Melanie Roach, a 2008 Olympian, recently took a big step her comeback bid.

Roach, 41 and a mother of five, set American masters records at the U.S. Open Weightlifting Championships in Reno, Nev., on Dec. 3. Competing in the 117-pound division, Roach set new marks in the snatch (176 pounds), clean and jerk (222 pounds) and total (389 pounds).

Roach, a 1993 Auburn High School graduate, lives in Bonney Lake.

The top 15 U.S. lifters in seven weight classes will compete at the Olympic Trials in May. Roach’s performance placed her 10th overall, and her invitation to the trials will not become final until February.

The 2016 Summer Games are in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, come August.

Roach set an American record at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she placed fifth overall. Roach holds the longest-standing American record for the clean and jerk (250 pounds), set in 1998.

Roach and her husband, Dan, own Roach Gymnastics in Sumner.