Category Archives: 2019 Meet Results

Schmidt BBC RD

By John McKean

SCHMIDT BARBELL CLUB RECORD DAY 2019

Beth Skwarecki performed several record Bent Presses at the Record Day.

Beth Skwarecki performed several record Bent Presses at the Record Day.

On the most beautiful, bright blue sky summer day of the year in this rain laden Eastern sector, my grandson Andraes, newcomer mother-of-three Beth Skwarecki, and I arrived at Scott and Kathy Schmidt’s beautiful Ohio home for their first annual record day meet. Scott was just leaving for a vitals run for the meet picnic later, but we were greeted by the always friendly & welcoming Rev. Peeter Pirn. Peet was all set to lift, but was summoned away with the joyous news of his grand daughter being born ,right before his opening attempt! So, our hostess Kathy Schmidt opened the meet with some great record lifts, before scurrying back to the kitchen,to prepare us a feast !!

Scott’s home gym proved to be a fantastic venue for an all-round meet, with enough equipment and sound lifting platform for all our needs. Even had a big open door to breathe the fresh morning air, and to listen to the soothing sounds and refreshing smell of neighbors mowing their lawns!Old USAWA pals  Stevan Santangelo from Kentucky and Cleveland’s stalwart Dennis Mitchell soon arrived to add to the growing excitement and spirited conversation.

Lady lifters Joanna Jones and Beth Skwarecki dazzled us with their picture perfect form on world record lifts, despite both being newcomers to the USAWA! Johanna, a long time mover& shaker of the Ohio Olympic lifting crowd, executed an extremely efficient women’s world record snatch-from-the-hang of 52.5 k ,among several other great pulls &pushes. Thirty Eight year old Beth, just over the 60K weight class, amazed everyone by electing to begin with the tricky James lift, then the bent press! Her years of competition in the rugged sport of Roller Derby has given her perfect balance, flexibility, and coordination, because her picture-perfect bent press even had ole pro bent presser Dennis Mitchell falling out of his official’s chair! I believe it was the highest IAWA bent press ever performed by a female, yet Beth will soon be closing in on a bodyweight attempt!

Can’t forget the teen lifters  -as grandson Andraes won’t let me!! At 13 ,taking a break from summer training with jr high football, Dra wanted to join the lists of his Dad,Sean, and Uncle Rob, when they lifted in the 13 and under category, and actually outdid the (now) “old men” of the family!Heck, these days the little lad (well maybe not so little at 212 pounds bwt!) can even outdo the granddad patriarch (yeah, that’d be me!) of the family!

Of course, our master age lifters put on their usual exciting shows! Newcomer 66 yr old Klaus Gondosch did some excellent overhead lifting, and meet director Scott (hard to believe this youthful looking ,always smiling guy is even master’s age!!), looking trim and fit, just bulldozed a few more records! Stephen Santagelo took the morning off from the organic farm in Kentucky to smash special grip lift records, showing the power that can be developed from daily milking the chickens, and such ! Dennis Mitchell defied age(87!) ,as usual, to  place 5 more record lifts in the books!

The Schmidt meet picnic in a spacious back yard, under tall cooling trees, only added to the great mood and fellowship that we all enjoyed!  I had to apologize to Beth and Dra on the drive home for my non stop talking (yeh, I know none of you can believe that of ME !) due to the high adrenaline level that Scott’s contest supplied! Hopefully this will be the first of many Schmidt events  -even inspired me to maybe restart USAWA record days in our Pittsburgh vicinity!

MEET RESULTS:

2019 Schmidt BBC RD
Schmidt’s Barbell Club
Weslake, Ohio
July 13th, 2019

Meet Director: Scott Schmidt

Officials (3-official system used): Scott Schmidt (meet directer and USAWA official) , Dennis Mitchell (IAWA Tech Chairman and USAWA official), John McKean ( IAWA official and past IAWA General Secretary). All lifts recorded were passed with all three white lights!

