everyone stepped up, and to be fourth out of 185 teams gives us a great sense of accomplishment. I'm so proud of my team."

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Jennifer Zoia & Hannah Crowe Just Miss Gold at the Florida High School Champs
By Chad Brockhoff

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Despite their best efforts, Port Charlotte High's Jennifer Zoia and Manatee High's Hannah Crowe fell just short of earning that elusive gold medal on Saturday at the FHSAA Girls Weightlifting Finals.

Competing in the 119-pound class, Zoia stepped to the middle platform inside the Jim Valentine Athletic Complex here at River Ridge High School for the final lift of her high school career. Already assured of a third consecutive state medal, an attempt at a state-record 175 pounds in the clean and jerk was the only remaining obstacle in Zoia's quest to become the second state champion in school history.

Zoia initially struggled to complete the clean portion of the lift, but she eventually succeeded in her effort to bring the bar from the floor to her shoulders. As she brought the weight over her head, Zoia's foot accidentally fell off the platform and she soon found herself lying in pain.

Although her back tightened up on the lift, Zoia's pride and psyche took the brunt of the damage as she was relegated to second place behind DeLand's Christina Baranet, who bested Zoia by 10 pounds with a new state-record total of 310 pounds.

"I wanted it badly," Zoia said. "I went to (the FHSAA Finals) all four years of high school and winning state would have been amazing."

Disappointed over not winning state championship, Zoia still has the solace that she played an integral role in building the Port Charlotte program into a powerhouse and that she left everything she had on the platform.

"Her last clean and jerk was 15 pounds more than she had ever done and it was five pounds more than she ever front squatted, so the fact that she cleaned was pretty amazing," Port Charlotte head coach Tom Sherwood said. "When she jerked it, she was stepping back to catch it. If there was more platform, she would have had it."

Coming off a sixth-place finish in last year's FHSAA Finals, Crowe felt her previously undefeated season came to a disappointing conclusion. Sitting 25 pounds behind eventual winner Kasey Franks of Panama City's Bozeman High in the 199-pound class, the Manatee senior went for the win on her final clean-and-jerk attempt of 190 pounds.

Unable to complete the clean portion of the lift, Crowe had to settle for second place with a total of 330 pounds.

"We told Hannah all week that a (clean and jerk) anywhere from 190-205 would win it," Manatee head coach Rod Frazier said.

"She already knew what was expected. We told her that she already had second and we asked whether she wanted to go for it all. We gave her the opportunity to go for it and she almost got it."

Crowe's performance helped the Lady Hurricanes garner a sixth-place tie with Port Charlotte in the overall team standings.

Spruce Creek collected a meet-record 56 points as it claimed a fifth consecutive team state championship. Navarre and New Smyrna shared runner-up honors with 11 points.

Port Charlotte got a sixth-place finish from Ester Lafaille in the 101-pound class and a fifth-place showing by Sandra Bernard in the unlimited class.

Manatee senior Jenna Rio placed fifth in the 110-pound class and sophomore Laci Jensen finished sixth in the 119-pound class.

Out of the 60 lifters awarded medals on Saturday, 12 were from area schools. Charlotte High and Southeast High were among a host of teams tied for 17th place with four points.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Amanda Romine finishes 6th at the Florida High School Championships
By Larry Bugg

NEW PORT RICHEY — Atlantic's Amanda Romine lifted 335 total pounds to finish sixth in the unlimited class at the state girls weight lifting championships Saturday.

Romine had a bench press of 190 pounds and a clean and jerk of 145. Fort Pierce Central's Mariella Luna finished ninth with a 325 total (165-160) and Seminole Ridge's Amanda Canete totalled 320 (155-165).

Jupiter's Alexis Cataldo lifted 130 pounds in both the bench press and clean and jerk to finish tied for 17th in the 129-pound weight class.

The junior says she uses weight lifting for therapy.

"It gets all my anger out," Cataldo said. "I want to get back next year. I did OK today."

In the 110-pound class, Cataldo's teammate, Nicole Klein, finished tied for 12th after lifting 235 total pounds (115-pound bench, 120-pound clean and jerk).

At 119 pounds, Seminole Ridge's tied for 18th after lifting a combined 205 pounds (85-120).

Port St. Lucie's Stephanie Lacort had a 285-pound total (130-155) in the 139-pound class, which was good enough for a 12th-place tie.

Port Orange-Spruce Creek took team honors, dominating the meet with 56 points. Navarre and New Smyrna Beach tied for second with 11 points.

No area school scored team points in the competition.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Florida Girls High School Weightlifting Championships a Success
By Larry Bugg

NEW PORT RICHEY - The Florida Girls State Weightlifting Meet on Saturday was held at River Ridge for the second time and went off without a hitch. Florida is the only state that has a weightlifting competition for high school girls.

