White, Wagner capture state titles for Bulldog lifters

  • St. Cloud’s Hannah Wagner successfully lifts 180-pounds in the Clean and Jerk on her way to the 183-pound championship. PHOTO COURTESY OF CORY AUN/ST. CLOUD WEIGHTLIFTING
    St. Cloud’s Hannah Wagner successfully lifts 180-pounds in the Clean and Jerk on her way to the 183-pound championship. PHOTO COURTESY OF CORY AUN/ST. CLOUD WEIGHTLIFTING
  • Lady Bulldogs Kaylin White (center) stands atop the podium after winning the 110-pound title at the FHSAA Class 2A Weight Lifting Championship PHOTO COURTESY OF CORY AUN/ST. CLOUD WEIGHTLIFTING
    Lady Bulldogs Kaylin White (center) stands atop the podium after winning the 110-pound title at the FHSAA Class 2A Weight Lifting Championship PHOTO COURTESY OF CORY AUN/ST. CLOUD WEIGHTLIFTING

For the first time in school history, the St. Cloud Bulldogs can boast multiple state individual champions in the same school year. That became reality last Saturday when Kaylin White (110-pound weight class) and Hannah Wagner (183-pound weight class) captured state championships in their respective divisions in the FHSAA Class 2A State Weight Lifting Championships at Panama City Beach.

Along with Zyanna Henry, who earned all-state honors with a sixth place finish in the unlimited weight class, St. Cloud finished the event with 15 team points to capture fifth place in the competition.

More than 70 schools qualified lifters for the 2A Championship. St. Cloud’s 15 team points was the most scored in school history.

“A lot of mixed emotions about the state meet,” St. Cloud Head Coach Cory Aun said. “Kaylin was certainly a favorite in her weight class and to have Hannah finish at top of the podium – especially the route she took to get there – was a great accomplishment. On the other side, we had two girls flame out that we thought had a real chance to place, but overall, it was a really successful meet and a history-making performance for our program.

” For White, a senior, it was a culmination of a great career.

She finished 10th as a freshman in the 101-pound weight class before capturing second at 101-pounds as a sophomore and second at 110-pounds as a junior. She went undefeated in her senior campaign, winning the Orange Belt Conference, District and Regional championships in the process.

At state, she benched 150-pounds and recorded a 160-pound clean and jerk for a 310-pound total, edging New Smyrna Beach’s Kacie Stouffer’s 155-150-305 total. White’s 150-pound bench press was a personal best. She ends her career with only two losses since her sophomore season.

Wagner’s championship was a little more dramatic. She passed out on her first clean and jerk attempt and had to be cleared by medical personnel before being allowed to continue in the competition. She posted a 190-180-370 pound total, which tied Haggerty’s Katy Enot’s 175-190-370 for the top total. Under FHSAA rules, ties are broken by body weight of the competitors and Wagner entered the competition at 170.5, 1.6 pounds light than Enot (172.1).

“That was really the most competitive weight class in the meet,” Aun noted. “Only a few pounds separated the top seven lifters in the competition. On Hannah’s last lift, she nailed the 180 pound mark on the clean and jerk and then it was a matter of waiting it out.”

White and Wagner join Sara Hansell (154-pound champion in 2006 and 2007) as the only female lifters in St. Cloud history to capture an individual state championship.

Henry’s 210-175-385 score edged Celebration’s Victoria Kyle (215-165-380) for the sixth and final spot on the podium in the unlimited class.

“We lose a lot of talent from this year’s team, but we have a lot of outstanding athletes waiting in the wings for next season,” Aun said about the school’s historic year. “I will remember a lot about this team. The state champions and the fact that we finished above Vero Beach in the state meet after they were the only team to hang a loss on us during the season are certainly among the highlights. But more than anything, I will remember the dedication and effort these girls gave to the program all season. They came in early, stayed late and worked hard every day to get better.”

The county did boast one other all-state performer.

OBC, District and Regional champion Isabelle Pancake, of Osceola High School, managed a fourth place finish in 154-pound weight class with a lift total of 170-180-350. Archbishop McCarthy’s Nadley Pierre blew away the competition in that weight class with a 220-180-400 total, lifting 60 pounds more than she did in winning the Region 7 championship.

In addition to St. Cloud and Osceola, county schools Harmony, Liberty and Celebration also had lifters at the state meet. The FHSAA Boy’s State Championship will be contested in the spring.