DP’s St. Cyr wins state title
Dr. Phillips, Tohopekaliga and Evans each accomplished firsts Saturday in the Class 3A girls weightlifting state championship meet.
Zamora St. Cyr gave the Panthers their first individual title by winning the 139-pound weight class at St. Cloud High School. She was this year’s only Orlando area champion.
St. Cyr, a three-time qualifier who finished one spot behind sister Jada St. Cyr’s fifth-place finish last year, hit every lift she tried to finish with a 355-pound total. That was five pounds better than the 350-pound total by Navarre’s Ariel Michel.
St. Cyr said winning the school’s first title in the sport brought tears to her eyes. She said a consistent work ethic carried her to the title.
“Never think too hard about what other people’s numbers are but worry about yourself,” St. Cyr said.
Both tied with 175-pound bench presses. St. Cyr struggled to complete her 165-pound opening bench press. She said he had to will the bar up.
St. Cyr and Michel tied each had 175-pound bench presses, and Michel had an edge in body weight in case of a tie. Instead of matching Michel’s 175 clean-and-jerk, St. Cyr went after 180 for the first time and conquered it for the championship.
She said she received encouragement from sister Jada and the rest of her family.
Three DP lifters earned all-state honors with top-six finishes. Isabel Cox finished fourth in the 139 class and Armell Oliantus took fourth in the 169 class.
As a result, the Panthers placed fifth in the team race with 13 points. Navarre won its sixth title and its first since a 2018 Class 2A crown.
Hagerty tied for seventh place with nine points. Olivia Lipari led the way for the Huskies as the state runner-up in the 129-pound class with a 335 total. Teammate Karlie Marini tied for fourth in the 183 class with a 350 total. Emma DuCharme added a sixth-place finish in the 110 class.
“We had a really hard district, a hard conference and a hard region,” Hagerty coach David Attaway said. “Across the board we’ve done pretty well.”
Evans had three firsttime all-staters. Senior Brittney Joseph took third in the 154 class, posting a 370 total. Senior Tymia McLeod took fifth in the 183 class with a 340 total.
“This is our first time bringing nine girls to state,” Evans coach Whitney Poole said. “Brittney has been to state three times. She’s progressed over all three years, from 13th to eighth last year to third.”
Tohopekaliga senior Hannah Ylimaz-Rodriguez also grabbed the school’s first all-state honor. She finished third in the 129-pound class with a 330-pound total. Bartram Trail’s Kaylee Coughlin, behind a state-record 205-pound clean and jerk, won the class with a 365 total.
“She had a fantastic day,” Toho coach Robert Weilert said of Ylimaz-Rodriguez. “She really brought it in the bench press, and the cleanand-jerk she hit was a lift we haven’t hit all season. It was a goal of ours to make sure we hit that, and we did. Incredible and gutsy.”
Several other area schools had top-three finishes. Oak Ridge’s Samantha Charles took third in the unlimited class. Seminole’s Jy’Meria Franklin took third in the 183 class.
Bears in 2A: Winter Springs place seventh with 11 points at the Class 2A championship meet at Suwannee High School in Live Oak.
Panama City Arnold won the title with 22 points.
Winter Springs’ Jillian Vinci placed second in the 101-pound weight class with a 275 total. She combined a 145 clean and jerk with a 130 bench.
Madison Gomrad placed third for the Bears at 169 with a 355 total. Her teammate, Un’tee Brown, was sixth in that weight class with a 335 mark. Lindsay Corazzi totaled 310 to place sixth at 129.
Cristina Sweet of Edgewater placed third at 154 with a 360 effort.
Harmony’s Adriana Rosa took fourth in the 139 class with a 315 total.
Leesburg’s Lamar Gaith Garrison placed fourth at 183 with a 350 performance.
Mikayla Williams of Eustis totaled 320 for fifth at 199.