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Hooker Strives To Be The Best

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By LARRY BUGG Tribune correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 28, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - It isn't easy being Brianna Hooker.

The River Ridge High girl weightlifter is trying to be the best in everything she does and that list is long.

The junior was named The Tampa Tribune's Pasco County Girls Weightlifting Athlete of the Year after she took third place at the state meet last winter at River Ridge. She had a bench press of 150 pounds and a clean and jerk of 135 pounds. That was despite the fact that she was bleeding on her neck due to an old wound.

She actually tied for second place but ended up in third because the girl she was tied with weighed a little less than Hooker.

She is also an excellent athlete and manages to squeeze gymnastics and work in the Key Club and Interact Club into her busy schedule.

She has a 3.9 grade-point average. She wants to get a scholarship in gymnastics. She would prefer to attend Bowling Green University or Kent State University.

She was born in New Port Richey and has lived there her entire life.

Her weightlifting coach is grateful that his lifter wants everything just so.

"It's her dedication to everything," River Ridge High coach Mike DeGennaro said. "She is an honor student. She gives up her lunch every day to get her weightlifting workout in. She is in the Key Club, a service club. She is a member of Spanish Honor Society and National Honor Society. She is the vice president for Key Club and is historian for Spanish Honor Society.

"She wants to be perfect. She practices everything like she wants to be the best. She is not happy with herself if she falls short. She is not going to take shortcuts. She is going to do it and be the best she can. She will keep working until she gets it right.

"Coaching her is great."

The neck wound became a distraction at the state meet.

"At one of the sectionals, they had a brand new bar and she cut herself," the coach said. "The bar was sharp. Sometimes, they come out sharp enough that if you put 140 pounds across her chest, it can be a problem. It scraped her pretty badly. She's fine now."

Her last real challenge is to win a state title and DeGennaro hopes it will be next year.

"She placed seventh as a freshman, fourth as a sophomore, tied for second as a junior," he said. "She hasn't lost a conference meet yet.

"She has lifted up a weight class at conference to go against better competition."

Hooker is on the go constantly and always striving for excellence.

"I am a pretty busy person," she said. "I try to do the best I can do. I love to do weightlifting. You have to push to do well. There are no cliques on the River Ridge weightlifting team. It is not a hard sport to do. It helps my gymnastics a lot. Most of the time I do it for fun and to keep in shape."

That state title would mean a great deal to Hooker.

"It means a lot," she said. "You get your name on a wall at River Ridge High. Everyone wants to win. It is a goal."

While she is an excellent gymnast, Hooker has no desire to become the next Mary Lou Retton.

"I don't want to go to the Olympics," she said. "Competitively, I don't dream of going to the Olympics."

She does know what she wants for a job.

"I want to be a physician assistant professionally," she said.

One imagines she may be close to perfect as a physician assistant.

And lifting weights just may help her get to that goal.

GIRLS WEIGHTLIFTING FIRST TEAM

Natalie Marenghi, River Ridge

Ashley Mizrahi, Gulf

Brianna Hooker, River Ridge

Carmen Figueroa, Gulf

Chrystal Rose, Ridgewood

Lauren Heymann, Ridgewood

Jessica Davis, Zephyrhills

Casey Rogers, Zephyrhills

Megan Shoun, River Ridge

Ashley Anderton, Zephyrhills

Coach of the Year: Mike DeGennaro, River Ridge

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