Ridaught: Gainesville High hosts inaugural girls weightlifting county meet

Buchholz's Leila Ricks in the 119-pound weight class snatching 140 pounds at Thursday's first-ever Alachua County Championships held at GHS. Photo by C.J. Gish
Buchholz senior Leila Ricks was the top lifter in both the Traditional and the Olympic competition after posting a total of 260 and 300 pounds, respectively, competing in the 119-pound weight class at Thursday's first-ever Alachua County Championships held at GHS.
Photo by C.J. Gish

On Thursday, host GHS, Buchholz, Eastside, Santa Fe and Hawthorne participated in the first-ever Alachua County girls weightlifting meet.

“I think this is a beginning start of something new and something great, and it’s also going to grow the sport because a lot of people don’t know too much about the sport and one thing I’ve learned about coaching this sport, it brings more confidence, it shows them what they can do instead of saying what they can’t do,” said Tameika Greenlee, who is in her 10th year as the head coach at Eastside. “Some of my girls came in not even lifting a bar and now you’re up to 90 pounds…if you can build your confidence here you can build it anywhere because you come in doubting, but you leave believing.”

Gainesville's Jaeda Stark lifting at the Alachua County Championships on Thursday. Photo by C.J. Gish
Photo by C.J. Gish Gainesville’s Jaeda Stark lifting at the Alachua County Championships on Thursday.

There were a lot of great competitors who competed against each other either in USA Weightlifting or the high school ranks.

For 21 years, GHS head coach Steve Bauer has been trying to organize a county meet. It finally came to fruition.

“It’s great that we were finally able to get it going,” he said. “I tried for numerous years and finally everybody took me up on the offer of us hosting this county meet at Gainesville High School. It’s a wonderful thing and we’re going to keep it going as long as I am around and as long as I’m alive.”

GHS assistant head coach Deac Story said most weightlifting events are over an hour away, so this was an opportunity to do something local.

“We’ve been trying to put something like this together for a while,” he said. “We wanted to create that big meet atmosphere. There aren’t many big meets in the Gainesville area when it comes to weightlifting…We want to try and build a tradition and bring an attraction to the city as well.”

GHS finished first in both the Traditional (73 points) and the Olympic competition (84).

Buchholz's Juliana Abraham in the 199 pound weight class lifting at the first-ever Alachua County Championships held at GHS on Thursday. Photo by C.J. Gish
Photo by C.J. Gish Buchholz’s Juliana Abraham in the 199 pound weight class lifting at the first-ever Alachua County Championships held at GHS on Thursday.

“They did great,” Story said. “Weightlifting season is an impossible season. You’re asking these girls week in and week out to give maximum effort after training and it’s just not realistic. However, these girls every week, every day, they answer the call and put in that hard work, and it shows.”

Six different Hurricanes won medals in the Traditional, with senior captain Kayden Smith finishing first in the Olympic competition too in the 154-pound division.

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“I’m honestly really proud of myself,” Smith said. “The snatch was really, it’s a fight, but I also did PR. I got 120 so I’m really happy about it and I think I did really well so I’m excited.”

Buchholz finished second behind GHS in both the Traditional (43 points) and the Olympic competition (48).

“I know the girls are always excited to go and face Gainesville High School, there’s always a small little rivalry there since we are so close in proximity,” said second-year Buchholz coach Luke Levasseur, whose team competes in 3A-District 3. “It’s great that the other schools can come and join us this year. Having everyone come together in one spot like this, I really appreciate Coach Bauer and Coach Deac for putting this together for us. We’ve got some big plans for next year too.”

Eastside's Amelia Ohaegbulam lifts at the Alachua County Championships on Thursday. Photo by C.J. Gish
Photo by C.J. Gish Eastside’s Amelia Ohaegbulam lifts at the Alachua County Championships on Thursday.

Senior captain Leila Ricks of Buchholz was the top lifter in both the Traditional and the Olympic thanks to a total of 260 and 300 pounds, respectively, competing in the 119-pound weight class.

Senior co-captain Lela Bagby won the 139-pound Olympic competition with a total of 250 pounds, and she won the Traditional with a total of 255.

“I’m really happy to be here and I’m really glad that there’s a bigger meet in the town,” Bagby said. “Our Gainesville-Buchholz meet is our biggest meet of the year every season so having the county meet is really good especially for a lot of the smaller schools because they get to compete in a meet that’s a little bit bigger and really help the sport here.”

Senior teammate Ali Williams finished first in the Olympic (270 total) and second in the Traditional (270), behind Eastside junior Terriyana Obas (320).

