Lakeland, Fla. – The Villages High School girls weightlifting team sent five members to the FHSAA Class 1A State Meet on Friday in Lakeland.

The Buffalo finished 31st in the Traditional lift and 38th in the Olympic discipline, a performance which included four Top-10 individual finishes inside the RP Funding Center.

Kim Gepega finished 6th in Traditional and 8th in Olympic at 101 pounds, while Jackie Tomassian was 10th at 119 (Traditional) and Lana Nelson placed 10th at 101 (Olympic). Alexa Taylor also qualified to compete in the Traditional lift at 129 pounds and Olivia Wetzel competed in both disciplines at 139 pounds, respectively.

The effort at the FHSAA Class 1A State Meet closed a solid season for the VHS Girls Weightlifting program, as the squad finished runner-up in both the Traditional and Olympic lifts at each of the district and regional competitions.


Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment via email at cody.hills@tvcs.org.