In the fall of 2021, Harmony’s Adriana Rosa was not sure she even wanted to continue in the sport of weightlifting. As a typical teen, she was being pulled in a thousand different directions between school worries and the ongoing pandemic.
She said that despite just missing out on qualifying for the state meet as sophomore the sport was not very high on her list of priorities.
“I had a bunch going on and wasn’t even sure I wanted to compete anymore,” she said. “My coach was the one that convinced me not to quit.”
“When she told me she was thinking about not coming back, I simply told her there’s no way she should let the sport go. She was entirely too talented not to compete,” Harmony Coach Nick Lippert said. “I understood she was worried about grades and a bunch of other things, but I told her I would work around her schedule and she just had too much potential not to compete.”
What great advice.
Rosa returned for her junior year, and she not only reached the state meet but also found her way to finishing fourth in her weight class. That performance helped Rosa realize that not only did she want to stay in the sport, but she also wanted to strive for excellence. She came back with a vengeance as a senior to post the best season in school history.
Competing at 139 pounds, Rosa capped a dominating season by winning Class 3A state championships in both the traditional and snatch competitions. In winning two gold medals, Rosa is the Osceola News Gazette’s Girls Weightlifter of the Year.
The sweep came with Rosa hitting a 155-pound bench press and a 195-pound clean-and-jerk on her first attempt. Her total beat Navarre’s Brittany Bui pounds. She followed it up with a 150-pound effort in the snatch to easily win that event over Alyssa Barcz of Mitchell.
“What makes her so special is she has that drive to compete and win, but at the same time she is the biggest fan of both her teammates and her competitors. The support she shows her opponents is unreal,” Lippert said. “She wants every competitor to perform at their very best.”
Rosa plans on continuing the sport by entering United State Weightlifting this year to see how much further she can go in the sport. Other plans include college with a possible career as a veterinarian.
“Because the sport is so technical and requires so much discipline, it has helped me with everything else in my life,” she said. “It requires a special mindset that you can use in other aspects of your life.”
St. Cloud led all county schools with four All-County lifters. Ashley Aun (101 pound class) won district and regional titles before placing fifth in the traditional state tournament (120-120-240) and third in the snatch competition (95). Abby Davis (110) won regional and district titles and a sensational state meet – taking second in the traditional meet (155-160-315) and third in the snatch (115). Kiley Holland (154) won an OBC crown and a district championship before finishing third at regionals. Jovani Roberson (129) was a district and regional champion and state qualifier.
“Really proud of all our lifters,” Aun said. “Abby had a sensational state meet and all our kids gave a great effort under some difficult circumstances at the state meet. We are a really young team and look forward to next year.”
Celebration, which finished second at the Orange Belt Conference Championships, placed two members: Helena Huyke (119), who has signed a track scholarship to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University took the OBC title at 129 before moving down to 119 and won both district and regional titles and then finished third place at state in the traditional event (140-165-305) and grabbing fifth in the snatch (115). Indiana Ramos (199) was a state qualifier and Ramos was an OBC and district champion before taking second at regionals.
Celebration coach Cliff Branch, who continues to build the Storm program, is the our Coach of the Year for this season.
Osceola had a pair of OBC Champions in Katlin Walters (169) and Aykhia Williams (183) who made the All-County team. Both won district championships and qualified for states, with Williams just missing the podium when she tied for sixth in the snatch competition but lost the body weight tiebreaker.
Tohopekaliga's Chassity Llanos placed third at OBCs, runner-up and districts and was sixth in the state at 119 pounds.
Poinciana’s Jamelise Rivas was the OBC champion in the unlimited weight class.
