14-02-2025
Lady Gators aiming to make Wewahistory at State
WEWAHITCHKA, Fla. (WMBB) – The Wewahitchka High School girls weightlifting team is coming off of a regional title and looking to win the program's first state championship this weekend.
'Winning a state championship in anything is difficult,' head coach Bobby Johns said.
A second-place finish in last year's regional and state competition has left the Wewahitchka Gators eager for redemption.
'One of our goals was to win regionals. We swept that,' Johns said.
From the beginning of the season, one of the biggest goals has already been achieved by Wewahitchka, with gold being brought home in both Traditional and Olympic at regionals.
The importance of controlling the mental game has been emphasized by senior Ashlyn Ake, who said the regional win gave the Gators the confidence to prepare for State.
'It's going to get hard. But like I said, this is more of a mental game than just like being physically strong enough. Mental has a big part in this sport,' Ake said.
Lessons from last year's state championship have been taken by Johns, and this year, the team focuses on consistency rather than the need to hit PRs in order to win.
As one of the smallest high schools in Florida, a state championship is rarely won by Wewahitchka, and the weightlifting team has never brought home a title.
'It's huge for us at our school because there's only been a few state champions this school has ever had and none in weightlifting as a team. I've had some in cross country, in softball obviously, years ago in basketball, but it's been very few and far between,' Johns said.
The Lady Gators will travel to Lakeland on Friday, February 14.
Weigh-ins are scheduled for Friday evening, and the State competition is set to begin on Saturday, Feb. 15.
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