2025 USAWA Club Championship – Results

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Clark’s Championship Gym

High Country Vigour

2025 marks the return of the Club Championship which had not been contested since 2019.  This is a great format where clubs total their top three lifters to form an adjusted total and bragging rights as the strongest club of the year.

From 2010-2012 it had been hosted at Ambridge Barbell Club.  From 2013-2019 it had been contested at Ledaig Heavy Athletics.  Beyond the host clubs only four other clubs had competed in the Club Championship (Atomic Athletics, Dino Gym, Habecker’s Gym and Joe’s Gym).

In 2025, we tried something different allowing lifter to lift live at High Country Vigour or submit results remotely.  There was only one taker with Clark’s Championship Gym submitting an entry.

Also new since the last time the event was hosted, was the 1.33 gender modifier.  Women had competed in the past but were at a disadvantage when contributing to the team total.

Clark’s Championship Gym brought a full squad of (11) athletes lifting in Missouri and Michigan, including powerhouse, Randy Smith.  The team included (3) Junior athletes, (2) Open athletes and (7) masters athletes.  Clark’s Gym also had the oldest and youngest athletes at 70 years old and 10 years old respectively.  Notably absent was Abe Smith, defending National Overall Best Lifter and Athlete of the Year, who was recovering from some injuries.  Surprisingly present was Tony Lupo competing with a bad shoulder and torn pec and Randy Smith competing with a recent hamstring injury.

High Country Vigour had (4) athletes lifting in Colorado, (3) seasoned masters athletes and (1) newcomer who is calmly starting to set records in the 16–17-year-old age group after a birthday in February.

In Colorado, we had some exciting lifting and fourth attempts for records.  Nisha had an impressive 50-pound Zercher after some really sketchy warm-ups.  Jarrod had a massive 102-pound fourth attempt Turkish Get Up which is an all-age class record at 100kg (he also owns the 85kg and 95kg all age class records).  Kim had a scary moment with a missed Turkish Get Up that came down on her non-lifting wrist.  She showed tremendous courage finishing the meet with not only a solid 143-pound competition deadlift, but also a fourth attempt 153 pounds to extend her all age class 60kg record.

We also had some amusing struggles with the Turkish Get Up.  Nisha’s technique went from the ground to a squat stance without passing through a kneeling position.  Sanjiv’s final attempt somehow had both knees on the ground before going into a kneeling position and driving up.

Top Individual Lifts

  • Best Dumbbell Snatch – 95 pounds by Jeff Wenzel
  • Best Zercher – 335 pounds by Jeff Wenzel
  • Best Turkish Get Up – 92 pounds by Jarrod Fobes
  • Best Deadlift, Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip – 268 pounds by Randy Smith

Final Standings:

1st – Clark’s Championship Gym

2nd – High Country Vigour

Clark’s Gym having won the Club Championship has earned the option to host the 2026 Club Championships.

Meet Results:

USAWA Club Championship

High Country Vigour

Lakewood, Colorado

April 5, 2025

Meet Director – Sanjiv Gupta

Officials – Jarrod Fobes, Sanjiv Gupta, Bill Clark, Tony Lupo, Dave DeForest, Jeff Wenzel

Scorekeeper – Sanjiv Gupta

Lifts: Snatch, Dumbbell, One Arm; Zercher; Turkish Get Up; Deadlift, Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip

Clark’s Championship Gym – 2223.9 Adjusted Points

Lifter-Age-BWT-Snatch-Zercher-TGU-DL-Total-Points

Randy Smith-70-197-68 (L)-305-35-268-676-827.7*

Travis Luther-32-169-90 (R)-90-320-85-225-720-709.9

Dave DeForest-65-176-66 (R)-275-25-200-566-686.3

Jeff Wenzel-50-241-95 (R)-335-60-265-755-677.0

Riley Wenzel-20-152-70 (R)-225-60-200-555-586.6

Lisa Gore (F)-59-212-30 (L)-155-25-185-395-544.9

Logan Wenzel-10-72-10 (R)-45-10-85-150-514.1

Tony Lupo-59-236-81 (L)-135-26-225-467-457.7

Janet Thompson (F)-67-163-20 (R)-85-7-150-262-457.3

Tim Market – 18-147.5-45 (R)-120-40-175-380-422.0

Allison Lupo (F)-58-193-20 (R)-95-5-125-245-353.4

Officials – Bill Clark, Tony Lupo, Dave DeForest, Jeff Wenzel

*Randy Smith – No official, ineligible for records

High Country Vigour – 1856.0 Adjusted Points

Lifter-Age-BWT-Snatch-Zercher-TGU-DL-Total-Points

Jarrod Fobes-47-216.4-87 (L)-250-92-253-682-629.5

Sanjiv Gupta-53-208.4-77 (R)-250-50-243-620-616.9

Kim Van Wagner (F)-57-125.6-32 (L)-101-44-143-320-609.6

Nisha Gupta (F)-16-87.4-22.5 (R)-40-15-93-170.5-440.8

Officials – Jarrod Fobes and Sanjiv Gupta

Extra Attempts for Records:

