OAKLEAF - Fleming Island High, the defending Olympics girls weightlifting state champions, cruised to an overwhelming win at the Clay County Championships held Wednesday, Jan. 7 at Oakleaf High.

With defending Traditional state champion Middleburg also on the platforms, both the Broncos and the Lady Panthers of Ridgeview, under first year coach Addyson Mauldin, gave chase. The Broncos second in Traditional and Ridgeview second in Olympics.

Fleming Island totaled 89 points in Olympics with Ridgeview second at 47, Clay third at 24 and Middleburg fourth at 20. Keystone Heights finished seventh with eight team points.

In Traditional, Fleming Island totaled 79 for the win with Middleburg and Ridgeview both tied at 38 for second and Clay third with 27. Keystone Heights was seventh with eight points.

In Traditional, Keystone Heights state qualifier Chloe Still had the team's top finish with a second behind Fleming Island's Kathryn Ward.

Also, in Traditional, Ava Herman was fourth behind Orange Park's Alohilani Richburg. In Olympics, for Keystone Heights, the top lifters were Alyssa Sanford at 119—who was third behind Kaitlyn Howell of Clay—and Grace Phornsavanh of Ridgeview with Taylor Buchanan sixth.

In 139, Chloe Still was third behind Ward and Laura Lee Perry of Fleming Island.

Ward dominated the weight class with a 320 total with Perry second with a 250 total and Still third at 230. Ashlyn Brown, also in Olympics, finished fifth in 169 behind Alanna Smith of Oakleaf and Ava Hernandez of Fleming Island.

Brown totaled 270 with winner Smith finishing at 300 and two lifters—Hernandez and Amelia McLoon of Fleming Island—both totaling 285 with Hernandez second by body weight and Brooke Hamilton of Clay next at 275 in the tightly battled weight class.

In Unlimited, Keystone Heights had Ava Herman sixth with Fleming Island's Sahara Gordon winning at 310 and Herman with a 250 total. In 101, London Williams and Kylie Scott finished sixth and 10th; in 110, Virginia Baxter and Annie Blair finished fourth and fifth; in 129, Natalie Layfield finished sixth with Hope Yarbrough finishing 11th; in 139, Keira Miller finished 11th; in 154, Raven Crumpton finished 13th with Makenzi Brinson finishing 14th; in 169, behind Brown, was Morgan Wilson in seventh; in 183, Xana Briley finished 10th.

In Traditional, for Keystone Heights, Scott and Williams finished seventh and eighth in 101; Baxter and Blair finished 10th and 11th in 119; Buchanan and Sanford finished seventh and eighth; Layfield and Yarbrough finished eighth and 12th in 129; Miller was 10th in 139; Crumpton and Brinson finished 11th and 16th in 154; Brown and Wilson were eighth and ninth in 169; Briley was ninth in 183; and Herman was fourth at Unlimited.