by Al Myers
Art proudly displaying his homemade Teeth Bit!
Today welcomes in a New Year, and with it comes the excitement of another very promising year in the USAWA. 2013 had to be one of the best EVER in the history of the USAWA. There were many great competitions and great individual performances. Of the 22 official competitions that occurred in 2013 in the USAWA, I was a participant or attended 18 of them!
As I’m sitting here sipping a cup of coffee in the early morning hours of 2014 (my internal clock would not allow me to sleep in!), I’m reflecting on some of the fantastic lifts I was able to witness “first hand” in the USAWA in 2013. It didn’t take me long to come up with a list of over 20, but I’m gonna narrow the list today to the TOP TEN lifts that impressed me the most. I want to reiterate that this is MY LIST of the lifts that I was able to watch, and only reflects my viewpoints. Many, many others were extremely impressive that did not make the list. A few individual lifters had multiple lifts that impressed me, but I’m only including THE ONE that impressed me the most by an individual lifter. It took me three times as long to come up with my list as it did to write this blog! Here it goes – counting down from number ten:
10. Lance Foster and his 575# Dinnie Lift at the OTSM Championships
This had to be one of the most tenacious lifts of the year. Lance struggled at the Battle of the Barn with the Dinnie Lift, but came back a month or so later to up his performance by 75 pounds! If the USAWA offered a TRUE GRIT AWARD Lance would win it.
9. Jera Kressly and Logan Kressly 600# heels together deadlift at the Team Championships.
Jera and Logan did this mixed pair (man/woman) lift quite easily at the Team Champs. I should mention that Logan was only 15 at the time! That’s a big deadlift for any mixed pair with a normal stance – let alone having the heels together!
8. James Fuller and his 60 KG Bent Press at the Gold Cup.
James has been on a mission to mastering the Bent Press this year. The Bent Press is one of the MOST old and obscure lifts of all round lifting. Very few even know how to go about doing one. I first saw James bent pressing Frank’s axle at the Heavies, with was extremely cumbersome to handle. I was going to include that effort instead of this one for James, but his Gold Cup lift really deserves it more as it was done in a big competition. It won’t be long before James puts up the highest Bent Press record of All Time in the USAWA.
7. Joe Ciavattone Sr. and his 805# Neck Lift at the Heavy Lift Championships.
This HAD to make my list. Joe is one of the best neck lifters in USAWA history, and held the overall record for many years. To come back and hit a personal record now several years later shows true ability. I was glad to be able to witness his lift (as I had not seen his previous record lift).
6. Troy Goetsch and his 260# one handed Vertical Bar Lift at the Grip Championships.
I’ve seen many great VB lifts in the past, but Troy’s is one of the best. Troy won the overall lifter at the Grip Champs, and his VB was the lift that I will remember from him on that day.
5. Frank Ciavattone and his 202.5 KG Ciavattone Grip Deadlift at Nationals.
Frank still has some great lifting in him, as shown with this big lift at our National Championships which is named after him. I never get tired of watching Frank do Ciavattone Grip Deadlifts – and this is one I’ll never forget.
4. Dan Wagman and his 120# Pullup at the Dino Gym Record Day.
YES – that’s 120 pounds strapped to the waist and then performing a pullup with the chin OVER the bar with no kipping!!! And hold for a down command! Not too many around could even come close to this performance of Dan’s. I’ve seen a lot of great lifting out of Dan and often what he does does not surprise me – but this pullup did!
3. Joe Ciavattone Jr. and the 1400# Hand and Thigh Lift at the Heavy Lift Championships.
Junior doesn’t realize yet that he will be a future superstar of the USAWA, but I see it. His untapped strength is unreal, and this big H&T proves it. He just finished with a 1200 at the meet, I gave him a couple of tips between lifts, and then he adds 200 pounds and gets it easily! Impressive to say the least…
2. Eric Todd and this 1000# Neck Lift at the Battle of the Barn II.
ET has put up 1000 pound Neck Lifts before several times – but this one was done with rules beyond those of the USAWA. He cleared the floor substantially, and then HELD the lift for over 2 full seconds recorded on a stop watch. I’m still shaking my head after seeing that effort!
1. Art Montini and his 107# Teeth Lift at the Presidential Cup.
All I can say is that I still don’t know how he did this! Art is 85 years old and has FALSE TEETH. This lift won him the Presidential Cup of the USAWA for the year, and I would say deserving of the lift that impressed me the most! Art has been one of the most active lifters in the USAWA this year – attending most of the championship events, attending the “Big Three” (Nationals, Worlds, and the Gold Cup), and still involved with promoting his annual Birthday Bash. He has a deeper resume than anyone in the history of the USAWA, and I’m glad to name Art’s lift as the most impressive lift of 2013. Congrats Art!!
