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Perez, Griffin take region lift titles

Perez top-ranked at 154

By Randy Lefko Sports Editor
Posted 1/30/19

FLAGLER PALM COAST – Oakleaf High senior Lexi Perez and Middleburg High’s Katlyn Griffin both powered to Region 3-2A weightlifting titles Thursday at Flagler Palm Coast.

Perez’ region total …

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Perez, Griffin take region lift titles

Perez top-ranked at 154


Posted

FLAGLER PALM COAST – Oakleaf High senior Lexi Perez and Middleburg High’s Katlyn Griffin both powered to Region 3-2A weightlifting titles Thursday at Flagler Palm Coast.

Perez’ region total of 375 pounds is top-ranked statewide by five pounds with region champions from Wellington and Sunlake high schools both at 370.

Griffin’s 330 region total is ranked sixth statewide with Ocoee’s Samantha Jefferson top-ranked with a 475 total.

The two region champions both automatically advance to the Feb. 8-9 state championships in Panama City Beach while the remaining top six finishers await statewide results to determine the rest of the respective fields. Class 2A will compete Fri., Feb. 8. Class 1A will compete Sat., Feb. 9. Navarre is the defending 2A champion with New Smyrna Beach third and Flagler fourth by a point.

New Smyrna Beach, Spruce Creek and Flagler Palm Coast recorded the rest of the region champions field with New Smyrna Beach fielding three champions; at 110, 119 and 129, with Flagler snaring titles at the opposite end at 199 and Unlimited. Spruce Creek won at 101 and 139.

Perez, second at 154 last year, won the region title with a 375 total; 20 pounds above her district title a week ago. Perez bettered her bench press to 165 from 160 while popping a 210 from 195 at district in the clean and jerk to finish 20 pounds up on runner Marr Desvarieux of New Smyrna Beach.

Griffin, on to her first state meet at 183 pounds, hoisted a 330 total, same as her district title total, with a 165 bench press and a 175 clean and jerk to top the field by just five pounds with Spruce Creek’s Aaliyah Battle second at 325. Griffin bettered her district totals by five pounds in both the bench and clean and jerk.

One notable absence from the meet was Oakleaf’s Hadassah Davis, who won the 139 pound district title with a 290 total, but was overweight by 0.1 pounds. Oakleaf teammate Nicole Masters finished sixth in 139 with 285 total; equal to her runnerup district spot to Davis last week. Spruce Creek’s Kiara Akuna won the 139 region title at 335.

Finishing in the top six of their respective weights and capable of advancing to the state meet based on statewide region totals were, at 110, Tamira Briley, Oakleaf, fourth at 250 (winner 310); at 119, Atlantis Clinkscale, Middleburg, third at 255 (winner 345); at 169, Jaeden Fernandez, Fleming Island, second at 315 (winner 365); at 183, Gabby Willitz, Oakleaf, fifth at 320 (winner 330); also at 183, Britney Payne, Fleming Island, sixth at 315, and in the Unlimited, three area lifters; Emily Georgiades, Middleburg; Markayla Green, Oakleaf, and Madison Barnard, Middleburg, finished fourth, fifth and sixth with respective totals of 325, 315 and 295 (winner at 500).

From the FHSAA on Mon., Jan. 28, advancing to state will be Oakleaf’s Tamira Briley at 110; Fleming Island’s Jaeden Fernandez at 169; Oakleaf’s Gabby Willitz at 183 and Fleming Island’s Britney Payne at 183.

Region 3-1A weightlifting

Clay snags four titles in region weightlifts

Berger ranked No. 1 in state at 154

By Randy Lefko

Sports Editor

MACCLENNY - Clay High girls weightlifting put up as good a fight as they could to thwart the Baker County juggernaut at the region 3-1A weightlifting championships held Saturday in the Wildcats’ gym and got four titles and 10 top six finishers, but the effort fell just short as Baker County got six titles to win with 70 points with Clay at 56 and Ridgeview at 30.

In 2018, Union County won the Class 1A team title with Baker County second and Clay fourth.

At 101, Clay sophomore Kira Boone joined seniors Katie James, Brooke Berger and junior Lindsay Brooks as region champion with Berger getting her second region title in two years in two different weight divisions. Berger will be a three-time state meet qualifier while James, if chosen, will also be a three-timer; no clean and jerk in 2017 and fifth in 2018; both at 119. Berger finished 11th at 129 in 2017 and second last year at 129.

Boone, Berger and Brooks added region titles to last week’s district titles with James upending Ridgeview’s Aysia Hill, third at state last year, for the region title with a 270 total; five points up on her district runnerup total. Hill, did not get a clean bench press, but teammate Emma Bonifacio, third at district, claimed second at the region meet with a 235 total; five pounds more than her region total.

Finishing in the top six and with a shot at a state meet berth based on statewide region results; region champions automatically advance with top six pooled to get next best six per weight division; were, at 101, Daniella Kraus, Ridgeview, second at 155 (winner at 210); at 110, Sam Migliore, Clay, second at 225 (winner at 245); Shaniya Chery, Ridgeview, fourth at 205; at 119, Megan Ferer, Clay, third at 225 (winner at 270); at 129, Ramsy Phillips, Orange Park, third at 240 (winner at 265); Nadyia Jones, Clay, fourth at 240; Julia Sowers, Clay, fifth at 230; Kayla Saunders, Orange Park, sixth at 225; at 139 Jenna Henderson, Ridgeview, fourth at 235 (winner at 275); Marina Kaericher, Clay, fifth at 215; at 154, Nayeli Trejo, Clay, fourth at 235 (winner at 365); at 169, Tania McCormick, Ridgeview, second at 300 (winner at 320), Abigail Hawkins, Clay, third at 290; Jayla Hall, Ridgeview, fourth at 290; at 183, Allie Holyfield, Ridgeview, fourth at 245 (winner at 295); Kalli Winder, Orange Park, fifth at 240; at 199, Grier Burrows, Ridgeview, fourth at 285 (winner at 355), Morgan Silvis, Clay, fifth at 270, and, at Unlimited, Kaila McKean, Clay, fourth at 380 (winner at 440). Burrows was 12th in 2017 at 199.

On Mon., Jan. 28, the FHSAA released their Class 1A state meet qualifiers.

At 101, Boone, with her 210 region total, is ranked fourth statewide. At 110, Migliore advances. At 119, James, with her 270 total, is ranked third. At 154, Berger’s 365 total is ranked number one with 340 the second highest lift totals. At 169, Ridgeview’s Tania McCormack, and Jayla Hall join Clay’s Abigail Hawkins with all three advancing. At 199, Brooks, at 355, is second ranked behind a 360 total from Baker’s Jurnee French (fourth at 183 in 2018) with Ridgeview’s Grier Burrows also advancing. In the Unlimiteds, Clay’s Kaila McKean’s 380 advances with top total at an incredible 540 and eight lifters over 400 pounds.