BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Chloe Still, who was one of four Keystone Heights High School girls weightlifters to qualify for state, earned a runner-up finish in the traditional event at the Region 2-1A finals, which were held Feb. 1 in Chiefland.
It was the second straight year Still earned second place at the regional level. She, Ava Herman and Kaylee Park earned at-large traditional bids to state, while Ashlyn Brown received an at-large bid in Olympic.
The state meet will be held Saturday, Feb. 15, at R.P. Funding Center-Jenkins Arena in Lakeland. Park and Still will lift in the 9 a.m. session, while Brown and Herman will lift in the 3 p.m. session.
State tickets, which are $11 in advance and $14 the day of the event, can be purchased online at rpfundingcenter.com.
Parking at the event is $12.
Please note that R.P. Funding Center is a cashless facility.
Traditional results
At the Region 2 meet, Still had a 305-pound total in the 139-pound class, leaving her trailing champion Amya Ramos of Pierson Taylor by 10 pounds. Still had the third-best clean-and-jerk total of 145 and the best bench-press total of 160.
Though it didn’t earn her a state berth, Brown placed fourth in the 154 class with a 260 total (135 clean and jerk, 125 bench press). She was 5 pounds away from qualifying for state.
Herman earned her state bid with a fifth-place finish in the unlimited class. She had a 155 clean and jerk and a 160 bench press for a 315 total, improving upon her District 6 total by 10 pounds. Herman was 6 for 6 on all her attempts (three in the clean and jerk, three in the bench).
Lily Mitchell also earned a fifth-place finish with a 260 total (130, 130) in the 183 class. She was 10 pounds away from earning a state berth. Her total was 5 pounds better than what she did at the District 6 meet.
Park qualified for state by placing seventh in the 129 class with a 240 total (125, 115), which improved upon her district total by 10 pounds. She was successful on all of her clean-and-jerk and bench attempts.
Cadie Bowles was 5 pounds away from earning a state berth in the 110 class, finishing with an eighth-place total of 200 (100, 100).
Paige Harrington also earned an eighth-place finish with a 245 total (125, 120) in the 183 class.
Morgan Wilson placed 10th in the 169 class with a 265 total (125, 140).
Keystone also had the following compete: London Williams, who had a 120 total (65, 55) in the 101 class, Aubre Miller, who had a 170 total (90, 80) in the 110 class, Kaiya Thompson, who had a 215 total (100, 115) in the 139 class, Makenzi Brinson, who had a 245 total (120, 125) in the 154 class, and Raegan Lee, who had a 245 total (120, 125) in the 169 class.
Olympic results
Brown earned Keystone’s only Olympic state berth, placing third in her class with a 250 total (115 snatch, 135 clean and jerk). She had the best snatch in the class.
The next-closest state qualifier Keystone had was Herman, who was 5 pounds away from making state with a sixth-place total of 245 (90, 155).
Keystone had two other sixth-place finishers in Park, who had a 215 total (90, 125), and Harrington, who had a 225 total (100, 125). Park, who was successful on all of her snatch attempts, improved her Olympic total at the District 6 meet by 10 pounds.
Mitchell finished with an eighth-place total of 215 (85, 130), while Natalie Layfield was eighth in the 129 class with a 205 total (85, 120). Mitchell and Layfield had 5- and 10-pound improvements, respectively, from their District 6 totals.
Still placed ninth with a 235 total (90, 145).
The following also competed for the Indians: Williams, who had a 115 total (50, 65), Bowles, who had a 170 total (70, 100), Miller, who had a 145 total (55, 90), Thompson, who had a 180 total (80, 100), and Wilson, who had a 210 total (85, 125).
