Navarre head track coach Tony Carter watches as his athletes go through another practice on a weekday afternoon and he points to the potential this team of nearly 200 holds for this season.

“The kids are working hard and we have a lot of young talent,” Carter said. “We have some freshmen and sophomores who can make an impact this year and some seniors out for the sport for the first time that are impressive, too. I’m excited.”

Amira Marshall’s dream of competing at the 3A state girls weightlifting meet ended unexpectedly.

Navarre’s senior standout in the unlimited division had to quarantine before the district meet last month, ending all hope of returning to state and contending for a top three finish for the Raiders.

Even with a second-place finish at the Northwest Florida Invitational last Wednesday afternoon at Baker, Navarre’s boys weightlifting team isn’t satisfied with the result.

This is a program that was the state runner-up in 2018 and won the state title in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic ended hopes of a repeat in 2020.