There were 270 lifters and about 75 volunteers involved in the activity, along with numerous coaches and family members from around much of the state.With all the details, equipment and people to keep track of , meet director and coach Mike DeGennaro had to be relieved when it was finished.

"It was a lot easier this year than last year," DeGennaro said. "After last year, this was kind of easy. We finished earlier. "I don't think we had any mistakes this year."

There may be more girls state meets to come at River Ridge.

"We are going to talk to FHSAA about this," DeGennaro said. "We like hosting it. It is a good fundraiser. We had six girls make it as lifters and they are underclassman. It pushes them a little harder."

DeGennaro said he couldn't estimate the cost of the event. Last year, he said the school profited around $4,000.

"I thought it went very well," DeGennaro said.

The best River Ridge lifter managed a third place despite a major distraction.

Brianna Hooker had a problem with her neck at the worst time. Her neck was bleeding while she was doing the clean and jerk.

Hooker, a junior, took third in the 110-pound class. She had a bench press of 150 pounds and a clean and jerk of 135 pounds. There was a three-way tie for second and she finished third because of her weight.

She took fourth in her class last year.

DeGennaro said that two weeks ago the bar was sharp at the Belleview sectional. She was cut then and it did not heal.

"You can't be unhappy about third," the coach said.

Gulf's Carmen Figueroa took fourth in the 129-pound class, an improvement over her fourth-place finish in 2007. She had 155 pounds in the bench press. She lifted 145-pound in the clean and jerk, a personal best. She had 300 pounds total

Ridgewood's Christal Rose finished tied for ninth in the 139-pound class. Rose lifted 150 pounds in the bench press and added 145 pounds in the clean and jerk for a 295-pound total.

Port Orange Spruce Creek won the state team title for the fifth straight year, setting a record with 56 points. Navarre and New Smyrna Beach were tied for second with 11 points.

There were 12 Pasco County lifters who showed and did not scratch.

In the 101-pound class, River Ridge's Jessica Diaz had a 210 total. She had a 115 bench and a 95-pound clean and jerk. Land O' Lakes High's Morgan Keppel had a 185 total. Her bench was 105 pounds and her clean was 80 pounds.

In the 110-pound class, Natalie Marenghi of River Ridge had a 230-pound total. She lifted 130 pounds in the bench and 100 pounds in the clean and jerk.

In the 119-pound class, Mitchell's Taneisha Dixon had a 260-pound total. She had a best bench of 130 pounds and a clean and jerk of 130 pounds. In the same class, Danielle Dimarte of River Ridge had a 250-pound total. Dimarte had a 135-pound bench and a 115-pound clean and jerk.

Ridgewood's Breanne Monaco had a 280-pound total in the 129-pound class. Her bench was 145 pounds and her clean was 135 pounds.

In the 139-pound class, Ridgewood's Lauren Heymann had a 270-pound total. She lifted 135 in the bench press and her clean and jerk was 135 pounds.

River Ridge's Stephanie Hull (169) had a 265-pound total. Her bench press was 135 pounds and her clean and jerk was 130 pounds while in the 199-pound class, River Ridge's Megan Shoun had a 275-pound total. Shoun lifted 145 pounds in the bench and 130 pounds in the clean and jerk.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Crowe leads Manatee lifters at Florida High School Championships
By Douglas A. Kaid

NEW PORT RICHEY --
After failing to clean and jerk 275 pounds on her third and final lift, Manatee High's Hannah Crowe smiled big. It was the final lift of her high school career, and the senior seemed to be at peace with it.

Then she went to hug her coaches, and her eyes began to fill with tears. By the time she made it over to the bleachers to accept congratulations from her Canes teammates, those tears had started falling down her cheeks.

She was in full-fledged bawling mode by the time she made it over to her friends and family who made the trip to New Port Richey River Ridge High School for the 2008 FHSAA Girls Weightlifting Finals.

Crowe had just finished second in the state in the 199 weight class. Such an accomplishment seemed unlikely when she weighed 240 pounds, but over four years Crowe did a lot of things she didn't necessarily expect of herself.

She lost 40 pounds, made the varsity cheerleading team, and now she was a state runner-up. The people who she hugged were the ones who supported her along that path. The tears weren't hers alone.

"It's just sad because this is my senior year, and I've spent so much time with this," Crowe said. "I've worked out on Christmas morning, every day during the summer, after cheerleading practices. I've been crying all week about weightlifting. Stressing."

Crowe was Manatee County's highest individual finisher. She joined teammates - Jenna Rio (fifth, 110 pounds) and Laci Jensen (sixth, 119) - in helping the Canes to a sixth place tie in the overall competition.

Southeast sophomore Kelsey Vance was the area's next highest finisher as she took third place in the 154-pound weight class.

