Telegraph Staff Writer
One year after winning its first district championship, the Bradford High School girls weightlifting program did it again, capturing the District 5-1A title on Jan. 18.
An accomplishment to be proud of, for sure, but this year, the Tornadoes are aiming for a much higher championship.
“District was just one steppingstone,” senior Jessica Traylor said.
Senior Hannah McFarland said, “We’re coming for a state ring.”
The next steppingstone is the Region 2 finals on Saturday, Jan. 29, at 11 a.m. at Daytona Beach’s Father Lopez High School, where Bradford will attempt to win its second straight regional championship and qualify as many lifters as possible for state.
Winning championships of any sort is a thrill, so don’t think the Tornadoes didn’t celebrate earning that District 5 trophy. It was certainly a big deal to McFarland, who didn’t compete at last year’s district meet because of a shoulder injury.
“It was amazing,” she said of this year’s experience. “Last year, it broke my heart because I wasn’t able to help my team.”
Senior Mahailya Reeves, who lifted for Union County High School the previous three seasons, has never lost a competition, so she entered the Jan. 18 event as a three-time district champ. However, this year’s meet, which resulted in her winning her fourth district title, was still a meaningful experience.
As the saying goes, “Winning never gets old.”
“It was an emotional day,” Reeves said. “I had a good time.”
In fact, just because the Tornadoes have a bigger goal in mind, the team’s seniors said winning the district title this year was even better than doing it last year. They said they’re closer as a team this year and enjoying the ride more.
“We were a team last year,” Mikayla Cooper said. “This year, we’re a family.”
Breann Ponce echoed that sentiment, saying, “Honestly, it is one big family with us. We’re here day in and day out with each other. We’ve become more like sisters. Coach Bryan (Griffis), honestly, has become more like a dad to us. We see him every day.”
Ponce then couldn’t help picking on “Dad” just a little.
“We get sick of his face, but we still love him,” she said. “He knows it.”
Griffis is in his first year as BHS coach, but he’s no stranger to training top-performing lifters. In each of the last six seasons, he coached at least one individual state champion at Union County High School. He had four win state in 2018, which also resulted in Union winning the team championship.
Obviously, that was a special year for him. Could this one be better?
“These girls are competitive. They want to win,” Griffis said. “If I get a hold of a team that’s competitive and wants to win, I’m going to give them 100 percent of me to help them. They want to win.
“This could be better than any team I’ve ever coached. They have the chance to better than any team I’ve ever coached. It just depends on how much each of them wants it.”
If the senior class is any indication, they want it bad, which is why they wish the Region 2 meet didn’t start more than a week after the District 5 meet.
“I want it bad,” McFarland said. “Like Coach Bryan says, ‘You have to want it more than you want to breathe.’”
Ponce said, “We’re ready.”
Bradford will have 15 competing at the Region 2 meet: Cooper (119 class), McFarland (110), Ponce (129), Reeves (unlimited), Traylor (unlimited) and fellow senior Raven Ford (154), juniors Takeirra Bakken (183), Courtney Comer (169), Emma Franke (169), Brianna Jordan (154) and Gabby Oliver (199), sophomores Presley Acree (119) and Kristen Hodges (129) and freshmen Abbie Markham (101) and Allie McFarland (139).
Cooper and Reeves are making their fourth straight trip to regionals, while McFarland has been three out of four years. Bakken, Comer, Jordan and Traylor are each making their third trip.
Bakken, Comer, Cooper, Jordan, Oliver, Reeves and Hannah McFarland won their weight classes at the District 5 meet, while Traylor and Allie McFarland were runners-up. Ford, Markham and Ponce were third-place finishers. Acree placed fourth, while Franke and Hodges both placed sixth.
Seven of the Region 2 qualifiers were state participants last year, with Reeves and Comer, who lifted for Union County High School, winning state titles. Reeves is attempting to become the first girls weightlifter in Florida to win four championships. No one’s come remotely close to beating her during her career.
Bakken, Cooper, Jordan, Oliver and Traylor qualified for state last season as well, with Bakken and Jordan placing second in their respective classes.
The individual champions at all of the state’s regional meets will automatically qualify for state. An additional 17 lifters in each weight class will receive at-large berths, based upon their regional totals.
The Class 1A state finals will be held Saturday, Feb. 12, at Port St. Joe High School.
Griffis expressed his thanks to local businesses for their support as well as to the parents, who’ve allowed him to focus on the task at hand.
“The parents have really, really helped out this year,” he said. “It has made it easier for me to coach not to have to worry about the fundraising part, the food at every meet, helping me get stuff lined up for coolers and ice and drinks for the girls. There’s so much that people don’t realize goes into it.
“When you have the support of the parents, it makes it so much easier.”
Thanks to the support they’ve received, the weightlifters and coaches have team T-shirts, the back of which bear Philippians 4:13, the Biblical verse Griffis and his teams have long held as their motto: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Griffis hopes his team’s supporters wind up buying more than T-shirts when it’s all said and done.
“We’re not through with our journey yet,” Griffis said. “We’re just getting started. Make sure those businesses know that at the end of it, we’ve got to buy state rings for all these girls.”
