All three Keys teams competed in girls weightlifting last week, with Key West traveling to Marathon while Coral Shores headed out of town for a tri-meet at Keys Gate.
Coral Shores finished in the middle of Keys Gate and AIE Charter in the team totals. Karla Gutierrez, Elaina Kerns and Vanessa Gabriel each added a win to their careers. All three athletes took first place in both the traditional and Olympic events. Gutierrez combined her best lifts in each event to win the 169-pound class. She benched 120 pounds, clean and jerked 100 and snatched 75. Kerns lifted 100 on bench, 80 in snatch and 115 in clean and jerk at 199 pounds. Gabriel, who competes in the Unlimited class, combined a 155-pound bench press, 95-pound snatch and 150-pound clean and jerk for her wins.
At Marathon, three Lady Fins took the top lifter spots despite Key West winning the team competition. Somerset Silver Palms finished third. Justice Lee was the top lifter of the day, winning both events at 183 pounds and also registering the top score in the Sinclair Coefficient, which determines which athlete’s performance was the best when body weight is taken into consideration. The senior strongwoman combined a 175-pound bench press, 160-pound snatch lift and 200-pound clean and jerk for the win. Ella Evans, who was second in the Sinclair Coefficient, won both events at 129 pounds. Evans benched 150, snatched 110 and cleaned 150. At 154 pounds, Adelle Bainbridge won both events and ranked third overall in Sinclair score. Bainbridge benched 120, snatched 110 and cleaned 150 pounds. Marathon’s final winner, Tinashay Cunningham, won a pair of firsts in the 139-pound class. Cunningham combined 90 pounds on bench, 75 in snatch and 105 in the clean and jerk lift for her wins.
For Key West, Courtney Ward won both events at 101. Ward benched 55 pounds, snatched 50 and clean and jerked 70. At 169 pounds, Camila Linares lifted 100, 75 and 115 at the same three events. Aaliyah McLeod’s best lifts of the day were 110, 115 and 135 in the 199-pound weight class, in which she was a dual event winner. Key West’s final winners, Monea McLeod and Sofia Nafrere, shared the wins in the Unlimited category. McLeod won the Olympic competition with a 100-pound snatch lift and 125-pound clean and jerk. Nafrere won the traditional competition with a 105 on the bench and 130 in clean and jerk.
Lifters have just over a month of regular-season meets left. Marathon and Coral Shores will have a short trip for the first round of postseason competition this year. Their district event is being held at Coral Shores High School on Jan. 20, while Key West travels to Archbishop McCarthy on Jan. 24.
Photos by Natalie Danko and Tracy McDonald
