Category Archives: USAWA Daily News

Heavy Lift Championship

By Eric Todd

***POSTPONED TILL FURTHER NOTICE***

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT

2020 USAWA HEAVY LIFT CHAMPIONSHIPS

John Douglas executing a hand and thigh at the 2018 Heavy Lift Championship

John Douglas executing a hand and thigh at the 2018 Heavy Lift Championship

2020 will see the Heavy Lift Championship make its way back to the “House of Iron and Stone” in God’s country, Turney, MO.  This will be the third time myself and the KCSTRONGMAN crew have hosted this event.  The first was 2015, and then again in 2018.  Both affairs were rather well attended, and I hope the same will be said about this competition.

This championship has a rich history.  It has been contested since 1994, making it the longest running championship in the USAWA besides the National Championship. Over the 25 years it has been contested, it has seen 11 different male champions and 8 different female champions.  The Ciavattone family has been rather dominant in the men’s division with seven titles.  Five of those can be credited to big Frank, who ties Steve Schmidt as the most decorated Heavy Lifter in our organization.  The most dominant woman heavy lifter in the organizations history has been Cara Collins with 3 titles to her name.

This year’s event will be held in my big tin can.  It is an excessively large quonset hut with a gravel floor.  We do have flat platforms for lifting on, though.  There is not much in the way of climate control in my gym.  This should not be too much of an issue, as it is usually pretty nice in May, but there are occasions when it can get rather warm.  Please be prepared for this if you choose to compete.  There is also no running water in the tin can.  I usually provide some bottled water for the lifter’s consumption.  The facilities come in the form of an outhouse to the back.  If you are too “high society” to use an outhouse, there is a gas station with public restrooms about 6 miles to the southwest.

That being said, it is a fantastic facility in which to move large amounts of weights.  We have hundreds a plenty, and lots of change on top of it.  I will have my neck harness and hip belt for you to use of you choose, but feel free to bring your own.  The neck harness is made specifically for my dimensions, so if your head is much bigger or smaller, it might not work that well for you.

I hope to have a good turnout for this meet.  There are lots of big hitters out there in the USAWA, with lots of top heavy lifters still competing.  Hopefully we can get many of them in the same place and make this a meet to remember.

MEET DETAILS:

Meet name: Heavy Lift Championship

Date: May 9, 2020

Location: 10978 SW Pueblo Dr, Turney, MO

Promoter: Eric Todd and KCSTRONGMAN

Sanctioned by : USAWA-membership is required of all lifters

Lifts: Neck Lift, Hand and Thigh, Hip Lift

Cost: $25 (Checks can be made out to Eric Todd)

Awards: There will be awards for the lifters

This is a drug tested event.  Please only enter if you know you can pass a drug test!

ENTRY FORM  (WORD) – Heavy Lift Entry

ENTRY FORM (PDF) – Heavy Lift Entry

Backbreaker Pentathlon

By Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT

Steve Schmidt’s Backbreaker Pentathlon

Meet Director: Bill Clark

Date: Saturday, March 21st, 2020

Venue: Clark’s Gym, Columbia, Missouri

Weigh-ins: 8- 9:30 AM

Lifting: 10 AM

Entry Fee: None

Entry Form: None

Awards: None

Membership: Must be a current USAWA Member (Available at meet)

Lifts: Neck Lift, Hand and Thigh Lift, Back Lift, Hip Lift, Harness Lift

A Record Day will follow the meet. Lifters may perform records in up to 5 lifts maximum.

To enter, a confirmation must be sent to Bill Clark by the Tuesday preceding the meet. Bill can be reached by phone: 573-474-4510, Fax: 573-474-1449, or mail: Bill Clark, 3906 Grace Ellen Drive, Columbia, Missouri, 65202

Goerner Deadlift

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT

Hermann Goerner Deadlift Dozen plus One

Meet Director:  Bill Clark

Date:  Saturday, February 22nd, 2020

Venue:  Clark’s Gym, Columbia, Missouri

Weigh-ins:  8-9 AM

Lifting: 10:30 AM

Entry Fee: None

Entry Form: None

Awards:  None

Membership:  Must be a current USAWA Member (Available at Meet)

Lifts:  Deadlift – Heels Together, Deadlift – 2 bars, Hack Lift, Jefferson Lift, Deadlift – One Arm (with both), Deadlift – One Arm, No Thumbs (with both),  Fingers Deadlift – Index, Fingers Deadlift – Middle, Fingers Deadlift – Ring, Fingers Deadlift – Little, and Reeves Deadlift

To enter, a confirmation must be sent to Bill Clark by the Tuesday preceding the meet.  Bill can be reached by phone: 573-474-4510, Fax: 573-474-1449, or mail:  Bill Clark, 3906 Grace Ellen Drive, Columbia, Missouri, 65202

There will be a record day following the meet.  Lifters may perform records in a maximum of 5 lifts.

