Member of the Month-June

By Eric Todd

Sanjive completing a curl-strict, reverse grip

Sanjiv completing a curl-strict, reverse grip

The member of the month of July is Sanjiv Gupta.  Though Sanjiv is a relatively new member, he is an enthusiastic one.  Having just competed in Nationals in June, Sanjiv participated in the Colorado record day in July, and set or broke five USAWA records.  This is certainly not where his contribution ends, though.  He was an active participant in the discussion at the national meeting where a few changes were made.  He is serving on the advisory committee, which was newly formed after the national meeting.  Perhaps his most daunting challenge, though, is assisting Scottish Johnny in the capacity of Records Director.  Scottish Johnny has told me that having Sanjiv on board has been a game changer.  His contributions in just his first member as a member of the USAWA have been impressive to say the least.  Congrats Sanjiv!  Well deserved!

2023 World championships

By John Mahon

The 2023 World Championships has been run and was a great day for all involved. We had a small group of local lifters who performed extremely well, breaking multiple world records. This year’s Worlds was run differently to previous Worlds. Due to the low number of competitors who were available to lift the decision was made to reduce the event to a single day meet with 5 lifts being contested. There were many outstanding performances to mention. This was Charlie Carabott’s 2nd time on the platform and he performed very well, breaking the 2” vertical lift record in his division twice. Edmund Patterson (son of John Patterson) was the only Open lifter on the day and wow he is strong. He finished in 2nd place overall which is a very tough thing to achieve for an Opens division lifter at the worlds. Tom Davies has still got it. He finished the day with 3 world records. Big Sam Trew is still as strong as ever. Sam finished with the 2nd heaviest total of the day. Peter Phillips just keeps on amazing everyone with his ability to grind through a deadlift no matter how much pain he is in. The stand out performance of the meet came from David Reeve. David broke the work record in every single lift and took out the overall champion title by a substantial margin. With all said and done this was another fantastic world championship. Everyone involved ensured the day ran smoothly and all the lifters put in a top quality performance.

 

Official results

 

BUFFVILLE PUSH/PULL & RECORD DAY-Results

By Clint Poore

Chip Hultquist-GRAND CHAMPION!

Chip Hultquist-GRAND CHAMPION!

 The inaugural BUFFVILLE PUSH/PULL by far exceeded all my wildest expectations,!
A full meet report is forthcoming, but we must begin with the sublime performances of Chip Hultquist, Francis Hegel, Holland Millsaps & Brian Gardner. These four men pushed each other mightily in a competition that came down to who could make their final attempt. The heavens opened this glorious day and gave us a competition of resplendent glory. Let us now begin our amazing journey about the legends of strength we were blessed to witness on September 23, 2023!
      Brian Gardner is a massive man and former Tennessee Strongest man. He had the highest Hackenschmidt Floor Press of the day with a mighty 365 lb lift. It came down to his final People’s Deadlift attempt where he missed a 550 lb pull. If Brian had pulled his final deadlift he would have been the Grand Champion. Regardless, he finished in 4th place with a total of 776.55 points. He was so close to winning the title and I expect even greater lifts from him at the OLD TIME STRONGMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP on December 9, 2023.
      Holland Millsaps is strapping fellow who competes in Highland games and is an excellent Blacksmith. Holland brought his vigorous deadlift with him to Buffville in Albany, Ky. His second deadlift was a whopping 650lbs! On his third attempt Holland went for an enormous 700 lb attempt, but the Deadlift said NO!  The 700 lbs was more than bar would allow this day. If Holland had succesfully conquered the 700 lb deadlift he would have easily won the title this day! At any rate, this meant Holland finished in 3rd place overall with 788.67 points. He too is returning to Buffville in December and look for even more glorious deadlifting from the enigmatic Holland Millsaps!
      Francis Hegel was a man on a mission, He flew from Arizona to Kentucky just to set the Barbell Bent Press record, which he succeeded in doing so with his left hand! He had no intentions of lifting in the Push/Pull competition but the plan of the Divine cannot be denied! He performed admirably and was very consistent going 6 for 6 on the day, not missing a lift in competition. His final People’s Deadlift was a sight to behold as he set a new USAWA National Record in the All divison, 80 kilo weight class with a gargantuan deadlift of 536 lbs! What an amazing lift to witness! All this led to Francis’ mammoth third deadlift vaulting him from 6th place into 2nd place with 789.15 points! I hope I get the honor to see Francis lift again in the near future!
      Our Grand Champion is 73 years young, Chip Hultquist! Chip is the Tennessee Special Olympics Powerlifting State chair & meet director, Cancer Survivor & an IPF Category 2 International Referee. I have met no more deserving of a man to win the over title than Chip Hultquist! To be honest, I was completely in awe as we were tallying the results, then lo and behold…. Chip Hultquist beat everyone with 793.56 points! His lifting was phenomenal, and he put on a clinic of how to win a meet. He taught all of us younger guys the definition of meet strategy and consistency. Chip went 6 for 6 for the day with impeccable form and technique. At 73 years young, he Hackenschmidt Floor Pressed 225 lbs and People’s Deadlifted 365 lbs. I personally think he had more pounds in the tank. It was superb performance by one of the greatest human beings I have ever known……….CHIP HULTQUIST!
Francis Hegel preforms a bent press during the record day portion

