St. Ed’s 2016-17 girls weightlifting team is crafted from the usual fusion of diverse participants. This time the gamut stretches from a newcomer who joined the team during the season, to an already highly decorated lifter with aspirations to reach the pinnacle of competition at the state championship meet.
“We’ve got a wide range of experience levels,” head coach Les Rogers said.
“They are all doing a good job. The new lifters are jumping in and picking up things quickly. They seem to be really enjoying themselves.
“The experienced lifters are providing good guidance and leadership for the younger kids. It’s a great mix and they all seem to be supporting one another. They stick together and help each other out. It’s great to see.”
The rundown goes like this: Seniors Kendra Mathes and Angela Schwerer are longtime veterans in the weight room. Freshman Fiona Zimmerman is in her second year. Seniors Victoria Bradford, Evelyn Cutting, junior Alie Miller and freshman Rachel Thorpe are all trying it out for the first time.
As a sophomore Mathes became the first girl from St. Ed’s to medal at states with a 250 lb. total good for fourth place. She is off to a great start this year having won the 101 lb. weight class in the first two meets, with totals in the bench and clean & jerk of 160 and 175, respectively.
“This year I plan to try to make it to states and place again like I did in my sophomore year,” Mathes told us. “I’m training for that. I train every day after school and I also do some running. This is my last year so I want to make it the best I can.”
Mathes and her coach will work closely to make that return trip to states a reality, and there may be a built-in advantage this time.
“I’m hoping Kendra can pick up where she left off in the past and take it a little bit further,” Rogers said.
“This is going to be her first opportunity to compete with schools more our size. Weightlifting has been split into two classifications, so she finally won’t have to compete against big schools like Martin County and Vero Beach. I’m going to do my darnedest to put her in a position to do the best she can at that last meet.”
The Pirates will compete in Class 1A, thus avoiding the larger schools in 2A. Rogers doesn’t emphasize team scores nearly as much as individual improvement. It’s safe to say that overwhelming success in postseason competition is not the aim for the most of the lifters.
“If you focused on team scores and things like that, you would be fighting an uphill battle all the way,” Rogers explained. “I do focus on how they are doing. I want them to get (be judged successful in) all six of their lifts in the meets. I want them to be improving along the way – both with their totals and with their technique.”
Personal records will fall with regularity as the newcomers gear up. Cutting and Miller fall into that category. Schwerer started lifting to get stronger for volleyball and liked what team weight training had to offer.
Cutting left her mother, father and brother behind in Kentucky and moved to Florida for treatment of an autoimmune condition. She is living with her grandmother and says she loves the weather and is enjoying her senior year at St. Ed’s. She started out as the team statistician before picking up the bar (sans weights) and learning the basics.
“I was asked to take the stats and I just saw how much fun the girls were having,” Cutting said. “I thought it would be a great opportunity to get involved. I’m really enjoying it and doing the best I can.”
Miller went 12 for 12 in her first two meets. She said, “To be successful in all of my lifts has been awesome. I love this sport. It has taught me how to be more self-aware about what my body needs – and can do.”
