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Abby Shaffer

Sunlake girls weightlifting well-represented on SAC awards

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The dominance of the Sunlake girls weightlifting program remained apparent at the annual Sunshine Athletic Conference (East) Awards.

The Sunlake girls weightlifting team was well-represented in the SAC East Awards. Denise Garcia won SAC East Coach of the Year honors, and 10 lifters were selected to the SAC East All-Conference teams.
(Courtesy of Denise Garcia)

Seahawks coach Denise Garcia won her second consecutive SAC East Girls’ Weightlifting Coach of the Year Award, and 10 of her lifters were named to the 2016-2017 SAC East All-Conference team, announced on March 6.

A mix of youth and experience, Sunlake won all of their Eastside Conference meets, placed second at the Class 2A Regionals and had three top-10 finishers at the state finals.

The season also saw a few milestones for the girls’ program, including its first 400-pound lifter.

Senior Micaiah Long set that mark at the 2017 Class 2A state meet, with a 215-pound bench press and a 185-pound clean-and-jerk, placing third in the unlimited division.

The previous school record was a 385-pound total, set in the 2015-2016 season by Brianna Anderson, who won a state title in the 183-pound division.

Senior Micaiah Long became Sunlake’s first 400-pound lifter during the Class 2A state meet. The mark was good enough to place third in the unlimited division.

Long, a first-year lifter in the Sunlake program, added a combined 65 pounds to her lifts since the first meet of the season.

Her strategy? More lifting.

“I just worked hard,” Long said. “I went in and worked out more, got extra reps in.”

“She started at 335 (pounds), and she improved with her work ethic,” Garcia said. “She put so much into it. She had the passion to do it, she had a goal she set for herself, and she was going to do it.”

Garcia, too, credits Long for being coachable throughout the season.

“She listens and takes everything I tell her,” the coach said. “She’s like a sponge.”

In the meantime, Long won’t soon forget the weightlifting experience.

“It was exciting. I accomplished my goals,” said Long, who’s also on the Sunlake track and field team.

“I was shy, and I think it brought my personality out.”

The 400-pound feat wasn’t the only Sunlake record shattered during the season, however.

Denise Garcia, right, won her second consecutive SAC East Girls’ Weightlifting Coach of the Year award. Senior Micaiah Long was selected First-Team All-Conference.
(Kevin Weiss)

In the 101-pound class, senior Shelby Lewis set a school and conference record with a 130-pound clean-and-jerk; she later finished ninth in the state meet.

Without Lewis and Long, Garcia’s 10th season could prove more challenging, as the Seahawks also lose two other state qualifiers in seniors Hailey Parks (sixth place in 183-pound division) and Caroline Winstead (19th in 139-pound division.)

For Garcia, it’s no matter.

With five non-seniors representing Sunlake on the All-Conference list, the Seahawks coach isn’t concerned about a possible rebuilding-type year for the 2017-2018 season.

Instead, she relishes the task.

“I coach who’s in front of me,” Garcia said. “My job is to give them the confidence, to show them the skills, and then we go from there.”

“I have confidence in my girls,” she added.

One lifter to watch out for next season, Garcia said, is freshman Antoinette Farmer.

Competing in the 183-pound division, Farmer increased her lifting totals from 195 pounds to 285 pounds over the course of the season.

Garcia heaped high praise on Farmer, noting she could one day surpass Brianna Anderson’s totals.

“She’s hungry,” Garcia said. “To have somebody like that—the whole package—it’s rare to find that.”

2016-2017 SAC East All-Conference Girls’ Weightlifting
Coach of the Year: Denise Garcia, Sunlake High
Athlete of the Year: Jessica Guadarrama, Zephyrhills High, junior

First-Team All-Conference
101-pound: Shelby Lewis, Sunlake High, senior
110-pound: Savannah Sutton, Zephyrhills High, sophomore
119-pound: Lizbeth Estrada, Zephyrhills High, senior
129-pound: Loah Castro, Sunlake High, sophomore
139-pound: Caroline Winstead, Sunlake High, sophomore
154-pound: Tricia Clifton, Wiregrass Ranch High, senior
169-pound: Alysa Kremer, Land O’ Lakes High, freshman
183-pound: Jessica Guadarrama, Zephyrhills High, junior
199-pound: Yarixa Casasnovas, Sunlake High, junior
Unlimited: Micaiah Long, Sunlake High, senior

Second-Team All-Conference
101-pound: Sara First, Zephyrhills High, senior
110-pound: Maria Espinal, Sunlake High, sophomore
119-pound: Caitlyn Elling, Pasco High, sophomore
129-pound: Mariah Melendez, Sunlake High, sophomore
139-pound: Isabella Garcia, Sunlake High, freshman
154-pound: Katelyn Ortiz, Sunlake High, senior
169-pound: Veronica Salazar, Land O’ Lakes High, sophomore
183-pound: Hailey Parks, Sunlake High, senior
199-pound: Tatyana Cole, Zephyrhills High, junior
Unlimited: Abby Shaffer, Zephyrhills High School, sophomore
Honorable Mention: Abigail Monticco, Wesley Chapel, junior

Published March 15, 2017

 

Zephyrhills girls weightlifting shines at states

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The Zephyrhills High School girls weightlifting team can now lay claim as one of the top teams in the state.