Beth Skwarecki  age 38 bwt 62.5 k div female 65 k
James Lift  71 Pounds
Bent Press (pulled up two handed) LEFT hand 55 Pounds
Bent Press (two hand pull) RIGHT hand  77 Pounds
Two hands pullup (overhand chin-up) 33 pounds hanging at waist

Dennis Mitchell age 87 bwt 62.95 k div M ,85+, 65k
Stiff leg deadlift  60K
Vertical bar Deadlift, 1 inch bar, 66.5 pounds (right hand)
Vertical bar deadlift ,1 inch bar, 66.5 pounds (left hand)
One hand Dumbbell swing (right)  25 pounds
One hand Dumbbell swing (left)  25 pounds

John McKean age 73 bwt 69.7k div 70k 70+
Lurich lift  304 pounds
Peoples deadlift  304 pounds

Stephen R. Santangelo age 67 bwt 72.05 k div 65+ 75k
One hand pinch grip strict left 52 pounds
One hand pinch grip strict right 62 pounds
Pinch Grip deadlift left 142 pounds
Pinch grip deadlift right 142 pounds
Two hands pinch grip deadlift 310 pounds

Klaus Gondosch age 66 bwt 75.0 k div 75k 65+**
Clean and press 125 pounds
Snatch from hang 99 pounds
Deadlift 12 inch base 253 pounds
Dumbbell (right) clean & jerk 65 pounds
Dumbbell (left) clean & jerk 65 pounds

Kathy Schmidt age 61 bwt 85.0 k div female 60+ 85k**
strict reverse barbell curl 50 pounds
Barbell straddle lift  114 pounds

Andraes McKean age 13 bwt 97.2 k div 13 & under, 100k
2 hands cheat curl 88 pounds
deadlift with 12″ heel spacing 210 pounds
power row  142 pounds
reverse grip bench press 110 pounds
alternate grip bench press 130 pounds

Scott Schmidt  age 66 bwt 101.0 k div 65+ 105k
2″ vertical bar (left) 70 k
2″ vertical bar(right) 70k
bent over (power) row 105k

Joanna Jones age 43 bwt 103.9k div female 40+ 105k
continental to chest 70k
bench press hands together 83.6 pounds
snatch from hang 52.5 k
2 hands anyhow  80 pounds

Rev. Peeter Pirn  “best trophy” of the meet, had to leave early on the birth of his grand daughter!!

 

2nd Quarter Postal

By Denny Habecker

2019 USAWA 2nd QUARTER POSTAL MEET

We had a very good turnout for the Postal again this quarter, with 16 men and 4 women sending in their results. Al Myers leads the men and Sylvia Stockall heads the women’s group this quarter.

Meet Results:

2nd Quarter Postal Meet
April 1st – June 30th, 2019

Meet Director: Denny Habecker

Lifts: Snatch- From Hang, Curl- Strict, Reverse Grip, Vertical Bar Deadlift-2Bars, 2″

Lifters with a Certified Official:
Chris Todd         – Eric Todd, Lance Foster, John Strangeway
John Strangeway – Eric Todd, Lance Foster
Eric Todd            – Lance Foster, John Strangeway
Lance Foster       – Eric Todd, John Strangeway
Al Myers            – Laverne Myers
Brandon Rein    – LaVerne Myers
Dean Ross        – Laverne Myers
LaVerne Myers  – Denny Habecker
Aidan Habecker – Denny Habecker
Christopher Lestan – Frank Ciavattone
Mark Raymond       – Frank Ciavattone
Crystal Diggs – R.J. Jackson

Lifters with non-certified Officials:
Randy Smith
John Douglas
Denny Habecker
Barry Pensly
Frank Ciavattone
Sylvia Stockall
Lynda Burns
R.J.Jackson

