Move pays off for Lake Wales' Jaycee Cobb at 2A-3 region meet
NEW PORT RICHEY — A friend of Jaycee Cobb made her go out for girls weightlifting when Cobb was a freshman at Wauchula Hardee. In case there is any doubt, Cobb wasn’t exactly excited about trying the sport. In fact, after the first week, she wanted to quit.
Cobb’s feelings for the sport, however, quickly changed. After the first meet, she grew to love the sport, so much so that she went to a new school in a new county to wrestle for a new coach. The move paid off.
Cobb, a Lake Wales sophomore, was one of just two Polk County individual champions on Friday at the Class 2A, Region 3 meet at New Port Richey. She won the Olympic competition at 119 pounds then finished fourth in Traditional.
Auburndale’s Cailyn Rowe was the other regional champion from Polk. She won Olympic at 183 pounds and finished third in Traditional.
Lake Wales was the top finishing girls team from Polk with fifth-place finishes in both the Tradition and Olympic competitions. Jennifer Morales was Lake Wales’ other top lifter as she finished second in both competitions at unlimited.
In the 119-pound class, Polk lifters went 1-2-3 in Olympics and 2-3-4 in Tradtional. In Olympic, Cobb won with a total lift of 275 pounds. Auburndale soccer standout Alaney Hancock was second (270), and Lake Wales senior Annie Styles was third (265).
In Traditional, the Polk trio finished behind Port Charlotte’s Cassidy D’Aprile (310 pounds), followed by Styles (295), Hancock (270) and Cobb (265). Cobb said she isn’t a fan of the bench press, but she otherwise has flourished under Lake Wales coach Tashawn Williams.
“I can't say enough about the kid,” Williams said. “She came into the weight room snatching about 75 (pounds), maybe cleaning 125. And now the highs on the season have been 165 and 120 flat from where she started. I mean, it's just unbelievable.”
Cobb didn’t necessarily expect to win, but she did expect to do well.
“I’ve been working hard all year,” she said. “I did think maybe second or third.”
Cobb finished with 120 pounds on the snatch, 155 on the clean and jerk and 110 on the bench. By next year, she said, she wants to be up to at least 140 on the snatch and 200 on the clean and jerk.
Overall, Williams was happy with his team’s performance in what was a rebuilding season after graduating some top lifters, including girls weightlifter of the year Kayden Arliss along with All-County, first-teamers Lydia Denton and Hanna Battles.
“We had a good day,” Williams said. “We had a few lifts we probably would want back but it was a good day overall. This is the strongest region in the state. You won’t find a stronger region. If you can make it out of here and can make it to the state tournament, it bodes well going forward.”
Morales, with 350 pounds, finished five pounds behind Port Charlotte’s Aurora Funk in Traditional. Morales’ 295 total was 10 pounds behind Zephyrhills’ Anais Martinez in Olympic.
“Jenny, my unlimited, had an amazing day,” Williams said. “She had an amazing, amazing day.”
Other top finishers in Tradtional for Lake Wales were Majesta Arnold (110), who was fourth, Samthana Hillier (139) who was fifth, and Phoebe Ebinger (183) was fifth.
For Auburndale, Rowe won the 183-pound class in Olympic by 20 pounds. She finished with a total lift of 310 pounds. Zephyrhills’s Lariah Graham was second with 290 pounds. In Traditional, Rowe’s total lift of 310 pounds trailed Nature Coast’s Amanda Ruiz (350) and Graham (320).
Davenport senior Lyric Pittman was the other top lifter from Polk. She finished second in Traditional in the 199-pound class and was third in Olympic.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Move pays off for Lake Wales' Jaycee Cobb at 2A-3 region meet
