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River Ridge Lifters Eye Return To State

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By LARRY BUGG

Tribune correspondent

Published: February 1, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Megan Shoun enjoys swimming in a strong gene pool.

Jessica Diaz is enduring some pain now, but one day wants to relieve the pain of others and get paid for it.

They are two of the six River Ridge High girl weightlifters who qualified for the state meet last year and both want very much to make a return trip to state this month.

The state meet, like last year, will be at the Jim Valentine Complex at River Ridge High and it would be nice for each of them to bring home some gold medals.

Shoun is a sophomore, but already has a Sunshine Athletic Conference title to her credit. She is in the 199-pound weight class. Shoun recently won her class at the Hudson meet. She had a 145-pound bench and a 135-pound clean, for a 280-pound total.

Her brother, Trevor, is also on the boys weightlifting team.

"It's kind of cool having two of the strongest kids in Pasco County," said Vicki Shoun, their mother. "We are happy to have a strong gene pool."

Shoun's coach had to do some recruiting to add that pool to his team.

"She was in my class last year and I kept talking to her," said River Ridge High head coach Mike DeGennaro. "She's a strong girl. Recently, she went for 160-pound bench. She just missed it, but she has done it before. She was a state qualifier and maybe she can place this year. ... She works hard and we are hoping for a good strong place for her."

Shoun said her brother helped her decide to do some heavy lifting.

"I'm good at it and it's exciting," Megan Shoun said. "It helps my confidence. I would like to get into power lifting after high school. I think I was 14th in the state last year."

Diaz is a senior who has a 4.3 grade-point average. She plans to attend the University of Florida and eventually administer anesthetics to patients. The Pompton Plains, N.J., native lived in Tampa before moving to Pasco County.

Diaz recently won her class (101 pounds) at the Hudson meet with a 115-pound bench press and a 105-pound clean and jerk.

"She works very hard," DeGennaro said. "She is always in the weight room and never misses her workouts. Her first few years, she was a training partner with Brianna Hooker second in the state in her weight class last year. She's a strong girl. She has stuck with it and done real well for us. I hope she places at the state meet for us this year."

Diaz didn't run enthusiastically into this life of pain and gain.

"In ninth grade, I didn't really want to do it," she said. "They kind of asked me to because they needed someone in my weight class. I was doing pretty good. I like the competition."

Diaz uses lifting to help her with stress and building self-confidence.

"It's good when you are angry or upset to take it out on the weights," she said. "Definitely, winning helps the confidence. It is exciting when you get a weight you never had before. At state, I was ninth. I was five pounds away from being fifth place. I was really mad about that."

Of course, a state championship would really wipe away any stress for both of them.

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