USAWA

Each year the USAWA  nominates and selects individuals for special awards.  These awards are given on behalf of the USAWA for outstanding merit in several categories. Below is a listing of past award winners.

2023 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNER-UP
Athlete of the Year	Abe Smith	Elizabeth Skwarecki
Leadership Award	Eric Todd	Bill Clark
Sportsmanship Award	Lance Foster	Dave DeForest
Courage Award	Randy Smith	Joe Garcia
Newcomer Award	Nick Frieders	Tony Lupo
Club of the Year	Habecker’s Gym	KCSTRONGMAN

2022 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year	Abe Smith	Elizabeth Skwarecki
Leadership Award	Denny Habecker	Eric Todd
Sportsmanship Award	Lance Foster	Chris Todd
Courage Award	Dean Ross	Joe Garcia
Newcomer Award	Clint Poore	Everett Todd
Club of the Year	Clark’s Gym	KCSTRONGMAN

2021 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year	Johnny Strangeway	Elizabeth Zkwarecki
Leadership Award	Eric Todd	Denny Habecker
Sportsmanship Award	Lance Foster	Christopher Lestan
Courage Award	Frank Ciavattone	Bill Clark
Newcomer Award	Phoebe Todd	Leroy Todd
Club of the Year	Dino Gym	Franks Barbell Club

* Awards were not presented during 2019-20 due to COVID and the lack of a National Championships & Annual Meeting * 

2018 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year	Eric Todd	Al Myers
Leadership Award	Al Myers & Denny Habecker	—–
Sportsmanship Award	Lance Foster	LaVerne Myers
Courage Award	Frank Ciavattone & Dennis Mitchell	—–
Newcomer Award	John Strangeway	Brandon Rein
Club of the Year	Franks Barbell Club	Habecker’s Gym

Howard Prechtel Contribution Award – Denny & Judy Habecker (Presented by Al Myers)

2017 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year	Al Myers	Eric Todd
Leadership Award	Denny Habecker	Al Myers
Sportsmanship Award	Dean Ross	LaVerne Myers
Courage Award	Frank Ciavattone	Dennis Mitchell
Newcomer Award	John Douglas	Greg Cook
Club of the Year	Dino Gym	Schmidt Barbell Club

2016 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year	Al Myers	Eric Todd
Leadership Award	Frank Ciavattone	Denny Habecker
Sportsmanship Award	Dean Ross	LaVerne Myers
Courage Award	Rocky Morrison	Art Montini
Newcomer Award	Kim Lydon	Mark Raymond
Club of the Year	Franks Barbell Club	Habeckers Gym

Howard Prechtel Contribution Award – Al Myers (Presented by Frank Ciavattone)

2015 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year	Denny Habecker	Dean Ross
Leadership Award	Al Myers	Denny Habecker
Sportsmanship Award	Frank Ciavattone	Art Montini
Courage Award	Denny Habecker	Chad Ullom
Newcomer Award	Emily Burchett	Matt Hancock
Club of the Year	Dino Gym	Habecker’s Gym

Howard Prechtel Contribution Award – Frank Ciavattone (Presented by Bob Geib, in memory of Howard Prechtel)

2014 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year	Chad Ullom	Eric Todd
Leadership Award	Al Myers	Denny Habecker
Sportsmanship Award	Frank Ciavattone	Dave Glasgow
Courage Award	Art Montini	Dick Durante
Newcomer Award	Steve Santangelo	Jeff Ciavattone
Club of the Year	Frank’s Barbell Club	Ledaig Athletic Club

2013 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year	Al Myers	Eric Todd
Leadership Award	Denny Habecker	Thom Van Vleck
Sportsmanship Award	Dennis Mitchell	Dave Glasgow
Courage Award	Dean Ross	Art Montini
Newcomer Award	Mike McIntyre	Logan Kressly
Club of the Year	Dino Gym	Habecker’s Gym

2012 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year	Chad Ullom	Dan Wagman
Leadership Award	Al Myers	Denny Habecker
Sportsmanship Award	Dave Glasgow	Lance Foster
Courage Award	Dale Friesz	Art Montini
Newcomer Award	Ruth Jackson	James Fuller
Club of the Year	Ledaig Athletic Club	Salvation Army Gym

2011 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year	Al Myers	Larry Traub
Leadership Award	Thom Van Vleck	Denny Habecker
Sportsmanship Award	Mike Murdock	Art Montini
Courage Award	Dale Friesz	Dave Glasgow
Newcomer Award	Dean Ross	LaVerne Myers
Club of the Year	Dino Gym	Ledaig Athletic Club

2010 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year	Chad Ullom	Al Myers
Leadership Award	Al Myers	Thom Van Vleck
Sportsmanship Award	Rudy Bletscher	Mike Murdock
Courage Award	Dale Friesz	none
Newcomer Award	Larry Traub	none
Club of the Year	Habecker’s Gym	Ambridge BBC

2009 Award Winners

	WINNER	RUNNERUP
Athlete of the Year	Al Myers	Chad Ullom
Leadership Award	Bill Clark	Al Myers
Sportsmanship Award	Denny Habecker	Art Montini
Courage Award	Dale Friesz	Frank Ciavattone
Newcomer Award	Dave Glasgow	Kohl Hess
Club of the Year	Dino Gym	Ambridge BBC

CIAVATTONE AWARD WINNERS