RESULTS OF THE USAWA SECOND ONE TON CHALLENGE AND RECORD DAY
The results of the Second One Ton Challenge are now available. Let’s just say ‘challenge met’ as 15 lifters from five gyms across the nation took part and lifted nearly 11 tons of iron during the competition on the weekend of 10 – 11 October 2026. The lifting took place in person in Columbia, MO and remotely elsewhere. The meet was meant to produce big numbers and this year did not disappoint.
On the Women’s side, Clark’s Gym welcomed a new lifter, Brittany Kreisler, who works with Jeff Wenzel by day with the State of Missouri. Brittany set four records in her first meet and lifted over 1200 pounds to take the title on the Women’s side. She was quite impressive for a rookie with the USAWA, but she is no stranger to competitive weightlifting. Janet Thompson set records in all five events, hoisting more than 850 lb and finishing about 47 Lynch and Age points behind Brittany. Jessica Hopps from Frank’s Barbell Club finished third but was the second lifter on the Women’s side to throw up over 1000 lb in raw poundage and set four records of her own. Lisa Gore finished fourth needing only 23 lb to hit the 1000 pound mark, but she did set five records as well. Combined with a very impressive record day, the meet leaves her just four records short of being the first female lifter to post 400 records. Not to be outdone, RJ Jackson lifted more than 700 lb in spite of not having the equipment to do the Kennedy Lift. All the competitors in the Women’s Division did extremely well, but last year’s Champion, Allison Lupo, did not compete due to having to share her husband’s germs.
On the Men’s side, the competition was fierce as Jeff Wenzel added nearly 300 lb to last year’s total which was enough to hold off team mate Toby Ortega by just under nine Lynch and Age points. In spite of lifting more than 1.2 tons, Jeff only set two new records since he’s competing against himself generally for those. But, his record day lifts took him over the 400 lift mark all-time, only the 6th male to do so. Toby Ortega made his debut in this event and pushed up more than one ton himself. At a body weight of about 72 kg, this was mighty impressive as he set records in all five lifts. Jeff and Toby made some eyes pop out with a 755 lb and 655 lb Anderson Squat and Kennedy Lift, respectively. Riley Wenzel and Philip Marlin battled for third and fourth. Riley edged Phillip by lifting more than 1900 lbs, which was the same as last year in both poundage moved and final position. Philip was the most impressive on the day lifting more than 1.3 tons!! In spite of a 4th place finish, Philip was over the 700 lb mark on both the Anderson Squat and the Kennedy Lift. The battle for fifth and sixth was fought between Tony Lupo and Wade Marchand. Tony edged Wade this time but only by 34 Lynch and Age points. Wade pushed up nearly 1400 lb and set five records while Tony set four age and weight records. Dan Jones was only eight Lynch and Age points behind his team mate, and set three new records including a lift of 606 lbs in the Anderson Squat. Nils Larson and Sanjiv Gupta were close after Lynch and Age points were counted and both had a great day with four new records put into the books. Jerome Licini also competed, but with no referee, he was not able to put a few records in the books. But, with more than a half ton in weight lifted, it was another strong performance for him and like RJ Jackson probably lifted much more as their own loaders!
All in all, it was a great competition but we can’t finish this without a tip of the cap to Frank Ciavattone. While he did not compete, he did the Record Day portion and became only the third lifter in USAWA history to pass 500 records all-time. He joins fellow USAWA legends, Denny Habecker and Al Myers as members of elite 500 record club. Congratulations!