“I think I did really awesome, actually,” Williams said. “I hit a 115-snatch, which is a PR (personal record) for me. I’ve never hit it before in competition, and then I hit the clean and jerk at 155, which was a huge goal for me, and the benching also went really well, 115, which was a PR for me, so tonight I think I did excellent.”

Senior Nakiya Baker of Eastside finished first overall in the bench press competition with a total of 175 pounds.

Hawthorne's Sherece Thomas lifting at the Alachua County Championships at GHS on Thursday. Photo by C.J. Gish
Photo by C.J. Gish Hawthorne’s Sherece Thomas lifting at the Alachua County Championships at GHS on Thursday.

“I think my overall performance was good,” said Baker, whose personal best is 180 pounds. “It wasn’t as I wanted it to be, but it was good overall. I was so in my head today. Hopefully, I will be able to continue to focus and work hard and get my mind right (for districts).”

Gainesville senior Lauryn Simmons finished second behind Baker in the bench press.

“I actually missed my call for my third, so I was like, ‘you know what let’s just go ahead and do 170,’ and I was super empowered because my spotter, Jake, he helped me a lot and he truly believes in me, and my Coach Tony Malo, he definitely believes in me, so I knew I had it,” Simmons said. “I definitely am surprised by that.”

Simmons finished first in both the Olympic and Traditional competitions with a total of 300 and 345, respectively, in the 183-pound weight class.

It was a good tune-up for next weekend’s district meet.

Ricks will likely be a three-time state qualifier this year.

“I think we have a good chance for districts this year,” Levasseur said. “We have nine seniors on the team. They’ve all been around on the team for at least four years or so. They have a lot of experience and knowledge.”

Eastside's Isabela Perez-Thomas lifting at Thursday's Alachua County Championships held at GHS. Photo by C.J. Gish
Photo by C.J. Gish Eastside’s Isabela Perez-Thomas lifting at Thursday’s Alachua County Championships held at GHS.

GHS will host the 2A-District 6 tournament at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25. It will include Santa Fe, which is coached by Tim Shankle, and Eastside.

Hawthorne, which competes in 1A-District 8, is coached by Jade Troy and is in its first year of the program.

Gainesville’s Ori Sela, who was the Class 2A state runner-up in both the traditional and Olympic 169-pound division last year, was unable to attend yesterday’s meet due to a family commitment but will be a key contributor to the ‘Canes success in the postseason.

The Hurricanes will also host the 2A-Region 2 Meet at noon on Saturday, Feb. 1.

For complete results of the Alachua County championships click here.

Gainesville head coach Steve Bauer (white shirt and hat) organized the inaugural Alachua County Championships hosted at GHS on Thursday. Photo by C.J. Gish
Photo by C.J. Gish Gainesville head coach Steve Bauer (white shirt and hat) organized the inaugural Alachua County Championships hosted at GHS on Thursday.
Gainesville's Lauren Simmons in the bench press at the Alachua County Championships held at GHS on Thursday. Photo by Mike Ridaught
Photo by Mike Ridaught Gainesville’s Lauren Simmons in the bench press at the Alachua County Championships held at GHS on Thursday.
Gainesville's Kamri Mason lifting at the Alachua County Championships on Thursday. Photo by C.J. Gish
Photo by C.J. Gish Gainesville’s Kamri Mason lifting at the Alachua County Championships on Thursday.
Gainesville's Jabria Manns lifting at the first-ever Alachua County Championships held at GHS on Thursday. Photo by C.J. Gish
Photo by C.J. Gish Gainesville’s Jabria Manns lifting at the first-ever Alachua County Championships held at GHS on Thursday.
Buchholz's Nadia Turner in the 154-pound weight class lifting at the Alachua County Championships held at GHS on Thursday. Photo by C.J. Gish
Photo by C.J. Gish Buchholz’s Nadia Turner in the 154-pound weight class lifting at the Alachua County Championships held at GHS on Thursday.
Eastside's Nakiya Baker lifting 175 pounds on the bench press at the Alachua County Championships. Photo by Mike Ridaught
Photo by Mike Ridaught Eastside’s Nakiya Baker lifting 175 pounds on the bench press at the Alachua County Championships.
Hawthorne's Brynia Jones lifting at the Alachua County Championships at GHS on Thursday. Photo by C.J. Gish
Photo by C.J. Gish Hawthorne’s Brynia Jones lifting at the Alachua County Championships at GHS on Thursday.
Gainesville's Ryan Black lifting at the Alachua County Championships on Thursday. Photo by C.J. Gish
Photo by C.J. Gish Gainesville’s Ryan Black lifting at the Alachua County Championships on Thursday.

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