- April 26, 2024
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Seabreeze lifter Sofia James is seeded second at state in the 169-pound traditional competition, one spot ahead of Matanzas' Rilee Whitmore. Courtesy photo.
Matanzas senior Rilee Whitmore is headed to the state weightlifting championships for the second year in a row. This time she hopes to return with a medal. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas senior Rilee Whitmore is seeded third at 169 pounds in the traditional competition at the Class 2A state championships. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Rilee Whitmore set a school clean-and-jerk record at regionals. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Last year, Sofia James just missed qualifying for the state girls weightlifting championships. Rilee Whitmore qualified and finished 18th in traditional and 20th in Olympic competition.
This year, James, a Seabreeze junior, and Whitmore, a Matanzas senior, both expect to be standing on the podium with medals hanging around their necks at the end of the Class 2A state championships Saturday, Feb. 17, at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
James and Whitmore both compete in the 169-pound weight class. They are the second and third seeds, respectively, in the traditional competition behind New Smyrna Beach’s Mopelola Tofade. All three lifters compete in the same district.
“My favorite thing about weightlifting is ultimately you're cheering everybody on,” James said. “I love that I get to compete with the girls I see all season long. Then you become friends.”
James transferred to Seabreeze before the school year from J.W. Mitchell High School in Pasco County. She said she began the season struggling to bench press one plate — 135 pounds. At regionals, she benched 175.
“I’m now repping 135, which used to be my big goal,” she said.
James placed second at the regional meet behind Tofade with a 355 total. Whitmore was third with a 350 total. Tofade won the region title with a 385-pound total.
“Mopelola has a lot on my clean and jerk (200 to 180),” James said. “I won’t be able to outlift her there. I’m hoping to hang. I think I’m definitely looking for second place. I would love to say I want the championship, but Mopelola is an amazing lifter. But next year, I’m definitely looking for the championship.”
Whitmore set a school record for her weight class with a 185-pound clean and jerk at the regional meet. But she was five pounds off her district bench press mark of 170, so she expects to be neck-and neck with James. One other lifter, Gainesville’s Ori Sela, also comes into the competition with a 350 total, while Belleview’s Harper Bowman (345) and Hudson Fivay’s Kim Rivera (340) will also be in the mix.
Whitmore, like James, has come a long way this season. She has improved her bench press by 15 pounds and her clean and jerk by 30 pounds.
“I’ve spent a lot of time focusing on my form,” she said. “I've been reaching out to other people, watching a lot of videos and just really perfecting my form all season, and so my numbers just boosted because of that.”
Whitmore is the Pirates’ Student Government president. She’s dual-enrolled and is a member of the National Honor Society. She is also a cheerleader and was the Pirates’ homecoming queen this fall. She hopes to attend the University of Florida and major in pre-med. She also wants to join the school’s weightlifting club.
“I started (lifting) in high school, because I just really like doing something different,” she said. “I feel like a lot of girls look at weightlifting and don't want to do it, because It's just not girly to them. I really like doing it, just to dominate in a masculine environment.”
Matanzas coach Jeremy Ossler said going to states last year was a good experience for Whitmore.
“She got so see what the competition is like there, and that helped her set her goals for this year. And she went from the bottom of the pack (at state) to the top.”
James will also compete in the Olympic competition. Her snatch and clean and jerk total of 310 pounds is tied for sixth heading into the meet. Whitmore also had a 310 total at district, lifting 130 pounds in the snatch, but she scratched three times at 125 at regional.
“I was annoyed because I did 125 three times in warm-ups before I went to go lift, and I just didn't get it,” she said. “But I made it for a traditional. It gives me more time to focus on two lifts.”
Seabreeze coach Tarisa Craig-Craggy said she hasn’t had a lifter with the strength and determination of James.
“It’s hard to get her out of the weight room,” Craig-Craggy said. “We get in during lunch (on Fridays). She has fifth-period weightlifting and then practice after school. She’s a beast.”
