It has been a busy end to the winter sports season for Ponte Vedra High’s athletic programs with several teams competing for state titles, including girls weightlifting for the first time in school history.
However, the Sharks did not just test the waters of the state competition with one first time qualifier, but instead dove straight into the deep end and made their presence known by sending five lifters to state.
Going from none to five in just one year is something head coach Karen Keller-Hughes is proud of, especially because this groups is very young which means even more exciting things could be in store for the future.
“We have a young and eager team excited to work hard and finish even stronger next year,” Keller-Hughes said.
The highest finishers at state for the Sharks was Caroline Hughes and Ravina Patel, who each finished fifth in their respective weight classes.
Hughes tallied a 335 total with her clean and jerk and bench in the 154-pound class. She also finished fourth with a 130-pound snatch.
It was another close call, but the third time this postseason that Hughes came up just short of a title after runner-up outings in both districts and regionals.
Patel’s impressive performance in the 101-pound class included a 240-pound traditional total that entailed lifting 120 in both the clean and jerk and bench portions.
Her success in the traditional format was not much of a surprise, after having won both districts and regionals with her clean and jerk and bench numbers.
She was just 15 pounds shy of third place and 55 pounds short of the top spot in the standings. She finished 16th with a total of 80 pounds in the snatch category.
One of the leaders on the team is Morgan Pratt, who posted a 280 total for 19th in traditional and 105 pounds for 14th in snatch.
Emily Glod and Madison O’Reilly each competed solely in the snatch portion of competition. Glod finished 16th in the 154-pound class and O’Reilly was 19th in the 139-pound class.
The Sharks finished 18th out of 53 schools in the traditional team competition and 14th in snatch as a group.