MENS DIVISION

Al Myers               52 – 233   – 120 -105- 375 -600-   558.06

John Strangeway – 41 -206.8 – 166 -105 -337 -608 –  543.94

Randy Smith       – 64 -193   –  115 – 95  -258 -468 –  533.52

Chris Lestan        -23 -275    – 200  -100 -400 – 700-   529.9

John Douglas      -55  -305   – 195  – 115 – 305 -615 – 513.93

LaVerne Myers   – 75 -235   – 75     – 75   – 284 -434 – 483.70

Denny Habecker -76 -184   – 77     -65     – 220- 362 – 465.04

Eric Todd          – 44 – 250  -171    -145   – 237 – 553 – 460.97

Barry Pensyl     – 71  -151  – 68     – 52    – 182 – 302 – 422.59

Aidan Habecker- 15  – 203  – 94    – 55     – 264 -413  -421.44

Brandon Rein    – 23 – 153  – 70   – 90 –     240  – 400 – 420.4

Mark Raymond  – 56 – 247 – 100 – 80    –   260  -440  – 411.06

Chris Todd        – 40  -274 – 146 – 100  –  277   – 523  – 400.66

Dean Ross        – 76  – 235  – 65  -65   –   204   -334   -374.98

Lance Foster    -53  –  343  – 95 – 100 –   257   – 452  – 351.67

Frank Ciavattone 64 – 301  – 45  – 77   – 220   – 342 –  309.89

WOMENS DIVISION

Sylvia Stockall   61   – 140 – 85 – 52.5  – 100  – 237.5 – 323.41

Lynda Burns     44  – 176.2 -70  – 48    – 124 –   242   – 244.41

R.J. Jackson     57   – 108  – 58  – 33    –  0     – 91      -146.84

Crystal Diggs   32    – 165 – 33  – 24    –  0      – 57     – 57.09

 

National Championships

By Al Myers

2019 USAWA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Another year and another outstanding USAWA National Championships!

Meet promoter Denny Habecker put on a great Championships for the USAWA. It was held in a large facility at Acernus Crossfit.   This year’s Championships was a one day meet with six lifts, so it made for a long day of lifting.

It was great to see two lifters make their first appearance at Nationals.  Chris and Eric Lestan of Frank’s Barbell Club made their National debut and both lifted exceptionally.  Chris is a young strong lifter who put up the top total of the meet, and had the top lift in several of the competition lifts.  Eric is a Junior lifter and won best lifter in the Junior Division.  He had stiff competition from Aidan Habecker, and in the end less than 1 adjusted point separated them!!!   I love to see competition battles like that!

It was great seeing Frank Ciavattone on the platform. Frank has just went through a serious surgery so he was not at 100%, but still he got a mark in in every lift.  His courage and passion for the USAWA really impresses me. Frank is a pioneer in the USAWA and has influenced many lifters through the years.

Denny Habecker and Dennis Mitchell have been regulars at Nationals.  Both of these guys hit a milestone that probably can only be topped by themselves.  This year’s Nationals marked 30 YEARS of competing in the USAWA National Championships for the both of them.  I plan to do a more thorough followup story on this accomplishment at a later time.

Michigan native Randy Smith lifted great AGAIN at Nationals.  We normally only see Randy once a year in the USAWA – but he does it right and shows up for the organizations biggest event.  Randy started in the USAWA at the same time I did, so we have lifted together now for 20 years!!!

The over 70 group had the most lifters of the meet.  LaVerne Myers, Dean Ross, Barry Pensyl, and Denny Habecker showed everyone that being a senior citizen doesn’t mean you can’t lift heavy weights!!!  I was very impressed with their performances.

The Club title at Nationals was a close race, with the Dino Gym, Habeckers Gym, and Frank’s Barbell Club all putting together great teams.  The overall club title went to the Dino Gym.

I want to really thank Judy Habecker for her help at the scoring table.  Judy does so much behind the scenes to make sure events run smoothly.  I also got to mention my new announcer assistant Aidan.  Aidan wanted to help, and he did outstanding while I had to step away from the mic to lift.  I can’t say enough about the veteran loading team of Terry and John. These two have loaded at Nationals for Denny more times than I can count – and deserve as much recognition as the lifters.

MEET RESULTS:

2019 USAWA National Championships
Acernus Crossfit
Lebanon, PA
June 22nd, 2019

Meet Director: Denny Habecker

Meet Announcer: Al Myers with assistant Aidan Habecker

Meet Scorekeeper: Judy Habecker

Loaders: Terry Barlet and John Horn

Officials (3-official system used): Denny Habecker, LaVerne Myers, Frank Ciavattone, Dennis Mitchell, Randy Smith

Lifts: Curl – Cheat Reverse Grip, Deadlift – No Thumbs Overhand Grip, Clean and Jerk – One Arm, Snatch – From Hang, Pullover and Push, Continental to Belt

