BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Bradford High School’s Takeirra Bakken finished second in the 199-pound class at the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A Girls Weightlifting Finals, which were held Feb. 18 in Lakeland.
It’s the third straight year Bakken, a senior, has earned a medal. Medals are awarded for top-six finishes.
The battle at the top of the 199 class was between Bakken and Imagine School’s Tristain Atwood, with Atwood’s 435-pound overall total earning her the state title. Bakken had a 400 total. The next-closest lifter was American Heritage’s Anna Rohrer, who had a 360 total.
Atwood had only one successful clean-and-jerk attempt, but the 225 total still put her in the lead heading into the bench-press event. Bakken was successful on all three of her clean-and-jerk attempts, lifting 190, 205 and 210.
The 210 clean and jerk was a 25-pound improvement from Bakken’s total at the District 6 meet and a 10-pound improvement from the Region 2 meet.
Bakken had a 190 on her only successful bench-press attempt. She would’ve had to do 225 in order to win the championship, with Atwood successful on attempts of 185, 195 and 210.
The Tornadoes have now had 13 individuals earn top-six medals at state the last three years, including seven last year when Bradford won the team state title.
Bradford’s Rylie Blankenship and Allie McFarland also competed at state this year, with Blankenship, a first-year lifter, finishing three spots (and 15 pounds) shy of earning a medal. She placed ninth in the 110 class with a 225 total.
Blankenship bounced back from scratching her first two clean-and-jerk attempts (105 and 115) to successfully lift 115 on her final attempt. It was the fourth-highest total in her class and a 10-pound improvement from her district and region totals. She bench pressed totals of 105 and 110 before missing 115 on her final attempt.
The 110 bench press was a 15-pound improvement from the District 6 meet and a 5-pound improvement from the Region 2 meet.
Lemon Bay’s Addison Adcock won the 110 class with an overall total of 290.
McFarland, making her first appearance at state, placed 13th in the 169 class with a 285 total. She missed her first clean-and-jerk attempt of 135, but was able to get that total successfully on her second attempt before missing out on getting 145. McFarland then did 150 on the bench press, which wound up being the fourth-highest total in her class.
Bay’s Kahlan Gant won the 169 class with an overall total of 390.
