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Grip Championships

by Al Myers

2014 USAWA GRIP CHAMPIONSHIPS

Participants in the 2014 USAWA Grip Championships held at the Dino Gym on February 8th.

The USAWA Grip Championships turned out to be much more successful than I predicted with the bad weather and snow that preceded it.  At one point last week I was wondering if anyone would show up!  Then to my surprise – 10 lifters made it to the Dino Gym Saturday morning.

Ruth Jackson made the trip from Colorado and was the lone woman lifter in the meet, but even without any “one on one” competition she lifted outstanding. She set several USAWA records enroute to winning the Overall Best Lifter in the Womans Division.  Ruth competes in the same bodyweight class as the Hall of Famer Noi Phumchaona did – so she has some pretty good records of Noi’s to contend with. Ruth also brought me some new plates for my plate collection (which has earned her some bonus votes for the lifter of the month award!!!)

Awards given at the Grip Champs to the Overall Winners.

Where to start with the mens lifters?  That’s pretty easy – we had a newcomer entered in the meet!  Keith Thompson entered his first USAWA meet as part of the KCSTRONGMAN club.  Keith was also the youngest lifter in the meet.  Keith lifted exceptional – with his 310 pound fulton dumbbells deadlift being his highlight lift.  I’m looking forward to seeing Keith entered in more meets.  Other KCSTRONGMEN members Eric Todd and Lance Foster had solid days of lifting as well.

Dan Wagman pulled off a close overall victory over LaVerne Myers and Dave Glasgow.  It came down to the last event (the middle fingers deadlift) to determine the overall men’s champion.  These three ended up very close in points (854 pts for Dan, 848 pts for LaVerne, and 832 pts for Dave) in the final placings.  LaVerne started off with a great record-setting Dumbbell Walk of 123 pounds which was the tops of the meet.  Dave lifted a 308 pound one arm deadlift which was quite impressive, as well as a 290 pound fulton dumbbells deadlift.   However, it came down to “the fingers” (like a lot of past Goerner Meets) to decide the winner – and Dan’s big MF deadlift of 236 sealed the deal for him.

Scott Tully lifted big – and posted the top total of the meet at 1002 pounds.  That’s quite an accomplishment in a field like this.  Scott’s BIG LIFT was his record setting fulton dumbbells deadlift of 322 pounds.  This earned Scott a new USAWA record as well as setting a new DINO GYM record (breaking the record held by Ben Edwards at 320 pounds).   USAWA faithfuls Dean Ross and Mike Murdock rounded out the field.  Dean and Mike have been extremely active in the USAWA over the past few years, and always enhances the meet atmosphere when they are in attendance.

Great day for the USAWA Grip Championships!  I would say this HAS to be one of the best grip champs that the USAWA has had.  I want to thank everyone who made the competition.

MEET RESULTS:

2014 USAWA Grip Championships
Saturday, February 8th, 2014
Dino Gym, Abilene, Kansas

Meet Director: Al Myers

Official (1-official system used): Al Myers

Scorekeeper: Al Myers

Lifts: Dumbbell Walk, Deadlift-2 Fulton Dumbbells, Deadlift-One Arm, Deadlift-Middle Fingers

WOMENS DIVISION

LIFTER AGE BWT WALK DL-FDB DL-1 DL-MF TOT PTS
Ruth Jackson 52 107 48-R 130 185-R 95 458 712.8

EXTRA LIFTS FOR RECORD

Ruth Jackson: Deadlift-Middle Fingers 100#

MENS DIVISION

LIFTER AGE BWT WALK DL-FDB DL-1 DL-MF TOT PTS
Dan Wagman OP 184 103-L 270 303-L 236 912 854.6
LaVerne Myers 69 249 123-R 280 253-L 165 821 848.4
Dave Glasgow 60 259 98-R 290 308-R 187 883 832.8
Eric Todd 39 257 93-R 250 352-R 253 948 741.8
Keith Thompson 27 229 118-R 310 203-R 242 873 724.7
Scott Tully 38 333 108-R 322 341-R 231 1002 692.9
Dean Ross 71 269 63-R 210 162-R 165 600 605.7
Lance Foster 48 330 73-R 210 203-R 181 667 504.9
Mike Murdock 73 193 48-R 130 115-R 115 408 498.3

