MACCLENNY – Clay High girls weightlifting put up as good a fight as they could to thwart the Baker County juggernaut at the region 3-1A weightlifting championships held Saturday in the Wildcats’ gym and got four titles and 10 top six finishers, but the effort fell just short as Baker County got six titles to win with 70 points with Clay at 56 and Ridgeview at 30.

In 2018, Union County won the Class 1A team title with Baker County second and Clay fourth.

At 101, Clay sophomore Kira Boone joined seniors Katie James, Brooke Berger and junior Lindsay Brooks as region champion with Berger getting her second region title in two years in two different weight divisions. Berger and James will both be three-time state meet qualifiers with James going; no clean and jerk in 2017 and fifth in 2018; both at 119. Berger finished 11th at 129 in 2017 and second last year at 129.

“The goal was to go bigger, get stronger,” said Berger. “At 129, I was thinking about my weight all the time. At 154, I could eat.’

Boone, Berger and Brooks added region titles to last week’s district titles with James upending Ridgeview’s Aysia Hill, third at state last year, for the region title with a 270 total; five points up on her district runnerup total. Hill, did not get a clean bench press, but teammate Emma Bonifacio, third at district, claimed second at the region meet with a 235 total; five pounds more than her region total.

Finishing in the top six and with a shot at a state meet berth based on statewide region results were, at 101, Daniella Kraus, Ridgeview, second at 155 (winner at 210); at 110, Sam Migliore, Clay, second at 225 (winner at 245); Shaniya Chery, Ridgeview, fourth at 205; at 119, Megan Ferer, Clay, third at 225 (winner at 270); at 129, Ramsy Phillips, Orange Park, third at 240 (winner at 265); Nadyia Jones, Clay, fourth at 240; Julia Sowers, Clay, fifth at 230; Kayla Saunders, Orange Park, sixth at 225; at 139 Jenna Henderson, Ridgeview, fourth at 235 (winner at 275); Marina Kaericher, Clay, fifth at 215; at 154, Nayeli Trejo, Clay, fourth at 235 (winner at 365); at 169, Tania McCormick, Ridgeview, second at 300 (winner at 320), Abigail Hawkins, Clay, third at 290; Jayla Hall, Ridgeview, fourth at 290; at 183, Allie Holyfield, Ridgeview, fourth at 245 (winner at 295); Kalli Winder, Orange Park, fifth at 240; at 199, Grier Burrows, Ridgeview, fourth at 285 (winner at 355), Morgan Silvis, Clay, fifth at 270, and, at Unlimited, Kaila McKean, Clay, fourth at 380 (winner at 440). Burrows was 12th in 2017 at 199.

On Mon., Jan. 28, the FHSAA released their Class 1A state meet qualifiers.

At 101, Boone, with her 210 region total, is ranked fourth. At 110, Migliore advances. At 119, James, with her 270 total, is ranked third. At 154, Berger’s 365 total is ranked number one with 340 the second highest lift totals. At 169, Ridgeview’s Tania McCormack, and Jayla Hall join Clay’s Abigail Hawkins with all three advancing. At 199, Brooks, at 355, is second ranked behind a 360 total from Baker’s Jurnee French (fourth at 183 in 2018) with Ridgeview’s Grier Burrows also advancing. In the Unlimiteds, Clay’s Kaila McKean’s 380 advances with top total at 540 pounds.