Tag Archives: Dean Ross

Team Championships

By Al Myers

2017 USAWA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

Group picture from the 2017 USAWA Team Championships.

Group picture from the 2017 USAWA Team Championships.

The USAWA has new TEAM CHAMPIONS!  The Overall Best Team Lifters in the USAWA for the past 8 years have been myself and my buddy Chad (and Overall winners in 9/10 Team Championships). But that streak is over…. and the dynamic duo of the USAWA is now LaVerne Myers and Dean Ross! These two have been at Team Lifting for many years now and with all that practice, are in tune to each other’s dance steps. The were in perfect synch and picked their attempts with precision. They were the only team to not miss an attempt all day, and finished close to their max on each of their final attempts.

LaVerne Myers (left) and Dean Ross (right) - the OVERALL Best Team at the 2017 USAWA Team Championships.

LaVerne Myers (left) and Dean Ross (right) – the OVERALL Best Team at the 2017 USAWA Team Championships.

I was very excited to have 4 teams participate.  The young team of Cale Dunlap and Brandon Rein showed great promise.  These two will continually improve. They have no idea of what they are capable of yet in the USAWA.

It was great to see John Douglas of the Ledaig Club here for his first Team Championships.  He paired with Dino Gym lifter Zach Lucas (since Dave let him down by not making it)  and these two put up big lifts, and ended up with the highest TOTAL of the day.  They lifted 600 in the Fulton Bar Ciavattone Grip Deadlift, and took a shot at the gym record of 672# held by Chad and myself.  It was ah, so close!

I have to thank fellow Dino Gym member Dan Mather for joining me at the last minute (since Chad let me down).  This was our first time lifting together in the Team format. We had a great time, and again, I greatly appreciate Dan stepping in so I could lift and not end MY streak of competing in all of the Team Championships.

Meet Results:

2017 USAWA Team Championships
Dino Gym
Abilene, KS
August 26th, 2017

Meet Director: Al Myers

Meet Officials (1-official system): Al Myers and LaVerne Myers

Lifts: Team Bent Arm Pullover, Team Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip, Team Deadlift – No Thumbs, Overhand Grip

Teams:

Al Myers (51 years, 229#) and Dan Mather (35 years, 183#) – 105K Class & Open Age Group

Cale Dunlap (22 years, 168#) and Brandon Rein (22 years, 154 pounds) – 80K Class and Open Age Group

John Douglas (53 years, 311#) and Zach Lucas (31 years, 260#) – 125+K Class and Open Age Group

LaVerne Myers (73 years, 240#) and Dean Ross (74 years, 219#) – 110K Class and 70+ Age Group

2-MAN DIVISION

LIFTERS PULL DLCBFB DLNT TOT PTS
Myers/Ross 190 500 500 1190 1291.9
Douglas/Lucas 275 600 650 1525 1088.4
Myers/Mather 230 500 550 1280 1062.6
Dunlap/Rein 170 360 400 930 921.6

Notes: All lifts recorded in pounds. TOT is total pounds lifted. PTS are overall points adjusted for age and bodyweight corrections.

RECORD DAY LIFTS

LaVerne Myers
Bent Arm Pullover 90#
Clean and Press – Middle Fingers 50#
Deadlift – Stiff Leg 210#
Pinch Grip Deadlift 325#
Deadlift – Dumbbell, Right Arm 195#

Al Myers
Bent Arm Pullover 120#
Clean and Press – Middle Fingers 95#
Deadlift – Stiff Leg 400#
Pinch Grip Deadlift 450#
Lateral Raise – Lying 90#

Lifter of the Month – Dean Ross

by Al Myers

Dean Ross performing a One Arm Zercher at the 2015 USAWA Presidential Cup.

Dean Ross performing a One Arm Zercher at the 2015 USAWA Presidential Cup.

The LIFTER OF THE MONTH for the USAWA for the month of August is Dean Ross. Usually this is a difficult decision to select a lifter for this award – but this month it was an EASY, HANDS DOWN decision!  No one has came close to performing like Dean Ross thru the month of August.  Let me “recap” Dean’s highlights from last month.  First, he made the long road trip to Lebanon, PA to compete in the Presidential Cup, hosted by our USAWA President Denny Habecker.   Dean came away with winning the Presidential Cup! This award is for the BEST LIFTER of the meet.   Dean then competed in TWO USAWA Championship events – the Team Championships and the Club Championships.  Dean anchored the Dino Gym for a club victory at the Club Championships, and then teamed with LaVerne Myers for a third place finish in the Team Championships.  On top of all this competing Dean still found time to complete the postal lifts for the USAWA Third Quarter Postal and the IAWA World Postal Meet.  That’s a busy month!

Also, I have to mention that Dean has now entered the TOP TEN in the Century Club for most USAWA records.   I’ll end with a good quote, “We haven’t heard the last of Dean Ross!”

 

 

Presidential Cup History

by Al Myers

Dean Ross (right) recieving the 2015 Presidential Cup from Denny Habecker (left).

Dean Ross (right) recieving the 2015 Presidential Cup from Denny Habecker (left).

The Presidential Cup just completed it’s fourth annual Championship, all under the direction of the USAWA President Denny Habecker.  As I’ve said before, the Presidential Cup is the CHAMPIONSHIP OF RECORD DAYS in the USAWA.  Winning the overall in this event is no different than winning the overall best lifter in any other championship event within the organization.

The late Dale Frieze was the first Presidential Cup winner.   To date, 4 different lifters have won this title. From now on I’m going to keep an up to date listing of the past winners of the Presidential Cup in our history archives, under the section “Past Championships”.

