heavyLIFTING

Nerves and excitement rushed through the body of senior Sonia Cachon as her hands grasped on to the bar. With cheering from her fellow teammates and coaches on Jan.12, Cachon concentrated on beating her personal record in the snatch event.

Sophomore Sophia Lambert performed her lift after Cachon, and was relieved when the judge gave her a thumbs up.

“It’s always an amazing feeling when I do well on my lifts, because it shows that all of my dedication in practice is paying off,” Lambert said.

The team competed against Keys Gate and COHEA in their home meet. The team achieved 1st place, and many of the team placed 1st or 2nd individually.

“The environment was very supportive. It was late in our season and having a home meet is always easier for us,” team captain junior Mia Carrasco said.

With the team consisting mostly of athletes who were new to the sport, the girls showed up to practice in order to improve, reach their personal records, and learn more about the sport. The newcomers found support among their teammates.

“I am new this year and having the team to lean on as we navigate this new sport together is a huge plus,” sophomore Gianna Chaney said.

The team had a successful season with six athletes qualifying for regionals. The girls were ecstatic about their new personal record accomplishments and could not wait to advance next year to reach new goals and aspirations.

“I think we had a great season, considering that so many of us started weightlifting this year. I am extremely proud of all the improvement that we all have made,” senior captain Sonia Cachon said.

Story by Valentina Fernandez

Junior Dylan Dinerman was the manager of the girls weightlifting team. With Dinerman’s experience on the boys weightlifting team last year, coach Yaritza Roman brought him in for additional help. Dinerman helped with spotting, racking the weights, loading the bars and assisting new athletes on the team. This experience helped him earn community service hours, and learn more about the sport. “I am definitely going to be the manager again next year. It has been an amazing learning experience and has helped me grow as a person overall,” Dinerman said.

ALL HANDS IN, the team gets together for a pre-game pep talk, yelling “1, 2, 3, Raiders!” before getting on the field. “The team huddle is special, because not only is that when our coaches tell us what our main focus should be during the game, but it is also when our teammates hype each other up, as it reminds everyone to work together and to fight for one another. It is when we are reminded to fight for our school, our coaches, our team, and most importantly, ourselves. We are told to give everything we have on the field and to leave with no regrets,” team captain senior Julia Estrada said. Photo by Fox Mar