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Reece Chasteen won a district title & set personal-bests at state, where she tied for ninth. (JEN CHASTEEN/Special to the Reporter)
Reece Chasteen felt pretty good halfway through the Class 2A state meet.
The junior had just benched 200 pounds and she sat in fifth place in the 199-pound weight class. Her eyes were on a top-six finish to land on the medal stand.
A personal-best of 155 in the clean and jerk capped off a stellar day for Chasteen. But she ultimately fell to a tie for ninth place.
Still, Chasteen made big improvements from her sophomore season. She won the District 2-2A title, placed second in Region 1-2A and finished a spot higher at state from the year before.
Chasteen also increased her state total by 40 pounds from 2019. Those accomplishments are why Chasteen is once again the Lake City Reporter’s Girls Weightlifter of the Year.
“If you keep working you’re going to get more,” Chasteen said of her gains this season. “You set a miniature goal, and if you get that goal, you just keep going and going. There’s not a roof if you keep going and pushing yourself and putting in the work.”
Columbia coach Lindsay Beach pointed to Chasteen’s work ethic in the offseason as the key to her success this year.
“She came in stronger and that is solely because she is one that works in the offseason,” Beach said. “There were no off days for her so it definitely wasn’t a surprise that she did so well just simply because of the person she is. She’s so self-driven that she pushes herself and has these expectations. She had a great season.”
A steady increase in her numbers pushed Chasteen back to state. She won a district title with a 190 bench press and a 145 clean and jerk before topping those numbers by five each at regionals to finish behind Niceville’s Melaina Bryant, who went on to repeat as a state champion.
Her first goal at state was to try and bench 200. Turns out, she finished it with ease on her final rep.
“When I got it up, it was pretty easy,” Chasteen said, “and honestly, I probably should have gone for more. During that week I had been testing myself trying to get 200. I wasn’t too confident going in on getting that, but when I got it during state it was really easy so I was kind of regretting not going for 205 or something like that.”
The bench press has always come easier for Chasteen. It’s the clean and jerk that’s been her “worst enemy.”
She was hoping to make a big jump from her 140 clean and jerk at state as a sophomore, but midway through this season she hit a wall. Stuck at 150 for weeks, it took some help from her brother, Moss, and some friends to finally push her past the threshold at state on her second rep.
Chasteen then gave 160 a shot but came up short.
“I got stuck but you always get to a point in the season where you get stuck at a certain weight,” Chasteen said. “It’s whether you can push through that wall or not and I was able to push through that wall just in time for state.”
If Chasteen is going to medal at state as a senior, Beach says she’ll need to make strong gains in her clean and jerk. Beach was pleased with Chasteen’s numbers in 2020 but she believes she is going to have to put in even more work to finish higher in 2021.
“Her clean and jerk has always kind of been her weaker area so next year that will be something that she really has to focus on if she wants to place in the top five state or even look at winning state,” Beach said.
Chasteen is also getting close to the Celeste Gomez’s school record on the bench press. Gomez benched 225 pounds at state in 2010, a number Chasteen is determined to beat before she graduates next spring.
The clean and jerk is a different story. Gomez also holds that record at 215 pounds.
“Oh I can get there in bench press,” Chasteen said. “People are asking if I can do it in clean and jerk. I can try but my real goal for beating her is in bench press.”
Chasteen also hopes to catch Bryant, who posted a 400 total at state to win back-to-back titles. Like Chasteen, Bryant is also a junior and making up a 55-pound difference won’t be easy.
But Chasteen is up to the challenge.
“I’ve got to find a way to top her,” Chasteen said. “It’s the clean and jerk, man. Unless I shoot up in bench press, which I’m not saying it can’t happen, but I still have to work on my clean and jerk to get that up because you have to have balance on both ends.”
ALL-COUNTY TEAM
Katie Griffith
Fort White, 110 class
Finished second in both District 4-1A and Region 2-1A, where she lifted a season-best 240 to qualify for the Class 1A state meet as a freshman.
Morgan Hoyle
Columbia, 129 class
Won a District 2-2A title with a season-best 280 total. The senior lifted 275 to finish fifth in Region 1-2A, missing state by 10 pounds.
Daniya Lewis
Columbia, 139 class
Finished second in District 2-2A with a 270 total to qualify for regionals as a sophomore in a weight class loaded with talented lifters.
Alyssa Norris
Fort White, 101 class
Placed fourth in District 4-1A meet before finishing fifth in Region 2-1A, lifting a season-best 175 at both meets. The sophomore missed state by just 20 pounds.