History of the Presidential Cup

 YEAR CUP WINNER LIFT  PRESIDENT
 2015 Dean Ross Zercher – One Arm Denny Habecker
 2014 Al Myers Pinch Grip – One Hand Denny Habecker
 2013 Art Montini Teeth Lift Denny Habecker
 2012 Dale Frieze Finger Lift – Ring Denny Habecker

 

Presidential Cup

by Al Myers

MEET REPORT & RESULTS
2015 PRESIDENTIAL CUP

Group picture from the 2015 Presidential Cup (left to right): Art Montini, Al Myers, Dean Ross, and Denny Habecker

Group picture from the 2015 Presidential Cup (left to right): Art Montini, Al Myers, Dean Ross, and Denny Habecker

For the fourth year annually, our USAWA President Denny Habecker has held the USAWA Presidential Cup.  This Championship Event recognizes the “best of the best” amongst record days.  It IS the championship record day in the USAWA – much like the Gold Cup is the Championship Record Day in the IAWA. Every year our Prez picks a lift and lifter for the winner of the Presidential Cup.  This is based on what impresses him the most – that is the criteria for being awarded the Presidential Cup.

This year 4 experienced USAWA members took on the challenge.  It was interesting to me that these four lifters (Denny, Art, Dean, and myself) are also TOP TEN members of the Century Club, which shows that all of us have competed in the USAWA quite some time now!  Each of us took turns with our lifts on the platform. Art continues to amaze me.  He did a 26# Abdominal Raise – which would be a very difficult lift for anyone.  I thought that could be the Presidential Cup Lift that might win.  As it turns out that was the only record lift Art did.  When we had time for additional record lifts Art couldn’t decide on another lift to do as he has ALL the records in his age/bodyweight class in the record list and Art doesn’t like to break his own records!

Dean Ross made the trip to Pennsylvania again this summer (Nationals in York was the other).  Dean picked the One Arm Zercher, which is a very difficult lift to perform. He lifted an impressive 160 pounds!  As it turns out – THAT was the lift to win him the Presidential Cup!  Well deserving I must say.

This was a great competition.  I want to thank Denny and Judy for being such great hosts.  We are very fortunate to have Denny as our President and Judy as the “first lady” in the USAWA. They work tirelessly to keep things going, and give back SO MUCH to the organization.

(Tomorrow I’ll give a report on the history of the Presidential Cup and a listing of all past winners. )

Meet Results:

Presidential Cup
Habecker’s Gym
Lebanon, PA
August 22nd, 2015

Meet Director: Denny Habecker

Official’s (3-official System Used): Denny Habecker, Al Myers, Art Montini

Al Myers – 48 years old, 228# BWT
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 2″, 1 Bar, Right Hand: 193#
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 2″, 1 Bar, Left Hand: 193#
Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Right Arm: 171#
Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Left Arm: 171#
Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip: 303#
Deadlift – One Leg, Right: 242#

Dean Ross – 72 years old, 253# BWT
Zercher – One Arm, Left: 143#
Zercher – One Arm, Right: 160#
Ziegler Clean: 93#
Swing – One Arm, Right: 55#
Swing – One Arm, Left: 45#

Denny Habecker – 72 years old, 189# BWT
Pullover – Straight Arm: 60#

Art Montini – 87 years old, 173# BWT
Abdominal Raise: 26#

Team Championships

by Al Myers

2014 USAWA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

Group picture from the 2014 USAWA Team Championships (left to right): LaVerne Myers, Al Myers, Chad Ullom, and Dean Ross.

I started promoting the USAWA Team Championships in 2007, so this year makes it the 8th year! I remember thinking this would become a popular meet amongst the lifters because it gave a different element to lifting than other meets -that being you lifted “on the bar” with a team mate! Well, in these 8 years it has not seemed to grow as I imagined back then, but none the less, always gives an entertaining day of lifting.  This year Chad and I again competed to “defend our title” from last year, and were challenged by the Dino Gym elders LaVerne Myers and Dean Ross.  These two team up well in size and lifting ability, plus have “been around the block a time or two” so they know how to play dirty.  I knew they would give us a good fight.  That was true.  Dean employed various means of chemical warfare against us, while LaVerne used mental persuasion to get us to swap out a lift for another to give them a competitive advantage.  When Chad and I was still dizzy from the nerve gas that Dean imposed upon us, we agreed to this request of LaVerne’s without contention.  Their teamwork was in full force before the meet even started!

So the Clean and Jerk with the Fulton Bar AND the Jefferson Lift was replaced by the Deadlift with the Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip.  And as it turned out – the meet came down to this last lift.  LaVerne and Dean pulled together an outstanding lift of 551 pounds!  I knew with their added age allowance this was going to make us really push ourselves.   But thankfully, my partner didn’t let me down and Chad and I pulled a PR of 672# for the win and a new Dino Gym Record (breaking our previous record of 640#).

This may have been a small meet, but we had a lot of fun in the gym today.  The meet even got over quick so the meet report/results is being posted on the same day as the meet.  That might be a first!

MEET RESULTS:

2014 USAWA Team Championships
Dino Gym, Abilene, Kansas
August 24th, 2014

Meet Director: Al Myers

Officials (1 official system used): Al Myers, Chad Ullom, LaVerne Myers

Lifts: Clean and Jerk – One Arm, Curl – Cheat, Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip

Lifters:

Dino Gym 1
Dean Ross – 71 years old, 267 pounds
LaVerne Myers – 71 years old, 247 pounds

Dino Gym 2
Al Myers – 48 years old, 236 pounds
Chad Ullom – 42 years old, 253 pounds

TEAM C&J-1 Curl DL-FB,CG TOTAL POINTS
Dino Gym 2 105 165 305 575 467.1
Dino Gym 1 40 105 250 395 400.2

NOTES:  All lifts recorded in kilograms.  TOTAL is total kilograms lifted.  Points are adjusted points for age and bodyweight corrections.

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