Wewa girls sweep weightlifting regionals
If you wanted to see an elegant demonstration of the strength, the poise, and the determination of Florida girls, the gymnasium and the lunchroom at Wewahitchka High School was the place to be last Saturday.
And after the last barbell clanged to the wood on the mats, the Wewa girls had swept the Class 1A Region 1 meet the school was hosting.
In the Olympic division, which comprises the weights from the snatch, and from the clean-and-jerk events, Wewa won with 57 points, 16 better than runner-up Suwannee Live Oak.
In the Traditional division, which pairs the result of the clean-and-jerk with the bench press, Wewa had a tougher time of it, edging Suwanee by a single point, 39-38.
In the Olympic competition, winning first in the 101-pound class was Wewa’s Chloe Griffin, who edged her opponent, Milton Central’s Taegan Baggett, who both lifted 195 pound total, because he weighed about one pound less.
Wewa’s Harper Bidwell and Paisley Bidwell, were second and third in the 199-pound class, with 265 and 245 pounds respectively.
In the 129-pound class, Wewa’s Mia Beatty was 10th, with 215 pounds.
In the 139-pound class, Wewa’s Riley Book, with 325 pounds, was second to North Bay Haven’s Anna Carlson. Her teammate Madison Hatcher was sixth with 260 pounds, and Port St. Joe’s Aniston Gainer was ninth with 245.
In the 154-pound class, Wewa’s Mckenzie Hatcher overwhelmed the competition, winning with 390 pounds, 70 pounds more than Suwannee’s Katherine Lansford. Wewa’s Deanna Davis was third with 305.
In the 169-pound class, Wewa’s Emma Rustin was equally dominant, lifting 365 pounds, nearly 100 more than runner-up Emaysa Blue, from Suwannee.
Wewa’s Ashlyn Ake had a similar strong performance in the 183-pound class, lifting 380, 80 more than her teammate, runner-up Lesleigh Cox.
In the 199-pound class, Wewa’s Harley Boyatt was second with 315 pounds.
In the unlimited class, Port St. Joe’s Eileen Madrid was 10th, with 235 pounds.
In the Traditional category, Griffin was second in the 101-pound class, with 205, just behind Baggett.
In the 110 class, Harper Bidwell was fourth, with 260 pounds, and Paisley Bidwell was seventh, with 245 pounds.
In the 129-pound class, Beatty was ninth, with 220 pounds, and in the 139-pound class, Book was third with 315 and Madison Hatcher eighth with 265 pounds. St. Joe’s Gainer was 10th, with 260 pounds.
Hatcher won at 154 with 380, and Davis was fourth, with 320 pounds.
Rustin won in 169-pounds, with a combined 370 pounds, and Ake won in the 183-pound class, with a total of 375, with Cox with 310 pounds.
Boyatt was fifth in the 199-pound class, with a total of 305 pounds.
Bobby Johns’ squad now heads to the state championship, Feb. 14-15 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.