EXTRA LIFTS FOR RECORD

Dan Wagman:  Deadlift-2 Fulton DBS 290#
Mike Murdock: Deadlift-Middle Fingers 132#

NOTES: BWT is bodyweight in pounds. AGE is age in years. All lifts recorded in pounds. TOT is total pounds lifted. PTS are adjusted points for age and bodyweight correction.

Grip Championships

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT
2014 USAWA GRIP CHAMPIONSHIPS

LaVerne Myers performing a 112# Dumbbell Walk at the 2012 USAWA Grip Championships under the watch of Denny Habecker (left) and Dave Glasgow (right). The Dumbbell Walk will be in this year's Grip Championships as well.

I will be hosting the USAWA Grip Championships again this year at the Dino Gym.  Last year this meet was a great success with many entrants – and hopefully this year will be even better.  This is one of the USAWA’s Championship events, and one of the signature competitions within the USAWA each year.  It is designed to recognize the top lifters in a selection of grip events, which are official lifts of the USAWA.  The USAWA has several lifts that are “grip oriented” and since this is a Championship Competition only official lifts of the USAWA are eligible to be in this competition. 

It is always a difficult thing for me to pick the lifts for this meet.  It seems no matter what I pick – there is always someone who doesn’t like my choices!  So this year I got myself “off the hook” by letting others chose a lift a piece for the Grip Champs.  The lucky participants for this assignment were Thom, Chad, Dave, and my Dad LaVerne.  I won’t reveal what each of their choices were – but it is pretty easy to tell by looking at the selected lifts in this meet.  Three of them picked their “pet lift” while the choice of the fourth was just being sadistic.

As with keeping with the traditional date of the Grip Championships, it will be held on the second Saturday in February (Feb 8th).  Put this date on your calendar and make it to the Dino Gym for a day of fun!!! 

MEET DETAILS:

Meet Director:  Al Myers

Meet Date:  Saturday, February 8th, 2014    10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Location:  Dino Gym, 1126 Eden Road, Abilene, KS 67410

Sanction: United States All-Round Weightlifting Association.  Individual USAWA membership is required of each participant. 

Weigh-ins:  9:00-10:00 AM the day of the meet.  Lifting will start at 10:00 AM

Divisions:  Juniors, Women, Masters, and Open

Awards:  Championship Certificates

Entry Fee:  None – but please notify me ahead of time if you plan to enter

Lifts:

Dumbbell Walk
Deadlift – 2 Fulton Dumbbells
Deadlift – One Arm
Deadlift – Middle Fingers

Rules: USAWA General Rules and Scoring Apply.

This will be a DRUG TESTED event.

Registration: No Entry Form, but please contact me ahead of the meet if you plan to attend at amyers@usawa.com

Grip Championships

by Al Myers

2013 USAWA GRIP CHAMPIONSHIPS

Troy Goetsch lifting 260 pounds on the One Hand 2" Vertical Bar Deadlift. Troy won BEST MENS OVERALL LIFTER at the 2013 USAWA Grip Championships.

Since the first OFFICIAL USAWA Grip Championships in 2011, this meet has seen more lifters entered each year.  2011 had 8 lifters, 2012 had 11 lifters, and this year we had 16 lifters! If the Grip Championships continually experiences this type of growth it will not be long and this will be the most attended yearly meet in the USAWA. 

