As the Charlotte High girls weightlifting team stretched and warmed up for the regional meet, Coach Angie Nolan had a short, simple message for her lifters: enjoy the day.
‘We have to savor moments,” Nolan said. “Sometimes we get so preoccupied with life that we don’t take in the little or the big things. This is a great opportunity today. Let’s take time to enjoy it for what it is, because it’s not going to come around every day.”
The Tarpons claimed four individual champions – Jenna Trainor (110-pound weight class), Breanna Jacobs (129) Loni Carmello (199) and Tiffany Dodson (Unl.) – and the team title with 64 points Wednesday in the Class 2A-Region 8 Meet on their home floor at the Wally Keller Gymnasium.
Manatee and Land O’Lakes Sunlake finished in a tie for second with 39 points. Hurricanes coach Rich Lansky first loss the toss to call the flip to see which team took home the runner-up trophy, and then lost the toss in dramatic fashion – the coin flipped and rolled under the bleachers before falling on the heads side. The Hurricanes, who had a pair of champions in Heather Ball (101) and Brooke Schamber (154), will receive another trophy for their shelf. Sunlake took three individual crowns, and Venice’s Natalie Deto grabbed the final of the 10 titles awarded.
Currently, only the winners advance to the FHSAA Girls Weightlifting Finals on Feb. 6 at the Kissimmee Civic Center.
Safe to say Charlotte savored the moments.
“We’re happy: back-to-back regional champs,” Nolan said.
“We had 13 lifters today. Some are going to be on their A game. Some, maybe, not so much. Maybe things don’t go their way. But those who didn’t were resilient and bounced right back.”
One was Carmello. The senior benched 200 pounds, but failed twice at 210, a weight she posted at last week’s district meet.
“My bench didn’t like me today,” Carmello said.
“Mentally, she came right back,” Nolan said. “You see some kids who don’t do well in the bench, they just don’t perform in the clean and jerk, because they’ve already told themselves in the head that it’s an off day. She bounced right back. She’s a true captain. She was a trooper.”
Carmello came back with a 210 in the clean and jerk, five pounds better than she accomplished at districts, for a 410 total, the highest total of any lifter Wednesday.
“I wanted to improve my total,” said Carmello, who had a 415 total at the districts. “I wanted to get at least a 420, which would have PRed my total last week, and tied the state record.
“I PRed by five. I’ve never jerked that much, so I’m happy with that.”
“That is a sign of a champion,” Nolan said.
Trainor, a junior, increased her bench by five pounds and turned in a 255, five more than last week and a 25-pound victory.
Jacobs, a defending state champion, matched her bench of 185 from a week ago, but the junior went 10 pounds higher in the clean and jerk with a 175 for a 360 total, breaking her school record.
Dodson, another junior, upped her bench by five and her clean and jerk by 10 for a 365, resulting in a 35-pound victory.
“I could go on and on and on,” said Nolan, enthusiastically waving her arms with excitement. “Kacey Meddaugh had a big day today. Freshman Shelby Beisner PRed today. She was a maniac. Breanna Jacobs broke the school record, beat her PRs. You’ve got Kendall Chavarria, Sam Fining, Loni Carmello, Tiffany Dodson. Those girls just blew it up today.”
The entire state field will be set next week, but that is not going to prevent Charlotte from proceeding as normal.
“We’ve got to play that waiting game. Nothing changes. Everybody lifts,” Nolan said. “It’s just like they are going to the states automatically.”
Manatee’s Ball, a senior, increased her clean by five pounds for a five-pound increase from last week to 230. Schamber, a junior, also upped her total by five pounds to 285 with an increase in the clean.
Deto, a junior, went up 10 with the increase coming in the clean for a 320 total.
Complete team scoring: 1. Charlotte 64, 2 (tie) Manatee 39, 2. (tie) Land O’Lakes Sunlake 39, 4. Tampa Mitchell 21, 5. Venice 14, 6. Land O’Lakes 12, 7. (tie) Palmetto, 7. (tie) Sarasota 7, 9. (tie) Lakewood Ranch 5, 9. (tie) North Port 5, 11. Braden River 4, 12. Riverview 3, 13. Tampa Springstead 0.
Courtesy of: Herald Tribune