MENS DIVISION

LIFTER AGE BWT Cur DLNT C&J Sna P&P Belt TOT PTS
Al Myers 52 229 75 170 50R 57.5 130 175 658 616.7
Randy Smith 64 195 70 140 42.5R 37.5 92.5 132.5 515 583.3
Chris Lestan 23 275 90 192.5 47.5R 90 145 182.5 748 565.6
Denny Habecker 76 184 47.5 110 25R 35 85 105 408 522.4
Barry Pensyl 71 151 45 85 12.5R 32.5 55 90 320 448.2
LaVerne Myers 75 228 55 130 20L 35 55 100 395 446.8
Eric Lestan 14 150 40 97.5 25R 35 60 60 318 405.8
Aidan Habecker 15 203 50 110 37.5R 45 65 90 398 405.1
Dean Ross 76 232 40 110 17.5L 30 65 80 343 387.2
Dennis Mitchell 87 142 20 71 0  0 27.5 45 164 267.5
Frank Ciavattone 64 306 30 90 15R 15 40 70 260 233.7

EXTRA ATTEMPTS FOR RECORDS:

Aidan Habecker  Curl-Cheat, Reverse Grip 55
Denny Habecker Curl-Cheat, Reverse Grip 50
Barry Pensyl Clean and Jerk – One Arm 15R
Denny Habecker Clean and Jerk – One Arm 28.5R
Aidan Habecker Pullover and Push 70
Barry Pensyl Pullover and Push 57.5
Dean Ross Pullover and Push 70
Barry Pensyl Continental to Belt 92.5

NOTES:  All lifts recorded in kilograms.  BWT is bodyweight in pounds. R and L designate right and left arms. TOT is total kilograms lifted.  PTS are overall adjusted points corrected for age and bodyweight.

BEST LIFTER AWARDS

Best Junior Lifter – Eric Lestan
Best Senior Lifter – Chris Lestan
Best Master 50-54 Lifter – Al Myers
Best Master 60-64 Lifter – Randy Smith
Best Master 70-74 Lifter – Barry Pensyl
Best Master 75-79 Lifter – Denny Habecker
Best Master 85-89 Lifter – Dennis Mitchell
Best Overall Total – Chris Lestan
Best Overall Lifter – Al Myers
Best Club – 1st Dino Gym 1450.7 points (Al Myers, LaVerne Myers, Dean Ross), 2nd Habeckers Gym 1375.7 points (Aidan Habecker, Barry Pensyl, Denny Habecker), 3rd Franks Barbell Club 1205.1 points (Eric Lestan, Chris Lestan, Frank Ciavattone)

Heavy Lift Championship

By Mark Raymond

MEET –

2019 USAWA HEAVY LIFT CHAMPIONSHIP

HeaviesGroup19

 

The meet was a great success. We had 6 lifters from Massachusetts and New York.  It was held at Frank’s Barbell Club in East Walpole, Massachusetts.

The Lestan brothers, Chris and Eric, were outstanding on the platform! It’s always good to see them in action.

Michael Rabich from Queens, New York, showed lots of enthusiasm as he performed his lifts. We always enjoy spending time with Michael when he comes to visit.

Congratulations to Joe Ciavattone Sr who was overall champion of the meet.

Thanks to Frank and Joe Sr. who officiated the meet.

A special thank you to Peter Vuono for cheering us on throughout the event.

And a special thank you Frank for welcoming us all into his home and treating us to pizza after the event.

Results are as follows:

USAWA Heavy Lift Championship

Frank’s Barbell Club, East Walpole, Massachusetts

May 11th2019

Meet Director: Mark Raymond

Host: Frank Ciavattone

Meet Announcer/Scorekeeper: Frank Ciavattone

Officials – Frank Ciavattone, Joe Ciavattone Sr.

All lifts recorded in pounds

 

Lifters using the one official system:
LIFTER AGE WEIGHT M/F CLASS
Frank Ciavattone 64 292 M 125 Kg/60+ Masters
Joe Ciavattone 50 236 M 110 Kg/50+ Masters
Lifters using the three official system:
LIFTER AGE WEIGHT M/F CLASS
Chris Lestan 23 271 M 125 Kg/Open
Eric Lestan 14 148 M 70 Kg/14-15 Juniors
Michael Rabich 38 195 M 90 Kg/Open
Mark Raymond 56 252 M 115 Kg/55+ Masters

 

 

Lift 1 Neck Lift
Lift 2 Hand and Thigh Lift
Lift 3 Hip Lift
Lifter Age Weight Lift 1 Lift 2 Lift 3 Total # Total Points
Chris Lestan 23 271 700 1000 1800 3500 2668
Eric Lestan 14 148 110 550 800 1460 1885
Frank Ciavattone 64 292 110 300 600 1000 920
Joe Ciavattone Sr. 50 236 600 1000 1500 3100 2813
Mark Raymond 56 252 110 800 1200 2110 1951
Michael Rabich 38 195 400 1000 1200 2600 2357
Record Day Lifts
Lifter Lift #
Michael Rabich Squat – Lunge 240