I was amazed at the quality of lifting that took place.  The Mens Division was STACKED.  Troy Goetsch, of Jobes Steel Jungle, came out as the BEST OVERALL MENS LIFTER in the end.   Ruth Jackson added another title to her USAWA resume with taking the BEST OVERALL WOMENS LIFTER.  Dan Wagman finished second overall, and LaVerne Myers surprised everyone with his third place overall finish.  I predicted there would be some ALL TIME RECORDS broken – and Troy made sure that happened!  His 255# Pinch Grip and his 260# 1 hand VB DL are now new USAWA All Time Records. He made these lifts look easy and performed them in impeccable form.  My next predication is that he will up both of these records within the next year.

Ken Glasgow (right) receiving his USAWA Grip Championship Award from meet director Al Myers (left).

Darren Barnhart had an excellent meet, and if not for Troy being present, would have had numbers at the very top.  Darren did a Pinch Grip with 250#, and had a very close miss at 275#.  He posted the second highest total (780 pounds) behind Troy’s total (860 pounds).  LaVerne Myers may have ended up in third, but he was NUMBER ONE for best dressed. He showed up sporting a new matching stylish short & shirt, complete with new lifting shoes. This must have given him a surge of confidence, because he ended the meet with a Personal Record in the Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip of 300 pounds!  Ken Glasgow needs mentioned as well.  Ken was the oldest lifter that competed, at age 76. I was very impressed with his lifting.  Mike Pringle made his “USAWA debut” in this meet.  Mike lifted very well, and I hope to see more of him in USAWA competitions in the future. Denny Habecker came the farthest for the meet, from Lebanon, PA.  This makes the second meet in less than a month that Denny has attended at the Dino Gym! 

I have several people I want to personally thank.  First – my wife Leslie who made the lunch and provided numerous other meals to lifters over the weekend.  Next, I couldn’t have done this without the help of Chuck Cookson, who did ALL the loading.  Chuck laid off competing to load instead, which is critical for a meet to  run efficiently. I also want to mention Terry Barlet , who made the road trip with Denny.  I talked him into taking all the meet pictures.  I will have these pictures available on our USAWA Facebook Page later this week.   This Grip Championships had participants from several states – Kansas, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma.  I felt VERY HAPPY about the success of the meet.  Thanks again to all those who attended!  It’s this type of support that keeps these events going in the USAWA.

(Dan Wagman video recorded the meet and has placed the videos on his website –  http://jopp.us/2013grip.html)

MEET RESULTS:

2013 Grip Championships
Dino Gym
Abilene, Kansas
Saturday, February 9, 2013

Meet Director:   Al Myers

Scorekeeper/Timekeeper/Announcer:  Al Myers

Loader:  Chuck Cookson

Photographer:  Terry Barlet

Caterer:  Leslie Myers

Officials (3-official system used):  Al Myers (head), Denny Habecker, Darren Barnhart, LaVerne Myers, Mike Murdock, Chad Ullom

Lifts: Pinch Grip, Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 2″, One Hand, Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip

WOMENS DIVISION

LIFTER AGE BWT PINCH VB DL TOT PTS
Ruth Jackson 51 108 107 110R 135 352 539.1

 EXTRA LIFTS FOR RECORD:

Ruth Jackson: Vertical Bar Deadlift, 2″, Right Hand 120#

MENS DIVISION

LIFTER AGE BWT PIN VB DL TOT PTS
Troy Goetsch 26 199 240 260R 360 860 770.5
Dan Wagman 50 183 200 180R 280 660 688.4
LaVerne Myers 68 247 180 180R 300 660 679.6
Darren Barnhart 45 305 250 205R 325 780 595.5
Dave Glasgow 59 252 181 170R 275 626 593.5
Denny Habecker 70 193 125 130R 235 490 585.0
Chad Ullom 41 252 180 200R 326  706 568.9
Bryan Benzel 25 290 240 210R 320 770 567.9
Mark Mitchell 52 313 230 150R 325 705 567.8
Mike Pringle 37 193 150 165L 250 565 514.9
Ken Glasgow 76 217 100 135R 205 440 514.8
Dan Bunch 48 358 195 180L 330 705 514.3
Dean Ross 70 271 150 135R 230 515 514.2
Mike Murdock 72 206 100 110R 180 390 455.8
Doug Kressly 33 278 170 160R 250 580 436.7

 EXTRA LIFTS FOR RECORD:

Mike Pringle: Pinch Grip 175#
Dan Wagman: Pinch Grip 215#
Chad Ullom:  Pinch Grip 200#
Troy Goetsch: Pinch Grip 255#
LaVerne Myers: Pinch Grip 200#

NOTES:  All lifts recorded in pounds.  BWT is bodyweight in pounds.  R and L designate the right and left hands.  TOT is total pounds lifter.  PTS are adjusted points for bodyweight and age corrections.

