By Kyle LoJacono
None of the Sunlake High girls weightlifters grew up dreaming of pumping iron, but the Seahawks all agree the activity has positively changed their lives forever.
“I was very timid before joining the team,” said senior Celina Romera, who has been on the squad for three years. “I wasn’t very confident in any part of my life. As I grew and got stronger I realized what I can do when I set my mind to it.
“It’s not just the physical benefits,” Romera continued. “It’s knowing I can do something that is really hard. It makes me feel like I can do anything.”
Senior Meagan Huynh agrees with Romera despite only joining the team this season.
“I wish I’d found out about it before,” Huynh said. “I love it. I’m very competitive and this is exactly the kind of thing I love doing. You push yourself to be better than the other team.”
Huynh was also on the Seahawks swimming team and is the reigning district champion in the 50-yard freestyle event. She said she tried weightlifting because she has friends on the squad.
“I’m kind of addicted to it now,” Huynh said. “… I’m sure it would have helped with swimming and I’ve had people ask me
that, but I never really lifted at all before the season.”
There are two Seahawks who not only have been on the team for all four years, but also made the state meet last season — seniors Nichole Bolt and Melanie Lehmkuhl.
“I’d never heard of girls weightlifting when I came to Sunlake,” Lehmkuhl said. “I wanted to play softball and figured weightlifting would help me make the team. The funny thing is I never played on the softball team. I broke my ankle before my freshman year, but really liked the weightlifting.”
Girls weightlifting was first offered by the Florida High School Athletic Association as a recognized sport in the 2003-04 season. Bolt and Lehmkuhl are the only Sunlake girls to make the state meet since the school opened in 2007.
Denise Garcia has been the Sunlake coach for the last three years and is confident many Seahawks will be represented in states this season.
“I’m expecting at least 50 percent of the team will get to states,” Garcia said. “I’m very confident in them. They’ve put in the work to get better and you can see from their results.”
Romera competes in the 139-pound weight class and is maxing out at 125 and 130 pounds in the bench press and clean and jerk lifts respectively. Huynh is in the 119-pound classification and is at 100 in the bench press and 105 in the clean and jerk. Lehmkuhl is in the unlimited class and can lift 150 in the bench press and 145 in the clean and jerk.
Garcia said she was very into athletics while attending Leto High, playing both volleyball and softball. She decided to become the weightlifting coach because she knew she could help the athletes.
“Being the girls weightlifting coach comes with different challenges from coaching other sports,” Garcia said. “You have to be a mother first. Girls, especially high school girls, take a certain touch to work with, but this team has been great.”
Garcia seems to have that certain touch as all of her athletes speak very highly of her coaching.
“She helps you understand where your potential is and how to get there,” Romera said.
Huynh said of Garcia, “She is so helpful. Anything she can do to help, she does.”
Unlike most sports, girls weightlifting has very few meets and instead teams have to push themselves in practice without much outside competition. Sunlake has completed their regular season with a 3-0 record and will next participate in the Sunshine Athletic Conference tournament Jan. 22 at Fivay High, followed by the sectionals.
-All results as recorded by the Florida High School Athletic Association.
