Griffith capped off career with third straight state title, plus 9 more make the all-area team
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Fort White's Katie Griffith is the LCR's Girls Weightlifter of the Year. (PAUL BUCHANAN/Special to the Reporter)
FORT WHITE — Katie Griffith’s older brother was the only motivation she needed for an unforgettable career.
Chris Griffith was the first Fort White weightlifter to win a state title back in 2010. His name is in the school’s history books forever, and he probably thought he’d be the only one is his family to etch his name there too.
At least that’s what he told his younger sister.
“He told me that I would never be better than him, so I wanted to prove to him that I was,” Katie Griffith said.
So, Griffith joined the weightlifting team her freshman year at Fort White. Fast forward three years later, and not only did she match her brother’s accolades, she surpassed them.
Three times over.
Griffith capped off the best weightlifting career in Fort White history with her third straight Class 1A state title in the traditional this season after sweeping district and regional titles in the event. She did it in a new weight class too, moving up to 119 after competing in 101 the previous two seasons.
It’s why Griffith is the LCR’s Girls Weightlifter of the Year.
“I think I’ve done something that will probably never be done again,” said Griffith, who also placed fifth at state in the new Olympic event.
“I know that I’m going to miss it. I’m going to miss the adrenaline and all the competitions, the thrill of winning, the happiness, the joy.”
It took a new career best on the bench press for Griffith to achieve a 3-peat. She fell behind Baker’s Allison Baggett by 20 pounds in the clean and jerk, and she admits she doubted if she could win it all again after missing her third clean and jerk rep of 175 following a lift of 170.
But Griffith raised the bar high on all three bench press reps to rally. First, she hit 175 for the first time in the postseason, then 180, and then 185 for a new career-best.
Her 185 pulled her to a 355 total tie with Baggett, but Griffith won the tiebreaker thanks to weighing over three pounds less than her. Her 355 mark was well over her 330 and 325 totals at regionals and district.
“I was very happy because I lost hope in winning the third one,” Griffith said. “I didn’t think I was going to win because I had missed my third clean and jerk and I thought I needed that one to win.”
Baggett benched 160 and then 165 before Griffith watched with an anxious eye as she went for 170. But Baggett couldn’t finish the rep to reach a 360 total.
It was then that Griffith knew she could win a third straight state title as she walked to the bench for her final attempt.
“After the 180 I felt pretty confident I could get it,” Griffith said. “So I started getting happy once I got 180 pretty easily.”
It wasn’t the first close call Griffith has had with Baggett. She also beat her by five pounds to win her first state title in 2021.
Last year Griffith cruised to the championship, winning the 101 class by a whopping 40 pounds.
“If you’re going to compete at that level every year you have to put in a lot of effort and a lot of work,” Fort White head coach Roy Harden said. “You don’t realize how much time and effort they do put in in the offseason to be able to compete at that level during the season and at the state meet.
“She’s put in a lot of time and a lot of effort, and we’re real proud of what she’s accomplished.”
It wasn’t just Griffith’s brother that motivated her to bring home titles. She can also thank her first trip to state as a freshman.
Griffith failed to finish all three of her bench press reps at the 2020 state meet, going home with a score of zero while competing in the 110 class. Her first trip to state was a nerve-racking experience and she admits that it got the best of her then.
But it also prepared her to come back better and stronger for the rest of her career.
“It was pretty scary,” Griffith said of her freshman trip. “It was a lot different than districts and regionals for sure. There was only one judge at districts and regionals. They were a lot less strict. At state, they’re a lot more strict so I was scared of either lifting up, which I did, or lifting my feet up.
“I bombed out on my bench, but I feel like that just made me want it even more.”
Griffith credits her dad for helping her improve her technique that offseason to get her ready for her sophomore season. Since then, she’s been unbeatable.
She can also now safely say she’s the best lifter in her family. She’ll remind her brother too.
“That I’m better than him,” Griffith said.
ALL-AREA TEAM
101: Tobie Peterson
Suwannee, senior
Finished runner-up at state in the Olympic with a 220 total — 10 shy of the title — after winning a district title and placing second at regionals. She also placed fifth in traditional at the Class 1A state meet with a 220 total after finishing runner-up at both districts and regionals.
110: Cheyenne Morgan
Suwannee, senior
Placed second in traditional at the Class 1A state meet with a 265 total after winning a regional title and finishing runner-up at districts. She also placed third at state in the Olympic with a 235 total after winning a district title and finishing runner-up at regionals.
110: Breanna Rodriguez
Suwannee, senior
Placed third in traditional at the Class 1A state meet with a 265 total (losing tiebreaker to teammate Cheyenne Morgan) after winning a district title and finishing runner-up at regionals. She also placed fourth in the Olympic at state with a 235 total (losing another tiebreaker to teammate Cheyenne Morgan) after finishing runner-up at districts and third at regionals.
119: Katie Griffith
Fort White, senior
The LCR’s Girls Weightlifter of the Year capped off her career with her third straight Class 1A state title in the traditional, winning a tiebreaker with a 355 total after also winning regional and district titles in the event. She also placed fifth at state in the Olympic (280 total) after winning a district title and finishing runner-up at regionals.
129: Johanna Alicea
Suwannee, junior
Placed fourth in traditional at the Class 1A state meet with a 280 total after winning a district title and finishing runner-up at regionals. She also finished sixth in the Olympic with a 260 total after winning a second district title and placing fourth at regionals.
183: Maddie Carte
Suwannee, senior
Finished runner-up in both the traditional (370 total) and the Olympic (330 total) at the Class 1A state meet. She also won district and regional titles in both events.
199: Kaly Cuffy
Suwannee, junior
Finished runner-up in the Olympic at the Class 1A state meet and placed fourth in the traditional with a pair of 345 totals. She won district and regional titles in both events.
Unlimited: Autumn Latrielle
Suwannee, senior
Finished runner-up in the Olympic at the Class 1A state meet with 350 total after doing the same at districts and regionals. She also placed third in the traditional at state with a 385 total after winning a district title and placing third at regionals.
Unlimited: Taryn O’Hara
Suwannee, senior
Placed fifth in the traditional at the Class 1A state meet with a 375 total after finishing runner-up at districts and fourth at regionals.
Unlimited: Savannah White
Suwannee, sophomore
Won the Class 1A state title in the Olympic with a 355 total. That capped off a postseason sweep after winning district and regional titles in the event.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Brittney Shearer, Suwannee
One year after winning a state title in the snatch, Shearer’s Bulldogs swept Class 1A state titles in the traditional (edging Imagine School 28-18) and the Olympic (beating Lemon Bay 35-18). It capped a season of titles for Suwannee, which also swept district and regional championships in both events, with its district and regional titles in the traditional marking five straight for both. Shearer’s team qualified 15 total lifters for the state meet, with Savannah White winning Suwannee’s lone individual title. The Bulldogs went home with 16 individual state medals.