Lady Gators weightlifting off to a strong start
Wewahitchka girls weightlifting coach David Peavy has good reason to be excited about this year’s team, which is currently 7-1 “after posting impressive wins over Liberty County and Port St. Joe this week.”
The Lady Gators’ only loss came at the “hands” of two-time 2A state champion Arnold. Peavy’s roster is made up of the following:
Seventh grader Deanna Davis; eighth graders McKenzie Hatcher (a returning state qualifier), Bryanna Robison, and Eden Rustin; and ninth grader Emma Rustin.
Six sophomores are on the squad, including returning state qualifiers Ashlyn and Zoey Ake, and returning state medalist Katelyn Kemp.
Jalyan Badillo, Riley Book, and Harley Boyatt complete the strong sophomore class. Four juniors include Taniya Foster, twin sisters Ashley and Hope Thompson, and Angel Williams.
Rounding out the Gator squad are senior co-captains Sarah Bailey, a returning state qualifier, and Hailey McDaniel.
McDaniel competed in the 2022 USA Weightlifting Championships this past June in Las Vegas, where she achieved a personal best in the snatch competition.
Peavy and his Gator lifters hope to continue their winning ways next Friday, December 9, at the River Ridge Invitational in New Port Richey.
Following that competition, Wewa will host Liberty County on Wednesday, December 14, and then lift at the Power of Christmas Tournament in Live Oak on Friday, December 16.
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.