OAKLEAF - After her recent signing to weightlifting on a four year college scholarship at Mars Hill University next fall, Oakleaf High senior weightlifter Ivy Gunn showed off a bit of her competitive tenacity at the region 1-3A championships held at Oakleaf on Thurs. Feb. 2.

“She’s a competitor and this is her home gym,” said Oakleaf coach Ben White, after a tense session of clean and jerk for his top lifter. “She is definitely a gamer. We asked her to compete and she did.”

Pace High School dominated a Florida Panhandle strong contingency of weightlifting powerhouses with overwhelming point totals; 63-38-34, to wins the Traditional over Navarre and Niceville and 54-24-17 with Niceville second and Navarre third in the Olympic lifts.

Oakleaf was sixth in Olympic with 13 points and sixth in Tradition with nine points.

Oakleaf qualified Nya Russell in Olympics at 119, G’Amyia Aiken at 183, Caylin Volpe and Danielle Ibe (third in Olympics at 199), both at 199, and Christina Beasley at Unlimited with Gunn the talk of the day with her showdown lift off with Pace High’s Kendall Wise at 169.

In the Olympics competition, Gunn, who blasted the Olympic Snatch lifts with a 160 that gapped the field by 15 pounds; mainly Wise, produced the top total of the day with a 365 off her 160 Snatch and a three-way tie for best in Clean and Jerk at 205 with Elena Bulubya of Sunlake and Wise.

In the ensuing clean and jerk, with the rest of the field completed and most athletes warming up for the third discipline, the bench press, Gunn and Wise put on a display of gamesmanship that had the Oakleaf gymnasium frozen to their center platform.

The new Olympics lift combines the Clean and Jerk with the Olympic snatch totals.

In round one of the clean and jerk, Wise opened at 180 with Gunn answering at 190.

In round two, Wise was successful with a best lift of 190 to pressure Gunn. Gunn got three red lights on her 205 attempt to go big.

“Three reds to all checks; that was intense,” said Gunn. “Coach White told me I didn’t lock out my elbows. I love competing and the adrenaline of being in a close competition.”

Wise doubled down with her next best with a 205 to seemingly ice Gunn, but Gunn responded in front of her home gym by blasting the 205 to set up a similar battle at Friday’s state championships in Lakeland.

“She came up to me afterward and congratulated me knowing we will more than likely do this again in a week,” said Gunn. “It’s all good.”

In the mix, also, was Bartram Trail’s Madisyn Moody who put her best 180 in the mix just to make the final lifts interesting.

Wise eventually outdueled Gunn in the bench press 185-180 to win the Traditional event.

“Bench is so boring,” said Gunn. “This lift is what it’s all about.”

The clean and jerk, the second of the three disciplines to be competed for in the event, provided the most fireworks of the day as Gunn, Wise and Bartram Trail’s Madisyn Moody making the day a thriller.