Buoyed by the performances of two upperclassmen and an underclassman, the Bulldogs sprung into a tie for seventh place (out of 35 schools) at the FHSAA Class 1A girls weightlifting finals at Belleview High School on Feb. 3.

The Zephyrhills girls weightlifting team placed seventh at the FHSAA Class 1A state finals. The team is only losing four seniors.
(Courtesy of Joseph Rinaldo)

“I did not ever expect to be a top-10 team,” said Joe Rinaldo, in his ninth year at Zephyrhills. “That was surprising.”

At the same token, the 2016-2017 team is one of the best he’s ever had.

“I would take this team against any of those teams I’ve ever had. They were that good,” he said.

Three girls did the heavy lifting for the Bulldogs: senior Sara First (101- pound class), junior Jessica Guadarrama (183) and sophomore Abby Shaffer (unlimited).

In the 183-pound class, Guadarrama finished state runner-up with a 175-pound bench press and 175-pound clean-and-jerk for a 350-pound total. Those numbers were a sizable jump from her sophomore year at states, when she put together a 305-pound total (140-pound bench, 165-pound clean-and-jerk).

She credits her year-round training.

“I worked for what I got,” Guadarrama said, assuredly. “I had a lot of offseason time to practice.”

Her mindset during the state finals helped, too.

“When I went into the meet, I was focused on myself. I didn’t pay attention to the other (competitors) because that would mess my focus,” she explained. “I came here to do my own numbers and what I know I can do, and whatever place I can get with those numbers.”

In the unlimited class, Shaffer placed fourth (185-205—390). Meantime, First placed sixth (120-110—230) in the 101-pound class.

“At first, you look at it, and it’s like nerve-wracking because it’s like the best in the state get there,” Shaffer said. “But once you get into it, you realize it’s just like a normal meet — just more schools and more on the line a little bit.”

Rinaldo said he expected top-tier finishes for both Guadarrama and Shaffer. Yet, it was his senior—a first-time lifter— that surprised him the most.

“She was in a tough spot going into it, and between her lifting and other people failing ahead of her, she was able to move up and get on the medal stand,” Rinaldo said, of First.

“It was so amazing to see her journey from the start to the ending,” Guadarrama said. “I did not expect her to go to states; it was awesome.”

The team’s core development began last summer, when Rinaldo signed up several lifters to compete in a USA Weightlifting club affiliated with Fortitude Fitness in Trinity.

It went a long way toward improving lifting technique, especially for Guadarrama and Shaffer.

“We made a lot of changes in the clean-and-jerk technique,” Rinaldo said. “Learning to snatch helped immensely with their cleans. …It was hard at first for them, but once they picked it up and learned how to use it, it made their cleans that much better.”

In essence, small changes led to big increases, he said.

Guadarrama agreed.

“The majority of weightlifting,” Guadarrama said, “is more of technique than how much muscle you have. It’s 10 percent physical, and the rest is mental…””

Meanwhile, excitement is already building for the 2017-2018 season.

Credit the youth movement.

“There’s a lot of good girls that didn’t make it to states that are still young that are coming back,” Rinaldo said. “I’m only losing four seniors.”

Among those up-and-coming lifters are sophomore Savannah Sutton (110 pounds) and juniors Halee Karppe (129) and Chase Booker (139).

“I’m pretty sure there’s going to be more (state qualifiers) next year,” Guadarrama said. “As a team, I would like to see us go higher, like fifth place.”

“I think we could maybe get better,” Shaffer said. “Some of the freshman this year — they have potential.”

Some first-timers, too, could one day make a splash.

“The popularity of our team—probably the past few weeks—has grown,” Rinaldo said. “I’ve got people coming up to me in the hallways saying, ‘Hey, when do we start back up again? I’ve got girls that want to come out.’ I don’t know how good they are, but what we’re doing is speaking volumes right now.”

Other state results from area weightlifters

Bench press-clean-and-jerk—Total
Class 1A
101 pounds
Sara First (Zephyrhills High): sixth place; 120-110—230

139 pounds
Eliahnis Lewis (Pasco High): 140-125—265

183 pounds
Jessica Guadarrama (Zephyrhills High): second place; 175-175—350

Unlimited
Abby Shaffer (Zephyrhills High); fourth place; 185-205—390

Class 2A
101 pounds
Shelby Lewis (Sunlake High) 115-120—235
Zeena Zayed (Freedom High) third place; 130-135—265

139 pounds
Caroline Winstead (Sunlake High); 140-0—140

154 pounds
Tricia Clifton (Wiregrass Ranch High): 145-135—280

169 pounds
Josie Blew (Freedom High): 140-180—320
Alyssa Kremer (Land O’ Lakes High): 165-140—305
Veronica Salazar (Land O’ Lakes High): 160-145—305

183 pounds
Hailey Parks (Sunlake High): sixth place; 170-170—340

Unlimited
Micaiah Long (Sunlake High): third place; 215-185—400

Published February 15, 2017