Our Very Own Weightlifting Champion!

BY MAGGIE OLIVE KLEIN

Marathon High School senior, Rylan Chapa, won the title at the Florida State Championship for girls weightlifting, at the competition which took place February 10-12th!  As a long time, devoted athlete, Chapa’s coach asked her to consider weightlifting three years ago. She really enjoyed it and has been lifting weights every day since! 

Not only did her 100 pound lift earn her the win in the 101 pound weight class, but Chapa also won the bronze metal in her weight class as a result of her combination of a 130 pound clean and jerk, with a 110 pound bench press. I am amazed, as it takes an incredible amount of effort for me to even open a pickle jar…

When asked about her experience with beginning the sport, Chapa states, “I really just fell in love with it. You can do it year round, can always fix and get better at it, and I like that it’s kind of frustrating. It makes me work at it a lot to improve my skills.” Chapa speaks very highly of her coaches, Jessie Schubert and Michele James, as they are devoted to helping her and the other lifters improve, as well as motivate them to perform to the best of their abilities.

Not only is Chapa motivated by her coaches, but she also credits her fellow teammates. She says, “We all do around the same weight, so we all work out together. I loved weightlifting even from the first competition, because it was the first one I had attended that was so different from other sports- everyone is so supportive of each other, and cheers for each other’s triumphs.” Chapa is currently playing tennis and running track for high school, and is planning on continuing to work out once she gets to college. She hopes to become a personal trainer for other people throughout her career. Chapa is planning on going to Georgia Tech for Industrial Engineering this upcoming Fall. 

Chapa claims that she had no fear prior to the meet that had occured, even after learning that she was ranked first! She said, “I’m not the very nervous type of person. I think my parents and coaches were more nervous than I was. I went into it with the mindset of, ‘whatever happens, happens’, and I didn’t really have any expectations.” Chapa also credits her achievement to the work of God, and believes that He was a very big part of her winning. Congratulations, Chapa! We can’t wait to see what you do next.

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