BEST LIFTER AWARDS:

Womens Master:  Ruth Jackson
Womens Overall:  Ruth Jackson
Mens Senior 20-39: Troy Goetsch
Mens Master 40-44: Chad Ullom
Mens Master 45-49: Darren Barnhart
Mens Master 50-54: Dan Wagman
Mens Master 55-59: Dave Glasgow
Mens Master 65-69: LaVerne Myers
Mens Master 70-74: Denny Habecker
Mens Master 75-79: Ken Glasgow

Grip Championships

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT
USAWA GRIP CHAMPIONSHIPS

Scott Tully had the "top lift" at the 2012 USAWA Grip Champioships with this 394# Vertical Bar Deadlift - 2 Bars, 2". This year the 2" Vertical Bar Deadlift will be contested again, but this time with only one Vertical Bar.

For the fourth year in a row now, the USAWA will feature the Grip Championships.  This event allows the showcasing of unique strength, that of grip strength, in crowning a yearly champion.  The USAWA has in its list of lifts numerous lifts that focus on gripping strength, and these are the lifts that are chosen for this Championship.  Each year there is a different selection of lifts in this meet, which allows lifters to demonstrate their specific grip strength from year to year.  This year the lifts in the Grip Champs are:

Pinch Grip (Two Hands)
Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 2″, One Hand
Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip

In addition to this being the USAWA Grip Championships, a postal challenge has been issued with the IAWA(UK).  Mark Haydock, of England, is  promoting  the British Grip Championships on February 2nd, the weekend before the USAWA Grip Championships. .  This year it has been organized that the IAWA(UK) Championships will offer the exact same events as the USAWA, thus setting up the “perfect situation” for a International Postal Grip Challenge between the USAWA and the IAWA(UK).  The IAWA(UK) President Steve Gardner and I have been in contact with each other in setting this up.

Steve  and I have agreed that the “WINNER” will be determined by averaging all the scores from each participant from each Nation to determine the winner of the challenge.  This means that EVERYONE who competes in the Championships will be part of this challenge, no one will be left out, and everyone’s performance matters. This is different than many of the postal challenges of the past, where only a set number of lifters are selected to participate in the final scoring of the event.  We were hoping to have both of our Championships scheduled for the same day, but due to scheduling conflicts we were not able to organize it this way.  Steve has promised to keep the IAWA(UK) scores “secret” till after our event is finished as to not give us the advantage of knowing what we need to beat.  This is looking to be a fun challenge and I hope lots of USAWA lifters show up to support this event!

ENTRY FORM  – 2013 USAWA Grip Championships Entry Form

Grip Championships

by Al Myers

2012 USAWA GRIP CHAMPIONSHIPS

Group picture from the 2012 USAWA Grip Championships. (front row left to right): LaVerne Myers, Mike Murdock, Denny Habecker, Rudy Bletscher, Dean Ross (back row left to right): Chad Ullom, Al Myers, Darren Barnhart, Scott Tully, Dave Glasgow, Mark Mitchell

MEET REPORT

Saturday was a big day for the Dino Gym!  For the second straight year, it was the host site for the USAWA Grip Championships.  Eleven lifters participated, and I think every lifter had an enjoyable time.  I was expecting a few more, but there were some last minute “drop outs”.  All had good excuses (except one which was fishy) for not making their appearance.  I was hoping to “upstage” the IAWA(UK) in attendance (they had 18 in their grip champs the weekend before), but we fell a little short of this.    I’ll give them kudos this time, but NEXT YEAR will be our turn at grip glory! 

