- May 2, 2024
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Breaking school records was not something Matanzas High School senior Alicia Naticchione anticipated when she joined the girls weightlifting team this shool year.
Naticchione broke three 199-pound school records in a meet with New Smyrna Beach and Seabreeze on the Pirates’ senior night, Wednesday, Jan. 10.
In just one season on the team, her name is now etched in the Pirates’ record book.
She broke the school bench press record with a 155-pound lift on her third attempt and also broke records for the snatch (100 pounds) and Olympic total (240 in snatch plus clean and jerk). The latter two are both recent additions to high school state weightlifting competitons.
Naticchione said she has been lifting weights on her own for four years before deciding to join the team and lift competitively this year.
“I saw some of my friends join the team, and I really wanted to do it,” she said.
She has improved her bench press by 40 pounds since the beginning of the season when she was benching 115. On senior night, she benched 145 pounds on her first attempt, and it felt easy so she decided to jump 10 pounds. She missed 155 on her second bench press, but hoisted it up on her third and final lift.
“It felt amazing,” Naticchione said. “I felt so powerful.”
She said she feels most confident in the bench press. Her goal is to bench press 170 pounds in the postseason, which begins on Jan. 25, when the Pirates host the District 6-2A tournament.
“Alicia is a member of the band. One of our coaches is her AICE teacher and kept asking her to come out,” Matanzas coach Jeremy Ossler said. “Now she has (three) school records.”
Before the season, the Pirates’ 199-pound lifter broke her leg, Ossler said, so Naticchione was able to step into the slot. She is not the only newcomer to be honored on senior night, Ossler said.
“Seven of our 12 seniors are first-year lifters,” he said. “Somehow, every year when we have open spots, we find a way to fill them.”
Matanzas won the traditional competition (clean and jerk and bench) in the tri-meet with 51 points, with New Smyrna Beach second with 43 points and Seabreeze third with 14. New Smyrna edged Matanzas in Olympic, 45-44, with Seabreeze compiling 14 points.
Seabreeze’s Camila Arellano won at 129 pounds in both competitions with a 220 Olympic total and 235 traditional total. Matanzas also had one double winner in Ryann Parkinson at 101 (125 Olympic, 145 traditional).
Matanzas’ other winners included Jessica Krayter (139 Olympic, 185 total); Emily Warren (139 traditional, 230 total); Sarah Sanchez (154 Olympic, 245 total); and Samantha Simon (unlimited traditional, 270 total).
New Smyrna 183-pounder Olivia Bond-West had the top totals in the meet with a 380 Olympic and 410 traditional. New Smyrna 199-pounder Asha-Mahri Manzueta lifted the highest bench press of 280 pounds.
Bond-West and and Manzueta are both defending state champs. They helped the Barracudas finish second at the Class 2A state meet last year, one point behind Clay (25-24). Matanzas, however, beat New Smyrna in the district meet. The Pirates will try to win district for the third year in a row on Jan. 25.
