USAWA

Enclosed are the results of the 2026 Ed Zercher Strength Classic held annually in Clark’s Gym. We’re not exactly sure how old this meet is, but it’s around 40 years old! There are still records from this event going back to 1988, so it’s at least 38 years old. This year’s rendition was scheduled for 24 – 25 January 2026, but some deep snow and bitter cold (apologies to our clubs further north!) forced an extension of the timeline. And this years’ event drew only six lifters. Admittedly, this event is physically one of the toughest in the USAWA pantheon of meets. The Zercher meet this year contained 12 lifts, some of which can be difficult to do if you have physical limitations.

On the women’s side, two lifters, Janet Thompson and Allison Lupo competed and they were close throughout the event. Janet emerged the winner by about 70 lbs, though age and weight separated the two a bit more. Both lifters were at the top of their game, and their Hip Lifts and Harness Lifts produced some excellent results. Janet turned in a 705 pound lift which set an age and weight record. She set new standards in five events and tied her best in two others. Allison’s Harness Lift totaled 605 pounds in spite of a knee that has bothered her for some years. This was an age / weight record as well as an “ALL” record. She totaled seven new records three of which were also ‘ALL’s.

On the Men’s side, Jeff Wenzel and Travis Luther paced the field with Jeff taking the top spot by a wide margin in raw weight (7,440 lbs). However, when the age and weight factors came into play, the score was much tighter! Jeff posted age/weight adjusted top scores in seven of 12 events and set an age weight record on top of that (Bench Press, Feet in Air), picking up in 2026 where he left off in 2025 with another meet win! Travis was not far from a 7,000 lb total checking in with 6,785 lbs when all was said and done, as well as top marks in two age/weight adjusted events. Jeff and Travis put on quite the show with a pair of 2,000 lb Harness Lifts. Jeff was also strong with the Hand and Thigh Lift and Travis with an impressive Hack Lift. John Carter and Tony Lupo were much closer in the battle for third. Both lifters have some injuries that hamper them on at least three of the lifts. John pulled out third place and showed he still has ‘game’ with top finishes in three of 12 age adjusted events. He set an impressive age / weight record with 1600 lbs in the Hip Lift. Tony managed a third place finish in raw weight, but 4th overall, setting two new standards in the Bench Press, Feet in Air and the Deadlift Heels Together.

The Steve Schmidt Backbreaker Pentathon was held on December 6 – 7 at Clark’s Gym in Columbia, MO and remotely. This event has been held annually for over 30 years, and the name was inspired by the legendary Steve Schmidt, whose records in many of these lifts may never be broken.

This year we had entrants from two clubs outside of Columbia, Frank’s Barbell Club, and High Country Vigour. The competition was as spirited as the time of year, which is to say it was fervent and the results were close. In the Women’s Division, all three competitors totaled close to, or over, 2000 lbs in raw weight. When age and weight were considered Lisa Gore held on by 18 points to win the 2025 Women’s Division. Lisa Gore also set age and weight, and All records in each event. Janet Thompson finished second, getting records in two events and tying personal bests in two other events. Allison Lupo set four records as well. Some impressive individual performances can be acknowledged. Lisa Gore’s 1006 lbs in the Back Lift was 5^th best in the USAWA Women’s Division. Allison Lupo’s 700 lb was commendable nearly doubling her previous best. Janet Thompson was the top competitor in the Neck Lift, and all three women lifted 600 or more pounds on the Harness Lift.

The men’s competition was close as well as Dan Jones lifted 216 lbs (only 3%) more than teammate Nils Larson in raw weight. But when age and weight were accounted, Nils Larson is the 2025 Men’s Division Champion and the only lifter to break the 6800-point level! Not only that, Nils set four age and weight records including an impressive 610 lb Neck Lift. Dan Jones finished second but also set two records. His Hand and Thigh lift of 1050 lb was best in the Men’s Division. At third and fourth place, Jeff Wenzel was the third competitor to lift more than 6000 lbs in raw weight, and Frank Ciavattone lifted more than 5500 lbs as well. However, with age and weight figured in, Frank Ciavattone finishes third, and his efforts were rewarded with four age and weight records missing the fifth by a mere 11 lb! This included a second best 380 lb Neck Lift. Thus, Frank’s Gym garnered the top three places among the men. Jeff Wenzel finished fourth, but put up some big numbers including the top Back Lift at 1855 lbs, and second in both the Harness Lift and Hand and Thigh lifts. Team Clark also featured David DeForest and Tony Lupo finishing fifth and sixth. Dave DeForest set two records, one being a second best 380 lb in the Neck Lift. Tony Lupo set two records this year, getting or tying personal bests in all but one lift. Wade Marchand finished seventh as he could not do the Neck Lift, but he still was impressive in setting three records! High Country Vigour’s Sanjiv Gupta contributed as well in spite of the lack of proper equipment, but he showed his mettle in the record day lifts with two different thumbless deadlifts at 300 lbs. These were among the most impressive record day efforts. Well done everyone!            

A mere one month after putting their fingers through the Two Fisted Challenge, 14 lifters from four clubs decided to put their hands through the wringer again! This includes four women and 10 men from Clark’s Gym (7), Frank’s Gym (5), Habecker’s Gym (1), and Dino Gym (1) that competed in this years event.

On the women’s side, the competition was strong and every female tied or broke records in 9 events or more. Lisa Gore edged RJ Jackson by 22 points. Lisa Gore lifted more than one ton, setting 10 new standards at age and weight. RJ Jackson set 12 new records with a second place finish. Jessica Hopps finished third with 8 new records, including a sweep of all four fingers, and Allison Lupo was not far behind setting 8 new records as well. Allison was the only returning lifter and improved over last year by hoisting nearly 25% more weight. The women certainly excelled.

The men’s side was equally tough, and featured three returning lifters (Jeff Wenzel, Toby Ortega, and Tony Lupo). Jeff Wenzel (Clark’s), Dan Jones (Frank’s), and Toby Ortega (Clark’s) took the top three spots. Jeff not only took the title this year, but improved in weight lifted by close to 15%! Toby was up by about 2% in total weight over last year as well, but he set 8 records. Dan Jones set 6 new records and along with Toby set all four records in the finger deadlifts. After the top three, there was a lot of great lifting as Wade Marchand took fourth (including big numbers in the index and middle fingers), and Frank Ciavattone took fifth at the young age of 70. Among the men, Frank showed the field how to get it done by setting the most records at 10 and was in a virtual tie with Tony Lupo for third in raw weight. Riley Wenzel finished sixth, but showed some real moxie by getting a field-best 360 lb Hack Lift and a top three Heels Together DL. Tony Lupo finished seventh lifting 3% more weight than one year ago. Nils Larson set 8 new records, and along with Dan Jones was over 300 lb in the Reeves Lift! Nils L and Tony L swept through the finger lifts with new records as well. Jerome Licini entered the field as the newest lifter and made a respectable showing in a long event filled with grizzled veterans. He put up some good numbers in the Jefferson and Heels together DLs. Check out the record day lifts as well. There was a lot of additional strong lifts! Note: Jeff Wenzel’s Reeves Deadlift was 287 not 237. It was an age / weight record.