It wasn’t all that long ago, and it didn’t take that much.
Now, Schuylkill Valley junior Hayley Reichardt is a weightlifting champion.
Reichardt, 16, broke the American Youth and Juniors record for clean and jerk, with a lift of 86 kilos (189.2 pounds) in her 105-pound weight division at the 2016 National Juniors Championships in Oaks, Pa., last month. She qualified for the USA Junior and Youth World teams and is headed to Salt Lake City in May for the National Seniors meet.
“It was pretty crazy,” Reichardt said, describing the moment when it was announced she had set a record. “I don’t really know how to describe it. It was surreal.”
Reichardt got involved in the sport by watching her older brother, Tanner, compete. Tagging along at his meets, Hayley was introduced to Dane Miller, Tanner’s coach, in 2013 at Junior Nationals. Miller gauged her interest in getting involved with the sport.
“It all started with my brother,” Hayley said. “After watching Tanner compete, Dane talked me into trying it. I gave in, eventually.
“Actually, Dane had to bribe me with Chipotle (Grill). I was still on the fence about it.”
Truth is, once Hayley tried it – and got over an initial hesitation to wearing a singlet – she was hooked. Her biggest rush, she said, is getting on stage in front of people and competing.
“As soon as I did my first competition, I was hooked,” she said. “It was getting up in front of crowd. As I got better, it started to get me motivated more.”
The speed at which the Reichardt siblings got so good, so fast (Tanner has only been competitively lifting for four years), is a story of dedication – borne of long hours in the gym, nearly every day.
“An hour to an hour-and-a-half, six days a week,” Hayley said. “I want to break records.”
Tanner Reichardt – a 2014 SV grad who played football and is currently a sophomore at Kutztown – also competed at Oaks but fell one kilo shy of taking a Junior and World team spot in the 169-pound weight class.
He’s humbled to have been the inspiration for his younger sister.
“Having Hayley tag along, it makes me proud every day,” Tanner said. “She’s doing something that she loves and it’s really awesome being her brother. The tag-along was actually my first Junior Nationals competition, in San Francisco in 2013. The family decided we should all go, because none of us had been to California. We didn’t know anyone, so we all just kind of stuck together.
“… I made a world team that was going to go to Uzbekistan. When we found out, Hayley was getting asked by random people what weight class she was in, and she wasn’t even a weightlifter then.”
Tanner, 19, got his start when he was approached by Miller while working out at a local gym. His first competition, in 2012, was at the Pennsylvania State Games in York.
“I said, sure, not knowing what to expect,” he said. “Just to try something new. Dane coached me for a month, we went there and I competed, lifting 80 kilos (176 pounds) in snatch and 108 (237) in clean and jerk. I won, qualified for US Nationals. I was 16. Ever since then, I’ve loved the sport and continued doing it. I just love the energy and just lifting. … It’s an awesome feeling.”
“Compared to everyone else, we’re still kind of new to the sport.”
The Reichardts weren’t the only competitors from Miller’s Garage Strength team, out of Ontelaunee Township, at the National Juniors Championships.
Fleetwood junior Dale Loch set the American Youth record in the 77K weight class for the snatch with a lift of 129 kilos.
Also, Kate Wehr, a sophomore at Kutztown High School, finished seventh in the 58K weight class.