We divided up into two different groups to speed up the competition.  Since there were FIVE LIFTERS over the age of 60, they lifted together in one group while the rest of us lifted in the other group.  By doing this the competition only last 3 hours – and we even took a half hour lunch break!!!  I think we spent as much time after the meet presenting the awards and visiting than the meet itself.   The meet contained 5 grip lifts which are all official lifts of the USAWA.  I thought it was a good selection – but my old buddy Scott thought we should have had a pinch lift in the group.  Well next year Scott, I’ll just do that for ya! 

LaVerne Myers performing a 165 pound One Arm Fulton Dumbbell Deadlift. This is the top lift in the record books for any lifter over the age of 60!

I want to go over a few individual highlights of the meet.  First of all, my dad LaVerne surprised a few with his high placing overall (he was second overall).  He has been in training for this so I knew what he could do, and I wasn’t really surprised (maybe worried a little that he would beat me, but not surprised!).   He was solid in everything, but almost pulled off the biggest Dumbbell Walk of the day.  He had held the gym record in the Dumbbell Walk at 117# before this day, but Darren and I upped it to 122# in this meet.  He then tried to get his record back with a 124# effort, and came within a foot of accomplishing it.  His 165# One Arm Fulton DB Deadlift was amongst the best of the entire meet.  Scott Tully also had an exceptional day.  Scott had the top lifts of the entire meet in the One Arm Fulton DB Deadlift (192#), the One Arm No Thumb DL (225#) and the VB Deadlift (394#).  Scott tried 416# in the VB Deadlift and came very close to getting it.  We did it last and I know his grip was tired by that point which made the difference.  Scott has the top lift of ALL TIME in this lift (414#), and I know he has the ability to do more.  Scott was also the only lifter in the Senior Division (20-39) and the youngest competitor in the meet. 

Chad Ullom was solid in every lift as he always is.  Chad doesn’t really have any “weak spots” in his all round game.  His Index Fingers Deadlift of 231# tied me for the top lift of the meet in that lift.   He did it with more ease than myself, as I tore some skin at the base of my index finger afterwards which wouldn’t stop bleeding.  I guess it was worth it as I broke an overall record previously held by Kevin Fulton (225#) as I consider Kevin one of the best finger deadlifters the USAWA has ever seen.  The bleeding did affect my performance in the VB deadlift some, but “oh well”.  I don’t ever plan to attempt more than this ever again!! (we’ll see…).  Darren Barnhart had a great day.  Darren didn’t miss a single lift all day and could have done more on several of the lifts.  His Dumbbell Walk of 122# was outstanding!  Mark Mitchell is one of the best grip guys I know, and in certain grip lifts no one is even close to Mark, but these weren’t the best selection for him.  However, he still put up some great numbers and was one of five lifters who put up a total over 1000 pounds.  Wait till tomorrow’s story covering the record day and you will see what Mark can do in the Pinch Grip!

Denny Habecker made the long drive from Pennsylvania to compete again this year.  Denny pulled in a 6th place overall which is outstanding considering the depth of competition in this meet.  Denny was also the lightest lifter in the meet, and the only lifter under 200 pounds.  I’ll say this about Denny – having a light bodyweight favors a lifter in a meet when the Lynch Formula is used, but it does not favor a lifter in the after meet party (LOL – inside joke).  Mike Murdock and Rudy Bletscher had their usual battle.  You never know how things are going to turn out.  Rudy edged Mike out this time  around.  Both of these guys lifted exactly the same weight in all lifts except one (Dumbbell Walk in which Rudy did 10# more).  That’s close!!  I consider Mike one of the greatest assets the USAWA has gained – he is always there to help out with ANYTHING and you can always count on him for coming through on things. Mike is in the process of developing a computer program for the  USAWA scoring and we used it in this meet.  His program is getting at the point that all “bugs have been worked out”.   It won’t be long and Mike’s program will be available on the website for anyone to use to score their meets.

