OAKLEAF - Clay High didn’t show up at the Clay County Girls Weightlifting Championships held Thursday at Oakleaf High School, but Ridgeview coach Trenton Davis got a sterling performance from his girls with a win in the newest discipline, The Olympic Snatch, while Oakleaf dominated the traditional competition of Bench Press and Clean/Jerk.

Area teams will gear up for district tournaments this week (at RHS, at OHS) with Keystone Heights traveling to Fort White and St. Johns Country Day School, in their first year of FHSAA competition, heading to West Nassau High School.

Without the Blue Devils at the meet, Davis did not sway away from considering them as the district and region favorite with their bucketloads of returning lifters.

“They are clearly the top team in the area and we hope to stay close with numbers,” said Davis. “They are very strong up top, but we hope to get a lot of top six finishers, top 10 finishers for team points.”

Davis knows all about the numbers game having lifted the district champion trophy twice in his recent tenure.

“It’s a bit about that numbers game,” said Davis. “We have some talented young lifters but these meets are very intense and stressful.”

From the start of the county championships, Ridgeview scored quickly with a 1-2 finish in the Olympic Snatch with Jada Ricketts and Ania Haber grabbing 12 quick team points in the 101 pound division. Ridgeview kept the pressure in the next three weights divisions with Jolie Dresner winning 110 with Briana Adams third and Adriana Dimeo winning 119. Panther Returners Ava Haber and London Francis went 1-2 at 183.

“If those two have big meets, we can knock down some team points, but Clay is strong at the middle of their lineup,” said Davis.

At 129, Middleburg went 1-2 with Kaelyn Hagan and Summer Replogle out dueling Ridgeview’s Leela Puliafico and Alaynah Deaton.

Middleburg got wins from Elizabeth Nolan at 139 over Oakleaf’s Savanna Roberts with Katlyn Griffin powering to the win in 199 with teammate Bryanna Walker in second.

Unlimited against produced a 1-2 Bronco finish with Kendyl Wahl and Brittany Barksdale taking top honors by over 30 pounds.

Oakleaf’s Amari Grant won the 154 title.

In the team points, Ridgeview won with 81 with Middleburg at 64 and Oakleaf third at 28.

In the traditional lifting section of the championships, Ridgeview against ripped to a 23-9 gap over Middleburg after the first two weight divisions, but Oakleaf had more firepower to win with 72 points over Middleburg’s 57 and Ridgeview’s 53 for third.

In her normal display of power, defending Class 3A 110 pound champion Tamira Briley, now at 119, did not disappoint with a 150-115 edge off the Bench Press and a 145-130 edge on the Clean/Jerk to win her division by 45 pounds over Ridgeview’s Adriana Dimeo. Briley benched 200 a week ago in a dual meet in the Oakleaf weight room.

At 101, Ricketts and Haber went 1-2 by over 20 pounds with Rickett hoisting 125 on the bench to win by 40 pounds with Haber outlifting Rickets 110-105 on the C/J to best the rest of the field by 25 pounds.

Ridgeview got wins by Jolie Dresner at 110 over Middleburg’s Ariana Seibel; Ava Haber at 183 over Oakleaf’s Lelia Brown 335-315;

For Middleburg, Griffin showed off her immense power with a 365-275 lift total gap over Shelby Leese of Orange Park to win at 199. Griffin missed her state meet bid due to COVID last year prior to the region meet.

Middleburg also got a win at 139 from Kendall Bryan who beat Arianna Eason of Oakleaf by just 10 pounds, 285-275 with both girls C/J at 140, but Bryan besting Eason 145-135 on the bench press.

At 129, Madison Linscomb and Lilly Auble, both of Oakleaf, went 1-2 at 265-245.

Grant, for Oakleaf, won at 154 over Middleburg’s Taylor Mills 280-270 with Ivy Gunn of Oakleaf winning at 169 over Allison Cox of Middleburg 335-295. Gunn outbenched the field 175-140.

In Unlimited, Oakleaf High softball pitcher Kayla Aldridge, known for clutch late inning heroics, punched in with a 285-275-265 win over Middleburg’s duo of Ava Clinkscale and Kendyl Wahl. Aldridge cleared 145 on the bench to force her chasers to higher weights with both failing at 150 and 145. Aldridge again put the pressure on her chasers with a 140 C/J on her first left that held to the finish by five pounds.