Anderson Winter RB

By Christopher Lestan

ANDERSON WINTER CLASSIC RECORD BREAKERS

Meet Recap:

What a meet that was filled with excitement, heavy lifts, and an excellent atmosphere. We had the competition held at the Athletic Republic which is where I used to work and my former boss gave us a great rate that allowed us to test the waters in holding a meet in the facility. We had 14 lifters. We originally had 15 lifters, unfortunately, I had to pull out of the meet due to tearing my bicep 2 weeks before.  However, it was still a great show! We had 10 men and 4 women participate in the lifting.

The first lift of the day was the Anderson Squat. This was a show stopper. In the women division newcomer, Ani Kaleshian squatted 500 pounds on her third attempt making it look like a second attempt. Then we had Sarah Gibbons put up a beautifully executed 400-pound squat! Then, of course, we had Frank nieces who both put up massive numbers for their age and as usual became the stars of the meet with everyone coming by to support them!

In the men’s division, we had a long battle of who could lift the most. In the lower weight class, we had Raj Dasrath at 135 pounds squatting 620 pounds! Everyone was shocked by the display of strength which was soon followed by applause. Then we had Zach, and Travis all lift 500 like nothing. Next Carter Fisher, the young bull in the competition, comes out of the left field and squats 700 pounds easy! After seeing this Shane Blass shouts “I want that weight” and then walks over to the barbell to lift it with tremendous power. Again applause was followed. Zach comes to the squat rack to squat 600 pounds to hold his own ground. Longtime USAWA member Mark Raymond also displayed massive strength with his 275 squat and Frank Ciavatonne with 225!

As usual Frank has been instrumental in helping me organize these meets!

As usual Frank has been instrumental in helping me organize these meets!

The second lift of the day was the Ciavatonne Deadlift. Multiple people displayed their grip strength as well as power here as well. In the women’s division, we had Ani come again and lift 285! Then we had the girls Natalie, and Olivia pick up the weight just like their uncle Frank… WITH EASE!! Sarah made 205 like nothing displaying her grip strength.

In the men’s division, everyone was showing their power with the deadlift! Mark Raymond was able to pull 300 with more in the tank. We had Zach with a massive 430-pound deadlift and two attempts at the national record in which both he had at the top but couldn’t hold it! He definitely has it at this year’s nationals! The young stallion Ryan Bingham pulled a 440-pound deadlift to end the event, and he still had more in him!

Fellow Umass Powerlifting teammates Ani, Raj, Carter, and Travis!

Fellow Umass Powerlifting teammates Ani, Raj, Carter, and Travis!

The last event of the day we had the Clean and Press. As usual Frank’s nieces displayed their ability to lift anything with a 40 and 45 pound clean and press! Rising star of the meet Ani showed her ability her upper body power with a 120 clean and press! Then we had Zach and his brother display their beautiful technique and press with Mahmud with an easy 165 and Zach with 185! Shane Blass was impressive moving 165 as it was nothing! Carter Fisher who refused to be not behind them attempted a 165 pound clean and press which was successful!

It was a great meet! Filled with a competitive atmosphere that couldn’t be rivaled. The best part about these local meets is the ability to display the beauty of what this sport brings! Between lifts, every lifter was being social, making new friends and acquaintances. Everyone was cheering on each other, and helping with loading the weights.

The audience was amazing. We had close to 20-25 spectators with all of them cheering and being entertained by the displays of strength. My former boss Jason even came by and started cheering.

Big congrats on Carter Fisher winning BEST OVERALL LIFTER in his first meet with USAWA. He was followed close behind by Raj Dasrath! One lift gone bad or good would have turned the whole placing of the top two. Big Congrats on Sarah being the Open winner, and Ani being the Junior Winner. I really hope to see these two in the future at another meet!