Nisha Gupta – Zercher – 50 pounds

Kim Van Wagner – Zercher – 106 pounds

Jarrod Fobes – Turkish Get Up – 102 pounds

Kim Van Wagner – Deadlift, Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip – 153 pounds

LIFTER OF THE MONTH, MARCH 2025 – RANDY SMITH

March was a busy month with meets being held in Massachusetts, Kentucky, Missouri and Colorado. Randy Smith earned lifter of the month for March by shining in the Colorado Single Arm Challenge and Jeff’s 50th Birthday Bash. He was first overall in the Single Arm Challenge with a massive 420 pound unadjusted total at 198 pound bodyweight and 70 years of age. During Jeff’s Birthday Bash, he completed four of five lifts with an impressive 130 pound Roman Chair Sit-up.

Randy has records dating back to the 2003 National Championship and has competed in 16 National Championships and was the best lifter in 2015. He is a member of the Century Club with 144 records. 31 of those are National Records, which puts him at 5th behind some pretty impressive company.

Most recently he has taken a role on the USAWA Advisory Committee which was tasked with better understanding the membership.

This is the 4th time Randy has earned Lifter of the Month with past recognition in July 2014, June 2015 and October 2021. Congratulations Randy!

2025 Nationals Update – Change of Venue and Hotel

by Clint Poore

A mighty day of strength to you!

      This update for the 2025 USAWA Nationals brings about change. The 2025 nationals meet location and hotel have both changed due to unforeseen issues. To be clear, Dale Hollow Lake State Resort had a structural collapse of a partial lodge building & walkway and is undergoing immediate emergency construction, according to the State Park. We appreciate the swift notice by Dale Hollow State Park and hopefully we get the opportunity to plan another meet there in future. 

      THERE IS ALWAYS A BACKUP PLAN! The backup plan will be to host the 2025 USAWA Nationals at Buffville Colosseum, which is located at 2608 North Highway 127 Business in Albany, Ky. It is a 16,000 square ft. warehouse and has hosted the Old Time Strongman World Championships in 2023 and the HackenDinnie Classic II in 2024. Now it will host the premier event for the USAWA, the 2025 USAWA NATIONALS!  

      Our hotel venue has changed as well. The new meet hotel for the 2025 USAWA Nationals is the Baymont Inn in Albany, Kentucky. Here are a few points to know about booking a room.

HOTEL – BAYMONT INN  phone #(606) 387-7238. You must call the Baymont Inn to receive the group rate. You will not receive the group rate if you book online through a third party.

Group code is USAWA

The Baymont Inn has a block of 20 rooms for the USAWA for 139 dollars per night plus tax, more rooms can be added if necessary.

You must call the Baymont Inn to make a reservation with the group code. This is peak season for Lake Cumberland and Dale Hollow Lake, meaning the rooms will only be held until June 8th. After June 8, the group code will no longer be available. Due to being the peak season for travelers, each reservation must be for a minimum of two nights, Friday & Saturday night. This is a destination location for travelers and you must book before the deadline of June 8th. If you wait to the last minute you may not get a room.

The National Meeting is currently scheduled for Friday, July 18 at 5 pm at Southern Kentucky Distillery (SKD). We are also having a Kentucky Bourbon Distillery visit at 2 pm which will be followed by the National Meeting. Kentucky is World Famous for its Bourbon and anyone who is interested can take the Bourbon Distillery tour for 15 dollars. It’s a very fun and insightful tour that everyone can enjoy.  

With all these new updates/changes the 2025 USAWA Nationals and National Meeting are planned and ready to lead the USAWA into a glorious future! Until the next update………..

Here is the current roster of 24 confirmed lifters.

(Please make sure all entries are paid online at the Eventbrite link on the entry form)

Beth Skwarecki
Allison Lupo
Jessica Hopps
Chris Frappier
Kyle Frappier
Jerry Wilson
Jeff Bankens
Isaac Bankens
Clint Poore
Ashley Stearns
Abe Smith 
Randy Richey
John Bunch
Jarrod Gaddis
Sanjiv Gupta
Tony Lupo
Randy Smith
David DeForest
Chad Ullom
Toby Ortega
Frank Ciavattone
Dan Jones
Wade Marchand
Nils Larson

Many more to be added

BE STRONG!

Clint Poore

Time to vote for the 2025 Annual Awards

by Tony Lupo

If it aint broke ………Thank you to Al Myers, the previous awards director, for his service to the USAWA in this capacity. He started the USAWA Awards Program in 2009 and it’s running smoothly.

