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Braden River girls weightlifting takes home state title
FOX 13's Mark Skol Jr. reports.
BRADENTON, Fla. - Over at Braden River High School, the girls weightlifting team is in disbelief.
"Still coming to terms with it," Braden River girls weightlifting coach Jordan Borges said.
The Pirates are still coming to terms with what they just accomplished.
"We didn't even think we would be close to winning anything our freshman year," Braden River senior Payton Mangay-Ayam said.
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The backstory:
They ended up winning quite often. Not only did the Braden River girls weightlifting team go undefeated in the regular season for the fourth year in a row, the program took home its first FHSAA state championship.
Mangay-Ayam won the Olympic and traditional event to become the only undisputed state champion in the area. Braden River had five other medalists on the team to win the state title by four points over River Ridge High School.
"All of us were just crying and just getting really emotional about it," Braden River senior Taylor Ford said. "It was exciting to see our hard work pay off in the end."
That combination of hard work and talent made it all possible.
What they're saying:
"That was the expectation," Borges said. "Our standard wasn't go to states and take part, it was to get to states and go win it all."
However, the Pirates did more than just win it all — they made history in the process.
"It's just really amazing to see it happen," Mangay-Ayam said.
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Dig deeper:
Not only are these girls state champs. They are the first team in school history to ever win a state title. No one in football, basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball or any other varsity sport has even claimed a state title.
"There's no better year to have the first state champ team," Borges said.
They hope the success within their own program becomes contagious on campus.
"Hopefully, building off this gets a lot of young female athletes, but just athletes in general to realize, especially at this school, that anything is possible if you just have buy in, have dedication," Borges said.
And it's that dedication that resulted in an experience these girls will never forget.
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"For the rest of their lives, they will be known as the first to ever do it, but they will also be known as champions," Borges said.
What's next:
The Pirates plan on getting championship rings for their first ever state title.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered during interviews with Braden River High School's girls' weightlifting team done by FOX 13's Mark Skol, Jr.