There will never be another first.
Destin’s Elena Nava, 17, captured Destin High School’s first state championship in any sport when she placed first in the Traditional competition of the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A State Weightlifting Championship last week.
Nava, who stands 5-foot-2, competed in the 119-weight class and set personal records on every lift.
“I think I’m finally winding down a bit,” Nava said Tuesday afternoon.
Nava, along with Soleh Nieves Cortez and Tristan Little, represented Destin High at the FHSAA Weightlifting Championships in Lakeland on Feb. 13.
“We all did really good … it was really exciting for sure,” Nava said.
As a team, the Sharks placed third overall in traditional with more than 100 teams competing.
“It was great,” Destin Coach Langston Stove said. “It was all these girls’ hard work, including the ones that didn’t make it, pushing them to get ready.”
This was Destin High’s first year of eligibility to participate in the FHSAA competition.
And the team was excited for the chance to compete and show what they could do.
“It was awesome for sure,” Nava said.
Nava, daughter of Chris and Eve Nava, lifted 120 pounds on snatch and 150 on clean and jerk.
Nava said she lifted 160 pounds on clean and jerk, but it failed to count on a technicality, when she dropped the bar behind her.
“But either way, I still won state, which was pretty cool,” Nava said.
On bench, she lifted 155 pounds. All three lifts were PRs for Nava.
“Going into it, there was a lot of pressure. I did mentally prepare beforehand,” she said.
“I felt good, but snatch, which is the first lift, is the most nerve-racking because it’s so complicated,” Nava said.
She said there was a girl there whom she had seen compete before, and was good.
“She was really, really good at snatch. So, I was trying to keep up with her. And I ended up making all three lifts,” Nava said, noting that is when she started to feel good about the competition.
Nava went on to finish on top in Traditional with 305 total points.
I’m proud that I can be that person, Nava said, being the school’s first state champion.
“It feels really good because there was a lot of pressure. A lot of people I wanted to make proud, like my parents, also my school was supporting us. I definitely wanted to make it good,” Nava said.
Nava has not always been a weightlifter.
“I used to be a big runner,” she said, noting she ran cross-country and track.
Then in her sophomore year, her coach introduced her to the sport.
“I wasn’t a natural or anything … but I learned,” she said. “I really fell in love with it and after that season, I kept going. It took a lot of hard work, but I was committed to that sport. I put my all into it.
“It was good to end my season like that,” Nava said in winning at the state level.
She was also excited for her teammates.
Cortez placed fourth in Traditional in the 110-weight class, and Tristan Little came in eighth in Olympic in the 110-weight class.
“I’m really proud of her,” Nava said of Cortez. “She’s just a junior. Next year she’s going to kick butt.”
Will Nava continue to compete in weightlifting?
“I think what I’m going to do is end my season with a win … I think state will be my final competition,” she said.
Nava said she has other interests in the life she wants to pursue, and plans to study business management in college.
“I really want to own my own business in the future,” she said.
But in the meantime, she is thankful for all the support.
“I just want to show my appreciation for everyone that invested their time and money, giving me advice and my coaches,” she said.
Nava said her gym community, family and teammates really made it special.
This article originally appeared on The Destin Log: Weightlifter Elena Nava is Destin High’s first state champion
Reporting by Tina Harbuck, The Destin Log / The Destin Log
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