It’s that time of the year again to nominate deserving lifters for the yearly awards!  The USAWA award program was started to honor those individuals that display outstanding achievements throughout the year in different categories. Part of the USAWA budget goes to these awards, which means that part of your membership dues supports this program. These awards are to be presented at the Annual General Meeting of the USAWA, which happens at the same time as the National Championships. Usually the USAWA Awards are yearly – meaning they are for the previous year’s accomplishments. I would consider yearly as being the time since (and including) last year’s National Championships. Now for an overview of the rules for nominations:

  • You must be a USAWA member to make a nomination or cast a vote
  • Nominated individuals must be a USAWA member to be eligible
  • Only one individual may be nominated per person per award
  • Two nominations for each award may be submitted, one for your choice of the Winner and one for your choice of the runner-up.
  • The awards are for the accomplishments since last June
  • An individual may be nominated for more than one award

These are the different awards for which you should choose your nominations for:

 Athlete of the Year – This award is for the individual who has accomplished the most athletically within the last year in the USAWA. Top placings at the Nationals and World Championships should figure in highly. Also, participation in other Championship Competitions such as the Heavy Lift Championships, the Grip Championships, the Club Championships, the OTSM Championships, the Team Championships, or the National Postal Championships could factor in.  Participation in elite IAWA events such as the Gold Cup should make an influence on earning this award as well.

Leadership Award – This is for an individual that has shown exceptional leadership qualities within the USAWA during the past year. Things that should be looked at are; going above the level expected of an Officer position, promoting sanctioned events with emphasis being on promoting National or World Competitions, promoting the USAWA by developing a strong club, writing articles for publications about the USAWA, or through other means.

Sportsmanship Award – This goes to an individual who possesses and shows great sportsmanship within the USAWA. The act of sportsmanship may be by conduct at all events, or by an specific example of exceptional sportsmanship.

Courage Award – This goes to an individual who shows the courage to overcome an obstacle in order to return to competition. This may be a comeback from an injury, or just having to deal with difficult personal issues but still shows the courage to compete in the USAWA.

Newcomer Award– This award goes to an individual who in new to the USAWA or has become involved again. It doesn’t have to go to someone in their first year of being involved in the USAWA.

As stated earlier in the rules, I would like you to submit your choice for the WINNER and your choice for the RUNNER UP for each award. I will score it this way; for each nomination per award, 2 points will be awarded for the nominated winner and 1 point for the nominated runner up.  I will then add up all the points from all nominations with the person receiving the most points declared the winner and the one with the second most points the runner up. So, you can see that the Award Winners are chosen by YOU THE MEMBERSHIP! That’s the way it should be done.

Please email me at: lupoa0313@gmail.com with your nominations. The deadline for nominations is May 31st, 2025. That gives everyone a couple weeks to make their decisions.  My experience with this is that if a person does not make their nominations shortly after reading this announcement, it never gets done. So, make it easy on yourself (and me!) and turn your nominations in today!!!!

HomeGymCon Push/Pull (Louisville, KY)

USAWA HOMEGYMCON PUSH/PULL

SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2025

LOCATION : LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

KENTUCKY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTER

221 S 4TH ST

LOUSIVILLE, KY 40202

WEIGH-INS: 8;30 AM – 9;30 AM , LIFTING BEGINS AT 10:00 AM (EASTERN STANDARD TIME)

THE LIFTS:  HACKENSCHMIDT FLOOR PRESS & PEOPLE’S DEADLIFT.

ENTRY DEADLINE –. JUNE 15, 2025 – email  clintpoore@hotmail.comor by phone at 606-688-2600.

ENTRY FEE:  $50 dollars, all lifters must register online at the Eventbrite link provided

EVENTBRITE ENTRY FORM LINK

USAWA MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED: Memberships are required for all participants prior to the meet. Please go USAWA.COM  to purchase your memberships prior to the meet. 

AWARDS: BEST LIFTER AWARD to the overall champion & medals for all lifters. Each lifter will receive a competition T-shirt to be worn during the HomeGymCon Push/Pull & Record Day. I must know your shirt size two weeks prior to meet.

RECORD DAY SESSION – will follow the HomeGymCon Push/Pull competition, we will be having the Thomas Inch Dumbbell World Record Challenge. All Record Day lifts are time permitting & at the discretion of the meet director. More Record day lifts may be added upon request & meet director approval prior to the Record Day event.

HOTEL – There are many hotels to choose from in Louisville. There is no specific meet hotel, but a quick online search will find plenty of great options.

USAWA HOMEGYMCON PUSH/PULL SCHEDULE

ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN STANDARD TIME

You may check in the night before, by coming to the Convention Center until approximately/before 6 PM, but you must contact the meet director to set up a time.

WEIGH-INS BEGIN                   8:30 AM – 9:30 AM

LIFTING BEGINS                      10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

IRON PALACE PODCAST        3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

RECORD DAY                           2:00 PM  – 3:00 PM

CLEAN UP & LOAD TRUCK     5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Please keep in mind the schedule may change depending on how long each segment lasts.

This will be a very exciting event with music, laser lights, banners, & heavy weights being lifted. 

This is a great opportunity for the USAWA and I hope you will join us at the 

2025 USAWA HOMEGYMCON PUSH/PULL & EXPO! 

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