Reece Butler brought two gold medals back to St. Cloud
It was a stellar year for St. Cloud weightlifting.
While Mikey Ziss and Ashley Aun won state championships, two-time state champ and sophomore Reese Butler is the Osceola News-Gazette Girls Weightlifter of the Year.
Butler won state championships in both the traditional and Olympic disciplines in the Class 3A, 199-pound class.
“No question about it, Reese is absolutely deserving of the recognition,” St. Cloud coach Cory Aun said. “She was only a sophomore but was a relentless competitor and team leader. She never ceases to amaze me with her strength, attitude and consistency.”
Butler had a tremendous year, sweeping the Olympic (snatch plus clean and jerk) and Traditional (clean and jerk plus bench press) titles at the Orange Belt Conference, district and regional championships. She was the star of the day for the Lady Bulldogs at the FHSAA 3A state championship in Lakeland, lifting 155 pounds in the snatch and 210 in the clean and jerk to win the Olympic competition. With a 175-pound bench and a 210 clean and jerk, she also won the top spot in the Traditional.
Butler, the daughter of a high-school athlete and football coach, says she never even knew the sport existed while growing up.
“I was at freshmen orientation and Coach Aun approached me about trying out,” she says. “I was really hesitant but after the first two practices I realized it was something I really enjoyed and just wanted to keep lifting and improving.”
Butler added that winning state championships in just her second year was a possibility but she knew it would require work and dedication.
“I felt I had a chance to accomplish something special but it’s always a grind. I sort of struggled a little in the tail end of the season but was able to fight through it. My coaches and teammates really encouraged me when I was a little down.”
With two years remaining, Butler will have a rare opportunity to win six state championships (Ziss will go for his fifth and sixth championships next year on the boys side) and says that is the plan.
“Repeating next year is the short-term goal,” Butler said. “Training hard and establishing new PRs (personal records) are the long-term goals.”
All-County Team: 101 pounds: Kassandra Ramirez, Tohopekaliga. edges St. Cloud’s Haley Wright (OBC Olympic champion) and Gateway’s Kianna Moran (OBC Traditional champion). Ramirez won a district championship in the traditional and finished just behind Wright for second place in the Olympic.
110: Ashley Aun, St. Cloud. She won OBC, district and regional titles in h the Traditional and Olympic. Captured state Championship in the Olympic division, while just missing a lift for gold in the Traditional and finished second. Was the Orange Belt Conference Female Athlete of the Year.
119: Abriana Nunez, Harmony. Double medalist at Orange Belt Conference Championships, Nunez went on to win double gold at the district championships. She took a bronze medal in the Olympic at regionals and was ninth in the traditional.
129: Sophia Recio, St. Cloud. OBC and district champion in Olympic, she went on to qualify and for state championships in that discipline by finishing third at regionals.
139: Alexa Woodman, Tohopekaliga. Double gold medalist at OBC, districts and regionals, placed fourth at states in the Traditional and took home a silver medal in the Olympic event.
154: Belen Gonzalez, St. Cloud. Won both OBC Olympic and Traditional titles, with top-10 finishes at regionals and qualified for state in both disciplines.
169: Morgan Pasqual, Harmony. Double medalist at OBC and took second in Olympic and third in Traditional in district championships. Top three finishes at regionals, qualified her for state championships in both events.
183: Morgan VanAuklen, St. Cloud. Edged out teammate Jaylonie Mejia with win in traditional at OBC and districts; Mejia won the Olympic title in those contests. At regionals VanAuklen finished 7th in the Traditional and 5th in the Olympic event. She finished 10th in the Traditional at the state championship.
199: Butler. Clean sweep in the postseason; she won Traditional and Olympic events at OBC, district, regional and state.
Unlimited: Kaytlyn Simpson, Harmony. Swept Traditional and Olympic events at OBC and posted top-five finishes in both at districts. Her fourth place finish at regionals in the Traditional was good enough to garner an at-large bid to the state championships.
