February 2, 2026
Leesburg and Eustis High Dominate Girls Weightlifting Regional Championships, Advance to State
By Kyle Coppola
Leesburg and Eustis High Dominate Girls Weightlifting Regional Championships, Advance to State
This past weekend, Leesburg High School and Eustis High School claimed regional championship titles at the FHSAA Girls Weightlifting Regional Championships (Region 2A-4), held on January 31 at Leesburg High School. The two Lake County programs, joined by solid showings from Mount Dora and Tavares, demonstrated the strength and depth of Central Florida weightlifting. Several athletes from these schools earned qualification to the FHSAA State Championships, scheduled for February 11-13 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
The meet featured competition in two formats: traditional (snatch and clean & jerk) and olympic (bench press and clean & jerk). Team and individual titles were contested across multiple weight classes, producing close rivalries, particularly between Leesburg and Eustis and several tiebreaker decisions that added drama throughout the day.
Jasmine Benton stands on top of the 139 pound class with Eustis Skylar Scott left in 2nd and Eustis Emmy Luke in 3rd on the right.
Traditional Division: Eustis Takes the Crown
Eustis High School won the traditional regional team championship with 42 points. New Smyrna Beach finished second with 39 points and Leesburg placed third to round out the podium. Mount Dora took fifth place, while Tavares finished ninth.
Notable individual performances in the traditional division included:
– 139-pound class: Leesburg’s Jasmine Benton won the regional title with a 300-pound total. The class featured a three-way tie for second place that was broken by tiebreakers. Eustis’ Skylar Scott placed second, Eustis’ Emmy Luke took third, and Leesburg’s Kathleen Michel finished fourth.
– 169-pound class: Eustis’ Ronnie Mikell earned first place with 265 pounds. Leesburg’s Yadanar Hlaing took second with 260 pounds, and Eustis’ Kaylee Amedeo placed third.
– 154-pound class: Mount Dora’s Sabrina Vo lifted 340 pounds to win the class, finishing 15 pounds ahead of Tavares’ Victoria Barajas in second. Eustis’ Adrianna Covino placed third, and Leesburg’s Hannah Stubbs took fourth.
Cameron Boyer on top podium.
Olympic Division: Leesburg Wins a Close Battle
The olympic division came down to the wire, with Leesburg edging out Eustis by a final team score of 45-43. Several key lifts decided the outcome in this tightly contested team race.
Leesburg’s championship relied on strong performances including:
– 110-pound class: Cameron Boyer lifted 230 pounds, delivering important points in a lighter weight class.
– 169-pound class: Zy’Asia Lockhart took first with 285 pounds, and Yadanar Hlaing placed second with 260 pounds. These two top finishes helped secure the narrow team victory.
Eustis Kyra Jackson stands with her coaches after winning the Olympic Unlimited Class.
Eustis posted several strong results as well:
– Unlimited class: Kyra Jackson won the regional title with a 295-pound lift, narrowly beating Leesburg’s Francellis Ogando and Eustis’ Brooklyn Mason, who tied at 290 pounds for second and third.
– 139-pound class: Skylar Scott claimed first place with 290 pounds after winning a tiebreaker over Leesburg’s Kathleen Michel. Eustis’ Jasmine Benton finished third, and teammate Emmy Luke placed fourth.
Elsewhere, Tavares High School celebrated a milestone when Victoria Barajas won the 154-pound class with a 340-pound lift, marking a significant achievement for the program.
Leesburg’s Zy’Asia Lockhart stands a top the podium in the 169 pound class. Leesburg’s Yadanar Hlaing stands 2nd with Eusits Kaylee Amedeo on the right. Far left is Adrianna Cruz of Lecanto High.
Looking Ahead to the State Championships
With regionals complete, focus now shifts to the FHSAA State Championships in Lakeland. Leesburg head coach Josh Boyer shared his thoughts on the challenge ahead: “State is always fun. You have to be on your game going in, know the other’s capabilities, and especially know your own kids’ capabilities. Every 5lbs will matter at state.”
The state meet will bring together top lifters from across Florida, and Leesburg and Eustis enter as strong contenders in Class 2A following their regional success.
Full regional results are available here: FHSAA Regional Results
Official state qualifier lists:
– Class 2A Qualifiers
– Class 1A Qualifiers
– Class 3A Qualifiers
Congratulations to all the athletes, coaches, and support staff from Leesburg, Eustis, Mount Dora, Tavares and neighboring schools. The journey to Lakeland has been built on hard work, smart preparation and impressive lifts. Best wishes to every state qualifier as they compete for the highest honors in Florida high school girls weightlifting.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
