Weightlifting: Enyjai Tyson continues string of Vero Beach champions, wins pair of state titles
Enyjai Tyson said she was nervous prior to the biggest meet of the year.
Apparently, those nerves were just the precursor to more gold for the Vero Beach girls weightlifting program.
The Indians senior swept Olympic and traditional competitions at the 169-pound weight classes during the Class 3A state championships on Friday from the RP Funding Center. She became the seventh lifter ever from Vero Beach High School to claim an individual state title. It's also the fourth-straight year a lifter from the school has gone home with the gold.
"I'm still in shock. I can't believe I won," Tyson said.
Tyson entered Olympic as the No. 2 seed in her weight class behind Mitchell's Alyssa Barcz. The duo each produced a state-record lift of 175 pounds in snatch. But the difference came in the clean and jerk.
After failing on her second lift, Barcz had a final lift of 215 pounds. That left the door open for Tyson, who won with a lift of 220 pounds to give her a total of 395, five more than Barcz.
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"I was extremely nervous. I was warming up almost with tears in my eyes, just thinking about everything," Tyson said. "I just went out there, cleared my head and I did it.
"It really boosted my confidence. Snatch with the first event, so after I made my snatches, I knew that everything else was going to go good. Once you make all three lifts, the rest of them should follow."
The traditional competition had less suspense. Entering as the top-seed, Tyson won the event comfortably with total lifts of 440 pounds, 80 more than her nearest competitor. She added a bench press of 220 pounds.
Last season, she had finishes top-five finishes at the two events at state. But after sweeping traditional and Olympic events at districts and regionals, Tyson completed the trifecta and stood at the top of the podium this season.
"Everyone was screaming and shouting while I had a gold medal around my neck. It was just insane," Tyson said.
With their top performer leading the way, the Indians collected a pair of top-10 teams finishes. They placed tied for eighth in Olympic with nine points. That was followed by a tie for ninth in traditional with seven points.
The Panhandle continued its domination at state with Pace High School winning both events. The Patriots won Olympic portion of the meet with 28 points, one point ahead of second-place Winter Springs. The same two teams finished first and second in traditional, with Pace outpointing Winter Springs 30-27.
Jensen Beach senior Carolina O'Hara was the local bright spot during the Class 2A meet the following day.
After entering traditional competition as the No. 1 seed at the 101-pound weight class, O'Hara finished second overall with total lifts of 255 pounds, only behind Leesburg's Mileysa Lebron, who was better by five pounds.
O'Hara was also near the top of the podium in Olympic, taking home a third-place finish with lifts of 240 pounds. That was 10 pounds off the winner, Leesburg's Kaitlynn Brady, who totaled 250 pounds on her lifts.
Class 3A Area top-10 finishers
(weight class, finish, name, school, total lifts)
Olympic
101: 10. Cayle Bihl, Vero Beach (215 pounds)
119: 9. Olivia Henriquez, St. Lucie West Centennial (270 pounds)
139: 8. Jayden Short, Vero Beach (305 pounds)
154: 4. Aliciana McCloyne, Treasure Coast (350 pounds)
169: 1. Enyjai Tyson, Vero Beach (395 pounds)
183: 5. Jada Mosley, Vero Beach (340 pounds)
199: 8. Jedia Feliz, Treasure Coast (310 pounds)
Unlimited: 7. Amaiyah Lee, Treasure Coast (320 pounds)
Traditional
101: 5. Kendall Lopez, St. Lucie West Centennial (245 pounds); 10. Cayle Bihl, Vero Beach (240 pounds)
119: 8. Devoney Villanueva, Vero Beach (295 pounds); 10. Zara Chowdhury, Fort Pierce Central (290 pounds)
129: 8. Sophie Bergie, Fort Pierce Central (315 pounds)
139: 5. Madison Montgomery, Martin County (345 pounds)
154: 6. Aliciana McCloyne, Treasure Coast (350 pounds)
169: 1. Enyjai Tyson, Vero Beach (440 pounds)
183: 8. Jada Mosley, Vero Beach (345 pounds)
Unlimited: 6. Amaiyah Lee, Treasure Coast (370 pounds)
Class 2A Area top-10 finishers
(weight class, finish, name, school, total lifts)
Olympic
101: 3. Carolina O'Hara, Jensen Beach (240 pounds)
129: 9. Bliss Weiler, South Fork (265 pounds)
154: 10. Charlize Narcisse, Sebastian River (285 pounds)
Traditional
101: 2. Carolina O'Hara, Jensen Beach (255 pounds)
110: 3. Paisley Bergen, South Fork (285 pounds)
129: 7. Bliss Weiler, South Fork (290 pounds); 9. Kaley McElligott, South Fork (280 pounds)
Class 1A area top-10 finishers
Traditional
169: 9. Ariadne Rodriguez, John Carroll (320 pounds)
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Girls Weightlifting: Vero Beach's Enyjai Tyson takes home two gold medals
