PANAMA CITY BEACH — It wasn’t the team trophy like the Suwannee High girls weightlifting team wanted.

But the Bulldogs still brought home some hardware from their trip to Arnold High School for Friday’s Class 1A state tournament.

Sophomore Matti Marsee won the program’s first individual state championship while Tyra Kalandyk finished as state runner-up. As a team, SHS placed fifth, totaling 13 points. Arnold repeated as state champions with 26 points. Rounding out the top five were Leesburg, Zephyrhills and Clay.

“I am very happy,” Suwannee coach Brittney Shearer said. “Obviously Matti had a good day, I mean she’s a state champion. Actually she didn’t have her best day, but she’s just worked hard all year that even on her worst day, she could still win. So that was exciting.

“Tyra getting runner-up, that was a huge deal.”

Entering the state meet as the top lifter in the 110-pound class for a second straight year, Marsee lived up to that billing Friday morning. Matching her lifts from the regional meet, Marsee totaled 290 pounds (145 in both the bench and the clean and jerk) to win the state title.

A year ago, Marsee finished fourth.

At 139 pounds, Kalandyk elevated her performance for the state meet. The sophomore, who also had qualified for state a year ago, outperformed both her bench and clean and jerk from the regional tournament, totaling 335 pounds, to take home second in the class to Citrus’ Kennedi Blevins, who lifted 365 pounds.

“She hit a new max on bench that she had been trying to get for like three weeks, so that was exciting for all of us,” Shearer said. “We knew that it was going to be a good day when that happened.

“She went five for five. She had a great day.”

Also scoring points for Suwannee was junior Aislinn Henry at 101 pounds. The third of the Bulldogs returning to the state meet, Henry placed sixth with a total of 225 pounds, which also matched her previous totals.

Sophia Baldwin, a freshman, finished ninth at 119 pounds with a total lift of 265 pounds.

Also competing for Suwannee were Macy Bowers at 101 pounds, Amaya Johnson at 129 pounds, Carson Frier at 154 pounds, McKay Graham at 169 pounds and Shelby Blackmon at 183 pounds.

Blackmon was the lone senior.

“We didn’t have our best day as a team but we took a lot of new girls,” Shearer said. “They’ve had the experience this year and that’s usually how it goes. You go the first year and get the experience and you’re nervous. Then the second year you go back and you compete because you know what you’re stepping into. I’m really proud of them…They still acted like champions even though we didn’t win.

“That’s promising for our future. I believe our best days are in front of us.”

Branford qualified two for state in Nathalia Veal and Evie Pitts. Pitts finished with a total of 285 pounds (140, bench; 145, clean and jerk) to finish 10th at 139 pounds.