 

Dino Gym Spring RD

By Al Myers

DINO GYM SPRING RECORD DAY

Group picture from the 2019 Dino Gym Spring Record Day

Group picture from the 2019 Dino Gym Spring Record Day

What an exciting weekend at the Dino Gym!!!  We celebrated LaVerne’s 75th birthday with a record day and a big fish fry afterwards.  The weather was perfect for a fun day.

Seven lifters made their way to the gym for the event. Each lifter set their “usawa max” of 5 records each. I want to really thank these guys for making it, as a few of them came quite a long way.  Our President, Denny, made the longest drive from Pennsylvania.  Dean never misses an event at the gym and made his normal drive from Oklahoma.  Lance and Scottish Johnny came from Kansas City, and John Douglas made his several hour drive from western Kansas.

LaVerne putting his new cane to use!!!

LaVerne putting his new cane to use!!!

Many great record day lifts were made.  As I inputted the results a few really stood out to me.  Regrettably, I was tied up with work and made it to the gym late so I missed out on most of lifts.  Scottish Johnny put up a 425# front squat which is a huge lift for a lifter over 40. The birthday boy LaVerne put up some great finger lifts. Big John put up over 400 pounds in the Neck Lift, and Lance combined many different types of lifting to put up the most well rounded set of records.  Dean exerted himself fully by back lifting and harness lifting over 1000 pounds. Denny put up big records in the one arm dumbbell deadlift with both arms.  My highlight was doing the Lurich Lift for the first time and realizing I like it much better than the Hack Lift!

The evening festivities were held on my deck.  We had a few other gym members join us that night – including Brandon, Casey, Hunter, Molly, K dog, Katie, and Cale.   Each of us took our time giving a roast and gag gift to LaVerne for his birthday. Even though we didn’t get the 75 new records I was hoping for, we did give LaVerne a birthday he won’t forget!

Meet Results:

Dino Gym Spring RD
Dino Gym
Holland, KS
May 4th, 2019

Meet Director: Al Myers

Scorekeeper: Al Myers

Lifts: Record Day Lifts

John Strangeway – BWT 207#, Age 40 years
3 Official System – LaVerne, Denny, Lance
Front Squat: 425#
Deadlift – No Thumbs: 474#
Deadlift – Ciavattone Grip: 418#
Finger Lift – Left Index: 135#
Finger Lift – Right Index: 135#

LaVerne Myers – BWT 235#, Age 75 years
1 Official System – Denny
Finger Lift – Left Little: 65#
Finger Lift – Left Thumb: 71#
Finger Lift – Right Thumb: 71#
Finger Lift – Left Index: 90#
Finger Lift – Right Index: 111#

John Douglas – BWT 314#, Age 55 years
3 Official System – Denny, Lance, LaVerne
Front Squat: 350#
Bench Press – Feet in Air: 275#
Bent Over Row: 303#
Deadlift – Trap Bar: 501#
Neck Lift: 410#

Al Myers – BWT 233#, Age 52 Years
3 Official System – Denny, LaVerne, Lance
Back Extension: 150#
Lurich Lift: 579#
Deadlift – 2 Inch Dumbbells: 241#
Habecker Lift: 320#
Wrist Curl: 230#

Lance Foster – BWT 348#, Age 53 Years
3 Official System – LaVerne, Denny
Anderson Press: 135#
Clean & Jerk – Dumbbell, Right Arm: 50#
Deadlift – No Thumbs: 275#
Harness Lift: 1240#
Bench Press – Fulton Bar: 144#

Dean Ross – BWT 235#, Age 76 Years
1 Official System – LaVerne
Back Lift: 1050#
Harness Lift: 1010#
Bench Press – Feet in Air: 135#
Bench Press – Hands Together: 135#
Back Extension: 75#

Denny Habecker – BWT 193#, Age 76 Years
3 Official System – LaVerne, Lance
Press – From Racks: 100#
Push Press – From Racks: 100#
Deadlift – No Thumbs: 243#
Deadlift – Dumbbell, Left Arm: 147#
Deadlift – Dumbbell, Right Arm: 187#

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