Wewa girl lifters win state championship
They made it look easy, winning both the Olympic and traditional divisions of the Class 1A girls weightlifting title RP Funding Center Saturday in Lakeland.
But it was by no means an effortless ride for the Wewahitchka High School Lady Gators, after months of grit, determination and hard work.
In the Olympic division, Wewa earned 38 points, easily outdistancing Miami Shores Doctors Charter, which finished with 19.
In the Traditional division, it was closer, with Wewa’s 22 points just ahead of Marathon, with 16.
“Our 154 through 199-pound weight class lifters stepped up this afternoon and finished the job in dominant fashion,” said coach Bobby Johns.
“The tears of joy flowed today,” he said. “These girls have put in the work, pushed through every challenge, and left it all on the platform. We are beyond proud of their heart, dedication, and determination.
“This victory is for our team, our school, and our entire community who has supported us every step of the way,” said Johns.
In the 154-pound weight class, McKenzie Hatcher took first place in both Olympic and Traditional, with 395 pounds, and in the 169-pound class, Emma Rustin also won both Olympic, with 365, and Traditional, with 380.
Ashlyn Ake took first place in Olympic with 385, in the 183-pound class, and was runner-up in Traditional, with 380.
In the 199-pound class, Harley Boyatt took fifth place in Olympic, with 315, with Lesleigh Cox also taking a fifth in Olympic, in the 154-pound class, with 310. Cox was 10th in Traditional with 310.
In the 154-pound class, Deanna Davis took fifth place in Olympic with 310, and in Traditional with 325.
In Olympic, in the 101 pound class, Chloe Griffin finished fourth with 200 pounds. In the 199-pound class, Harley Boyatt was fifth with 315, and Paisley Bidwell, sixth with 250. In the 139-pound class, Riley Book was third with 335.
Harper Bidwell was fourth with 265 in Olympic, and eighth in Traditional with 260.
When it came down to which lifter was pound for pound, the top lifter, Altha’s Paige Stone Altha finished on top, with Hatcher ranked second and Rustin third, with that ranking based on the Malone Formula.
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.