Pirates' team finishes second in district weightlifting meet
BRADENTON
A team’s success at district weightlifting meets usually boils down to a numbers game.
Considering she was bringing just 12 lifters to Wednesday’s Class 2A-District 15 meet at Manatee High, Braden River girls coach Erin Spivey didn’t envision her Pirates making much of an impact on the team portion of the event.
Hours later, however, Spivey was happy to be wrong.
Braden River tallied 33 points to take second behind district champion Land O’Lakes Sunlake (61). Just as crucial was the fact that the Pirates qualified eight lifters for next Wednesday’s Region 8 meet at Charlotte High.
The top six finishers in each weight class Wednesday earned a berth at regional.
“I didn’t fill a 20-person roster,” Spivey said, “so just because of the numbers, I didn’t think that was going to happen. But they did what they were supposed to do.”
Spivey also wasn’t sure what Braden River was up against. While she was familiar with the district’s Manatee County contingent — Lakewood Ranch, Manatee and Palmetto — Spivey didn’t know much the rest of the field, which was made up mostly of schools from Hernando and Pasco counties.
But the Pirates wound up leaving Manatee’s south gym with a runner-up trophy.
“They did their job, and we talked about it going into it. Even if you don’t place, your lift matters in points,” said Spivey, who was formerly the school’s softball coach and is now in her third year running the weightlifting team. “It showed.”
Braden River’s Fayth Walker won the unlimited weight class with a combined lift of 355 pounds, and 119-pounder Alexis Moy also took first for the Pirates with a total of 250 pounds.
“More girls have come out, and they’re dedicated, and they’re actually owning it,” said Spivey, who took individual pictures of all of her qualifiers. “(Tuesday) night I called them all and told them, ‘This is business. Let’s get it done.’ And they did.”
Tessa Marquette (129) took first for the host Hurricanes with a combined lift of 330. A sophomore, Marquette qualified for state last year, taking sixth.
“For freshman year, I was happy with that,” Marquette said. “This year, I hope to do more.”
Lakewood Ranch’s Maddie Koczersut won at 183 pounds with a total lift of 265.