Crowe thought she might have a state championship in her, but she struggled on the bench press (165 pounds) and set herself too far back to seriously challenge for the top spot. Trailing by 30 pounds heading into the clean and jerk, Crowe lifted 165 to close the gap but still lost to Bozeman's Kasey Franks by 25 pounds.

"That was one of the worst meets I've had in my life," said Crowe, who was hoping for a 370 total and had not finished anything but first place all year. "But that girl's a sophomore. More power to her. She's gonna dominate."

For Vance, a third-place medal was a lot better than what she left with last year. As a freshman, Vance scratched and took home nothing but disappointment.

"That was the big thing. After my first clean and jerk I looked at my coach and said, 'Well, I didn't scratch,' " Vance said. "I was happy with how I did. I'm cool with it."

Vance admitted that some of those painful memories of last year flooded back into her mind as she entered the very same gym where last year's finals were held.

She overcame her negative thoughts to bench 170 and clean and jerk 160 for a 330 total. This time it was Vance's teammate, Caland McGruder, who scratched in the same weight class.

"I've told her I knew what it felt like because I did that last year," Vance said. "But she's a really strong lifter. She'll be back."

So will Vance.

"I'm thinking 380," she said when asked her goal for next year.

While Vance still has two years left to try to earn a state title, Crowe isn't going anywhere just because she's exhausted her eligibility.

"I'll be back next year," she said. "I'll be an assistant coach."

FHSAA GIRLS WEIGHTLIFTING FINALS

At New Port Richey River Ridge

Team Scores

1. Port Orange Spruce Creek 56, 2. (tie) Navarre 11, 2. New Smyrna Beach 11, 4. Citra North Marion 10, 5. Lake City Columbia 9, 6. (tie) Manatee 8, 6. Port

Charlotte 8, 8. (tie) DeLand 7, 8. Longwood Lyman 7, 8. Orlando Timber Creek 7, 8. Panama City Bozeman 7, 12. Pace 6, 13. (tie) Deltona 5, 13. Lake Mary 5, 13.

Winter Springs 5, 13. Orlando Colonial 5, 17. (tie) Punta Gorda Charlotte 4, 17. New Port Richey River Ridge 4, 17. Sebastian River 4, 17. Brooksville Central 4, 17. Southeast 4, 17. Pensacola Washington 4.

Note: Lakewood Ranch did not score a point.

Individual results

101 - 1. Kaysie Junco (Port Orange Spruce Creek) 120-145-265, 2. Alyssa Indelicato (Port Orange Spruce Creek) 120-125-245, Caralyn Maerz (Sebastian River) 120-105-225.

110 - 1. Heather Wolfe (Port Orange Spruce Creek) 140-160-300, 2. Alison James (Lake Mary) 125-160-285, 3 Brianna Hooker (New Port Richey River Ridge) 150-135-285, 5. Jenna Rio (Manatee) 125-140-265

119 - 1. Christina Baranet (DeLand) 150-160 310, 2. Jennifer Zoia (Port Charlotte) 140-160-300, 4. Tara Stephens (Lake City Columbia) 140-155-295, 6. Laci Jensen (Manatee) 140 145 285

129 - 1. Sara Cowles (Port Organe Spruce Creek) 150-170-320, 2. Bre Baker (Deltona) 165-155 320, 3. Emily Melville (Orlando Timber Creek) 135 170 305

139 - 1. Enchantre Argo (Longwood Lyman) 165-165-330, Mary Fuller (Port Orange Spruce Creek) 150-170-320, 3. Paige Hawkins Pace 145-165-310

154 - 1. Morgan Candage (Port Orange Spruce Creek) 195-205-400, 2. Kristian Rainge-Campbell (Port Orange Spruce Creek) 180 200-380, 3. Kelsey Vance (Southeast) 170-160-330, 9. Lindsay Barnes (Lakewood Ranch), 160-145-305, Also, Caland McGruder (Southeast) scratched

169 - 1. Brittany Adamek (Port Orange Spruce Creek) 180-190-370. 2 Ashley Rivera (Orlando Colonial) 180-185-365, 3 Patrice Doemer (New Smyrna Beach) 160-185-345

183 - 1. Maranda Whitley (New Smyrna Beach) 235-190-425, 2. Celeste Gomez (Lake City Columbia) 210-200-410, 3. Talluya McKinnie (Navarre) 185-165-350, 10. Cari Kirkland (Manatee) 160-135-295, 12. (tie) Jessica Terry (Lakewood Ranch) 140-145-285

199 - 1. Kasey Franks (Panama City Bozeman) 195-160-355, 2. Hannah Crowe (Manatee) 165-165-330, 3. Jasmin Wyer (Pensacola Washington) 165-155-320

UNL - 1. Lakitta Johnson (Citra North Marion) 250-215-465, 2. Shamara Denard (Winter Springs) 215-160-375, 3. Johnisha Jackson (Brooksville Central) 190-160-350.