Francis Hegel preforms a bent press during the record day portion

Official results are as follow:

Buffville Push/Pull
Buffville Gym
Albany, KY
September 23, 2023

Meet Director: Clint Poore

The One Official system was used for all lifts

Official: Clint Poore

Loaders: all lifters

All lifts are recorded in pounds, as is the total. Bodyweight in kilos.  Adj is the adjusted score after Lynch and Age adjustment.  Clint’s lifts are not considered for records since he was lifting without a certified official.  All records are denoted with an asterisk *

Athlete Age Age Division Weight-in kilos Weight Class Hackenschmidt Floor Press People’s Deadlift Total Points Place
Men
Chip Hultquist 73 70 82 80 225* 365* 590 793.56 1
Francis Hegel 35 Open 80 80 285* 536* 821 789.15 2
Hollands Millsap 42 40 121.8 125 350* 650 1000 788.67 3
Brian Gardner 57 55 123.4 125 365* 500* 865 776.55 4
Patrick Hadley 52 50 97.6 100 315* 450* 765 741.96 5
Ashley Stearns 43 40 82.6 85 295* 450* 745 730.71 6
Brian Guffey 36 Open 57.2 60 200* 320* 520 626.29 7
Randy Ritchey 61 60 104.2 105 200* 405* 605 611.81 8
David Tompkins 61 60 84.6 85 180* 300 480 544.55 9
Will Haydon 25 Open 89.6 90 140 225 365 328 10
Sam Lasure 15 16 71.4 75 85* 130* 215 255.09 11
Clint Poore* 50 315 405 720
Women
Sarah Waites 19 Open 64.8 65 140* 300* 440 451.49 1
Wendy Gardner 51 50 57.4 60 125* 200* 325 437.24 2
4th attempt for record
David Tomkins
Hackenschmidt Floor Press 185
Sarah Waites
People’s Deadlift 320
Sam Lasure
People’s Deadlift 135
Record Day lifts
Chip Hultquist
Dinnie Lift 237
Francis Hegel
Bent Press-Barbell-Left 180
Clean & Jerk-Dumbbell-Left 144
Clean & Jerk-Dumbbell-Right 144
Pinch Grip-Strict-Right 47
Holland Millsaps
Holdout Raised 75
Patrick Hadley
Pinch Grip-Strict-Right 56
Reeves Deadlift 276
Cyr Press 84
Bench Press-Alternate Grip 245
Pinch Grip-Strict-left 56
Ashley Stearns
Pinch Grip-Strict-Right 42
Pinch Grip-Strict-left 42
Reeves Deadlift 315
Pinch Grip-Strict 126
Randy Richey
Anderson Squat 450
Dinnie Lift 406
Stephen Santagelo
Pinch Grip Deadlift-Left 195
Pinch Grip Deadlift-Right 195
Vertical Bar-1 bar- 2″ Left 155
Vertical Bar-1 bar- 2″ Right 160
Finger Lift-Index Finger-Left 105

Member of the Month-June

By Eric Todd

Clint

I have grown bored.  For quite some time, we have seen the same names come up over and over for lifter of the month.  I received more of these accolades than I probably deserved.  While the top lifters are the face of our organization, they are not necessarily the backbone.  From very back in my days in strongman, I knew it was much more favorable to be a lifter than a promoter, a judge or a spotter/loader.  With that being said, I have decided to change this designation from athlete of the month to member of the month.  It may be a lifter who has shined, but it may be for any of a number of other contributions as well.  The lifters will always be recognized with trophies and medals at local meets, championships, national and worlds meets.  It is time to start recognizing the unsung heroes as well.  The member of the month of June 2023 goes to Clint Poore.  I am choosing him not only due to his win at the Hackendinnie classic, but due to his being an ambassador for the organization.  He traveled from Kentucky to Missouri and Kansas in order to complete his practical training sessions on the way to becoming a certified official.  Not only did he sanction a meet in an unsettled territory, he had a great turnout and is on way to making Kentucky a hotbed of USAWA activity.  He has been a huge contributor to our increased membership.  Clint may very well be part of the future of the USAWA, and is well deserving of the title Member of the Month of June.  Congrats!

Lifter of the Month-May

By Eric Todd

One of my absolute favorite championship events was in May, in the Heavy Lift Championships.  Outside of our national championship meet, the Heavy Lift is the longest running championship event in the USAWA.  This year’s event was out in Massachusetts, hosted by Frank Ciavattone and ran by Mark Raymond.  This year it was Nils Larson who emerged victorious, adding his name along the great champs like Frank Ciavattone, Steve Schmidt, and John Carter.  Due to that win, Nils Larson is awarded Lifter of the Month of May.  Way to go, Nils!

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