Anderson Classic Group

MEET RESULTS:

Anderson Winter Classic
December 28th, 2019
Norwood, Massachusetts

Meet Director: Christopher Lestan

Host: Athletic Republic

Meet Announcer/ Scorekeeper: Christopher Lestan

Officials(1 official system used): Frank Ciavatonne and Christopher Lestan

Lifts: Anderson Squat, Ciavatonne Deadlift (2H), Clean and Press

All lifts were recorded in pounds:

Female Division:

Name Age Weight Class Division
Ani Kaleshian 18 165 75kg Junior (18-19)
Sarah Gibbons 21 156 75kg Open
Natalie Collins 12 109 50kg Junior (10-13)
Olivia Collins 10 114 55Kg Junior (10-13)

Men Division:

Name Age Weight Class Division
Shane Blass 25 212 100kg Open
Raj Dasrath 22 135 65kg Open
Carter Fisher 19 186 85kg Junior (18-19)
Eric Lestan 14 160 75kg Junior (14-15)
Travis Szetela 23 180 85kg Open
Frank Ciavatonne 64 310 125kg+ Masters (60-64)
Mark Raymond 56 250 115kg Masters (55-59)
Ryan Bingham 19 315 125kg+ Junior (18-19)
Mahmud Marhamo 26 183 85kg Open
Name Age Weight Class Division
Zach Marhamo 22 230 105kg Open

Female Final Standing:

Name Anderson C.Deadlift C+P Lynch
Ani Kaleshian 500 285 120 927.74
Sarah Gibbons 400 205 70 698.28
Natalie Collins 181 125 45 632.78
Olivia Collins 150 90 40 485.83

Mens Final Standing:

Name Anderson C.Deadlift C+P Lynch
Carter Fisher 700 350 165 1154.03
Raj Dasrath 620 250 135 1147.50
Shane Blass 700 330 165 1032.59
Zach Marhamo 600 430 185 1006.62
Mahmud Marhamo 500 365 165 967.89
Travis Stzelela 500 335 155 939.01
Eric Lestan 315 260 115 845.13
Ryan Bingham 445 440 155 759.87
Mark Raymond 275 300 100 626.66
Name Anderson C.Deadlift C+P Lynch
Frank Ciavatonne * 225 370 50 585.50

*Frank Opted to do the Thumbless Deadlift and use that as a National record for the 60-64 Age group and Open.

Overall Best Lifter: Carter Fisher

Overall Best Female Open: Sarah Gibbons

Overall Best Female Junior: Ani Kaleshian

Overall Best Male Open: Raj Dasrath

Overall Best Male Junior: Carter Fisher

Overall Best Male Masters: Mark Raymond

 

NATIONAL RECORDS:

Anderson Squat: 

Natalie Collins: 181 for the 50kg class.

Ani Kaleshian: 500 for the Junior class and Open in the 75kg.

Raj Dasrath: 620 for Open class in the 65kg class.

Shane Blass: 700 for the Open class in the 100kg class.

Frank Ciavattone: 225 for the Masters 60-64 group in the 125kg+ class.

Carter Fisher: 700 for the Junior 18-19 in the 85kg class.

Ryan Bingham: 455 for the Junior 18-19 in the 125+kg class.

Eric Lestan: 315 for the Junior 14-15 in the 75kg class.

Ciavatonne Deadlift (2H):

Ani Kaleshian: 285 for the Junior 18-19 and Open in the 75kg class.

Olivia Collins: 90 for the Junior 10-13 in the 55kg class.

Ryan Bingham: 440 for the Junior 18-19 in the 125kg+ class.

Carter Fisher: 350 for the Junior 18-19 in the 85kg class.

Clean and Press

Ani Kaleshian: 120 for the Junior 18-19 and Open in the 75kg class.

Carter Fisher: 165 for the Junior 18-19 and the Open in the 85kg class.

Zach Marhamo: 185 for the Open in the 105kg class.

Frank Ciavattone: 50 for the Masters 60-64 in the 125kg+.

Christopher Lestan – New Official

By Al Myers

Christopher Lestan and his many accomplishments at the 2019 USAWA National Championships.

Christopher Lestan and his many accomplishments at the 2019 USAWA National Championships.

Christopher Lestan, of Frank’s Barbell Club, has just become a USAWA official.  He first passed the Rules Test, and then completed his three practical exams to earn this status.  This makes him a Level 1 Test Qualified Official and allows him to have full official status in the USAWA.

It takes a little time and effort to become a USAWA Official.  I want to give Christopher a BIG CONGRATS on this accomplishment as I know he will become an excellent addition to the USAWA Officials Ranks.

 

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