February 2, 2026
Tavares High Senior Claims First Regional Weightlifting Title, Headed to State Championship
By Kyle Coppola
Tavares High Senior Claims First Regional Weightlifting Title, Headed to State Championship
Victoria Barajas put in the performance of her career as the senior was able to not only win her first FHSAA Regional Championship, but was able to punch her ticket to the FHSAA State Championship. It’s just the latest chapter written in her stellar career.
The Tavares High School senior captured her first-ever FHSAA Regional Championship this weekend at Leesburg High School, dominating the girls’ 154-pound weight class in both the olympic and traditional categories. Victoria posted a combined total of 340 pounds in the olympic-style portion of the event to claim the regional crown, her first regional title in that discipline and lifted 325 pounds combined in the Traditional category for a second place finish there as well.
The regional wins build directly on her outstanding performance at the district meet one week earlier. On January 24, also at Leesburg High, Victoria swept both district titles in the 154-pound class with identical combined totals of 330 pounds in olympic and traditional lifting, earning automatic qualification to regionals and setting the stage for her latest breakthrough.
Victoria has shown incredible consistency and improvement year after year. She’s finished with back-to-back 7th place finishes at the FHSAA State Championships her sophomore and junior seasons.
To finally break through and win regionals in the olympic style is something this young lady has been chasing. It speaks volumes about her work ethic and mental toughness. She has gained considerable muscle mass the past year in a half and this year proved to everyone that she’s ready to make a true run at a state title.
Victoria now heads to the FHSAA Girls State Weightlifting Championships, scheduled for February 11–13 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, carrying momentum and confidence into one of the most competitive weight classes in Florida high school sports. She qualified to lift in both olympic and traditional.
“Victoria has been a model of commitment since she first stepped into our program,” one school official says. “She trains with purpose every day, supports her teammates, and handles pressure with maturity beyond her years. We’re all excited to see what she can do on the biggest stage in Lakeland.”
With two strong regional performances in the books and a clear upward trajectory in both lifting styles, Victoria enters the state meet as a legitimate contender. A podium finish is certainly in the cards and would cap a senior season already filled with historic accomplishments for the Tavares High girls weightlifting program. This program featured strong performances from Bailey Rasmussen, Maddy Ross, Kayrah Elliot, Lauren Belle and Kayla Robertson to name a few.
We want to wish Victoria and the rest of the Lake & Sumter county girls weightlifters the best of luck as they prepare for the state championships!
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.
