With three eighth-graders and a seventh-grader coming together to form St. Ed’s varsity girls weightlifting team this season, head coach Les Rogers might have envisioned a case of merely keeping all of his young pupils intact, interested in weight training, and understanding its value as they continue to mature physically in the immediate future.
That will always be a major thrust of this program. Every year seems to present still another uphill battle to find girls willing to take on a challenge not listed on the mainstream menu, especially when so many other extracurricular activities are available.
Nevertheless, this is also a competitive sport, and this team has turned out some pleasant surprises.
“Grace Rodriguez is our leader because she is a second year lifter,” Rogers said. “She’s been through the ropes so it’s nice to have her around to guide the other girls through our procedural things. I don’t have to worry about that when Grace is capable of chiming in when the need arises. Having the opportunity to take on that type of role at such a young age is a good thing for her, too.”
Rogers enthusiastically embraced that alpha instinct when introducing three newcomers to the sport, seventh-grader Rebecca Hurley, and eighth-graders Meghan Baker and Tyler Colgan. But this has evolved well beyond just another caretaker situation with as many as three from this team possibly making it through districts and into the regional meet.
“Everyone has done a really good job,” Rogers explained. “We have had five meets so far, with one more to go after the holiday break. Then we go right into districts.
“Grace has placed first in several meets and she has the most team points so far this year. Her 101-pound weight class is generally less populated than others, but almost every school has 101s and they are usually young or first-year lifters. So even if they are in high school, Grace is probably ahead of them. Having lifted last year has really paid off for her.
“Meghan was a gymnast in her first athletic career, so to speak. The base and core strength she got from that enabled her to pick up some of the techniques I teach much more efficiently. Kendra Mathes (Class of 2017) was an ex-gymnast also, and she competed in the state meet three times (winning the silver medal in 2017 for the best finish ever by any Pirate, boys included). So I’m pretty excited about having a gymnast on the team again, and I’m looking forward to big things from her.
“Tyler and Rebecca both have excellent physical flexibility. That will help them out a lot, but they are stretched pretty thin with other activities. I can only imagine how good they could be if I had them in the weight room a little more. I only see them two or three times a week, but they have taken advantage of the time they do spend in the weight room.”
Rogers says Grace Rodriguez and Meghan Baker (139-pound weight class) will do well enough in the district meet to advance to regionals. Tyler Colgan (at 101) is also a possibility. All three set or matched personal record totals in meets before the break, Baker with 190 pounds for the bench plus clean & jerk, Rodriguez with 135 and Colgan with 120. Rebecca Hurley (lifting at 129) probably won’t make the four-meet minimum to qualify for districts.
“All of these girls get along so well,” Rogers told us. “It’s really neat to see them work together, cheer for each other, and just be concerned how the other person is doing. That is much more prevalent with this group than with any I’ve had in the past.
“I believe there is the potential for someone on this team to get to the next level. They must match up a desire with their physical aptitude and work ethic. If they can match those three things, I can take them there. That’s a tall order, but they can really do well as they get older and mature as lifters.”
While the coach relies heavily on the leadership of Rodriguez, he counts equally on additional support from the homefront.
“My wife (Lourdes Alvarez-Rogers) takes care of a lot of administrative type matters, and it’s nice to have her around with a second pair of eyes to watch the girls in the weight room and at meets. And if I have to leave to do an interview with CNN, ESPN or 32963, she can fill in.”
