Category Archives: USAWA Daily News

LIFTER OF THE MONTH, JANUARY 2025 – TONY LUPO

January is off to a great start and Tony Lupo is Lifter of the Month. He traveled down to Westlake, LA to help launch All-Round lifting in the Pelican State, took 2nd in the Bayou Beast Bash and set 5 records after the competition lifts were completed. He shows up live on the platform and has a jump on the competition for 2025 Road Warrior miles. Tony first appears in the record list starting in 2021 and has since accumulated 155 individual records in 138 different lifts and 9 team records. A true All-Rounder, he has set records in the Phumchaona Lift and the Carter Lift.

He was the 2023 Newcomer of the Year Runner Up and the inaugural recipient of the Al Myers Award presented at the 2024 Old Time Strongman World Postal Meet. Finally, he supports the USAWA as the Awards Director and the Records Director. Maintaining 19,000+ records is a daunting task that he has taken on without fanfare. Congratulations Tony!

Do you know a USAWA member who should be recognized as a future Lifter of the Month? Send nominations to the Secretary at bethskw@gmail.com

2024 Postal Championship

With the Q4 Postal meet in the books, it is time to crown the Men’s and Women’s postal champions. 17 women and 44 men competed throughout the year. 17 women is the largest women’s field the postal has ever had, beating the previous best of 12 entrants set in 2023. 44 women is the largest men’s field the postal has ever had, again a huge jump over the previous best of 36 entrants set in 2023. 61 entrants represented nearly half of the 2024 USAWA members.

Scoring was done the same way it was done last year with points awarded based on number of entrants. RJ Jackson and Sylvia Stockall tied with 33 points each. I don’t think we have a tiebreaker system yet, but with RJ taking the win in Q2 and Q3, versus Sylvia’s Q1 win, I am proposing RJ is the women’s postal champion. Abe Smith had 99 points, narrowly edging out Barry Bryan with 94 points. Congratulations to RJ and Abe. This is RJ’s 8th title and Abe’s 1st title.

Grand Slam winners include Stacy Todd, Allison Lupo, Janet Thompson, Abe Smith, Barry Bryan, Denny Habecker, Randy Smith, Jeff Wenzel, Travis Luther, Tony Lupo, Spencer Wenzel, Sanjiv Gupta, Eric Todd, Bill Clark

Lifter of the Month, December 2024 – Ashley Stearns

by Sanjiv Gupta

December was bustling with All-Round weightlifting, but Ashley Stearns shined by pulling a
318.43 Kg Dinnie Lift and 63.50 Inch Dumbbell Deadlift to be the top USA lifter at the 2024 Old
Time Strongman World Championships. Ashley has been competing out of Buffville since 2023
and quickly joined the Century Club. He currently holds 112 records (across 51 lifts) with 45 of
those being ALL Age class records. Congratulations Ashley.

Do you know a USAWA member who should be recognized as a future Lifter of the Month? Send nominations to the Secretary at bethskw@gmail.com.

Colorado Grip Classic changed to Grip Championships

This year’s Grip Championships will be held in Lakewood, Colorado, on May 3, 2025, by promoter Sanjiv Gupta. This replaces the Colorado Grip Classic that was originally sanctioned for that date. Traditionally, Al Myers hosts the Grip Champs, but he was unable to do it this year. Sanjiv expressed interest in hosting it, and the executive board has awarded the Grip Championships to Sanjiv.

Notice to lifters who had been intending to compete in the Colorado Grip Classic: In changing the meet from a local meet to a Championship, Sanjiv has needed to add a $10 entry fee to cover awards and has also adjusted the entry deadline. Remote lifters are no longer allowed, to be sure that all competitors will be using the same equipment.

The lifts are still the same as those that were planned for the Classic. You can see the updated meet announcement here.

2024 Memorial Record Day – results

The Memorial Record Day this year had a small, turnout with 4 lifters setting 15 records.

Steve Jury – 59 – 254 lbs – 120 Kg. Class [ 55-59 ]

  • Press- Dumbbell – Left Hand – 25KG. – 55 Lbs.
  • Press-Dumbbell – Right Hand – 27.5 Kg. – 60 Lbs.
  • Holdout Raised 25 Kg. – 55 Lbs.
  • Holdout Lowered – 27.5 Kg. – 60 Lbs.
  • Swing- Dumbbell – Left Arm – 40 Kg. – 88Lbs.

Mike Lacondro – 62 – 208 Lbs. – 95 Kg. Class [ 60-64 ]

  • Bent Over Row – 100 Kg. – 220 Lbs.
  • Deadlift- 12″ Base – 120 Kg. – 264 Lbs.
  • Continental to Belt – 130 Kg. – 286 Lbs.

Barry Pensyl – 76 – 130 Lbs. – 60 Kg. Class – [ 75-79 ]

  • Swing- Dumbbell- Right Arm – 45 Lbs.
  • Swing- Dumbbell – Left Arm – 45 Lbs.
  • Curl- Strict – 23.5 Kg. – 51 Lbs.
  • Curl- Strict-Reverse Grip – 19.5 Kg.- 42Lbs.
  • Peoples Deadlift – 110 Kg. – 242 Lbs.

Denny Habecker – 82 – 177 Lbs. – 85 Kg. Class – [ 80- 84]

  • Deadlift- Ciavattone Grip -One Arm- Right – 65 Kg. – 143 Lbs.
  • Deadlift – One Arm – Right – 101 Kg. – 222 Lbs.

Officials – Denny Habecker, Barry Pensyl

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