USAWA Members Win Big at Highlander
by Thom Van Vleck
USAWA Member Thom Van Vleck on the front page of the Kirksville Daily Express
Proving that being an All-Rounder really means being an “all around” athlete, Chad Ullom won the Middle Weight class, Scott Tully was the Heavyweight winner, and Thom Van Vleck was the top Master at the recent Missouri State Highlander competition held in Kirksville, Missouri on March 27, 2010. Highlander combines Scottish Highland Games events and Strongman events, an equal number of each, to determine the best overall athlete.
For me, while I consider Highland Games my first love, training for recent USAWA events in the off season has been a huge plus. It has revitalized my training and some of the lifts made me realize I had weaknesses that needed to be addressed. The pay off was a big personal record in my 56lb Weight Over Bar event. This is a Scottish Highland Games event that requires the athlete to toss a weight over a cross bar for best height. I cleared 15’6″ using the spin technique (much to chagrin of USAWA Secretary Al Myers who prefers the traditional technique!). This was a full 1’6″ over my previous contest best, and considering the number of years I have been throwing, that’s a huge jump for me! I credit the USAWA training I did for that big gain!
All-round training proves it’s worth!