Dave Glasgow finished very strong with a fourth place overall finish.  I could tell Dave was surprised he placed this high – but he did well in all the lifts and it paid off in the end.  Dean Ross also made the trip to this meet.  There hasn’t been very many all round meets that Dean hasn’t attended this winter and fall.  He may be competing in more meets than myself!  I always enjoy having Dean at meets because I know I’ll hear a few new jokes throughout the day! 

As is the custom of Championship competitions in the USAWA, all age groups were recognized with best lifter awards.  I also was glad to give away my “special awards” to the top three BEST LIFTERS in the Senior Division, Masters 1, and Masters 2 Divisions.  Thanks to Rudy and LaVerne  for declining on of these awards everyone else took home some steel. 

BEST LIFTERS

Senior:  Scott Tully
Masters 40-44: Chad Ullom
Masters 45-49: Al Myers
Masters 50-54: Mark Mitchell
Masters 65-69: LaVerne Myers
Masters 70-74: Mike Murdock
Masters 75-79: Rudy Bletscher

BEST LIFTERS OF AGE DIVISIONS

Senior (20-39): Scott Tully
Masters 1 (40-59): Al Myers, Chad Ullom, Dave Glasgow
Masters 2 (60 plus): LaVerne Myers, Denny Habecker, Rudy Bletscher

MEET RESULTS:

USAWA Grip Championships
Dino Gym, Holland, Kansas
February 11th, 2012

Meet Director:  Al Myers

Officials (3 official system used):  Al Myers, Chad Ullom, Scott Tully, Darren Barnhart, Mike Murdock, Dave Glasgow, Denny Habecker, Mark Mitchell, LaVerne Myers

Scorekeeper:  Mike Murdock

Lifts: Dumbbell Walk, Deadlift – Fulton Dumbbell One Arm, Deadlift – Fingers Index, Deadlift – No Thumb One Arm,  Vertical Bar Deadlift – 2 Bars, 2″

LIFTER AGE BWT Walk DB DL IF DL DL NT VB Total Points
Al Myers 45 247 122 185R 231 220R 334 1092 923.9
LaVerne Myers 67 249 112 159L 135 185L 259 850 864.9
Chad Ullom 40 238 102 170R 231 210R 334 1047 860.4
Dave Glasgow 58 252 92 160R 176 187R 294 889 835.8
Darren Barnhart 44 306 122 185R 200 209R 354 1070 808.0
Denny Habecker 69 187 52 125R 120 125R 224 646 779.3
Rudy Bletscher 76 217 77 105R 120 140R 224 666 779.2
Mark Mitchell 51 360 92 180R 220 204R 334 1030 770.3
Scott Tully 36 346 92 192R 187 215R 394 1080 733.9
Mike Murdock 71 233 67 105L 120 140R 224 656 712.4
Dean Ross 69 274 77 125R 140  135R  234 711 700.8

NOTES:  BWT is bodyweight recorded in pounds. R and L designate right and left. All lifts recorded in pounds. Total is total points lifted. Points are adjusted points for bodyweight and age.

EXTRA ATTEMPTS FOR RECORDS

Rudy Bletscher: Deadlift – Fulton DB, Right Arm 115#
Denny Habecker: Deadlift – No Thumb, Right Arm 135#
LaVerne Myers: Deadlift – Fulton DB, Left Arm 165#
Dave Glasgow: Deadlift – Fulton DB, Left Arm 160#
Mark Mitchell: Deadlift – No Thumb, Right Arm 210#
Darren Barnhart: Deadlift – Fulton DB, Left Arm 185#
Darren Barnhart: Deadlift – No Thumb, Left Arm 210#
Chad Ullom: Deadlift – Fulton DB, Left Arm 165#
Chad Ullom: Deadlift – No Thumb, Left Arm 198#
Scott Tully: Deadlift – No Thumb, Right Arm 225#

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