Tag Archives: Team Championships

Team Championships

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT

2014 USAWA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

The date for the USAWA Team Championships has been set!  The day will be Sunday, August 24th, and it will be held in the Dino Gym. The month of August is a busy month for USAWA meets and other local activities, and I didn’t want to cause any conflicts.

I chose this weekend because on Saturday, August 23rd, is the day for the Lucus Highland Games hosted by USAWA members Doug and Jera Kressly. By having our Team Championships on Sunday a thrower/lifter can make a “double header” of fun over Saturday and Sunday.

MEET DETAILS:

Date:  Sunday, August 24th

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

Meet Director: Al Myers – amyers@usawa.com

Meet Weigh in Time: 9:00 AM

Meet Start Time: 10:00 AM

Lifts:

Clean and Jerk – One Arm

Clean and Jerk – Fulton Bar

Curl – Cheat

Jefferson Lift

ENTRY FORM – TeamChampionships2014

Team Championships

by Al Myers

2013 USAWA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

Group picture from the 2013 USAWA Team Championships.

The Dino Gym hosted the USAWA Team Championships last weekend.  This is a championship event that contests “team lifting”.  Team lifting consists of lifting on the bar with a partner – and consists of three divisions:  2-MAN, 2-WOMAN, and MIXED PAIR.  Mixed pair is a team that consists of a male & female.  Four lifts were contested:  Bench Press – Hands Together, Deadlift – Fulton Bar, One Arm, Deadlift – Heels Together, and the Hip Lift.  The first three lifts went fairly quickly, but we ran into some difficulties with the Team Hip Lift.  To my best knowledge, the Hip Lift being performed as a Team Lift has never been contested before in history.  I had made a extra long Heavy Bar, but it required some slight modifications to it as the event was in progress.   All of the teams could have done MUCH MORE in this lift if given some more time training it and getting used to the timing of performing a Hip Lift with a partner. 

Logan Kressly and Jera Kressly performing a Mixed Pairs Heels Together Deadlift of 600 pounds.

I was very excited to have ALL THREE DIVISIONS represented in this championships.  That has never happened before.  The Ledaig HA was well represented with Jera and Logan Kressly lifting in the Mixed Pairs, and winning the Overall Mixed Pair Championships.  The 2-Woman Division saw a combination of Overall World Champ Ruth Jackson, and Overall Nationals Champ Molly Myers.  They formed a formidable duo.  The 2-Man Division was won by myself and Chad Ullom.   Denny Habecker and Art Montini competed in their first USAWA Team Championships.  Their lifting was superb, and each lift they did appeared to be done very easily.

MEET RESULTS:

2013 USAWA Team Championships
Dino Gym, Holland, Kansas
August 17th, 2013

Meet Director: Al Myers

Scorekeeper: Al Myers

Loaders: Dean Ross, Dave Glasgow

Photographer: Doug Kressly

Officials (1-official system used):  Al Myers & Denny Habecker

Lifts: Bench Press – Hands Together, Deadlift – Fulton Bar, One Arm, Deadlift – Heels Together, Hip Lift

WOMENS DIVISION

1. Ruth Jackson (51 years old, & 107 lbs) and Molly Myers (15 years old, & 171 lbs)

Open age class and 80 KG weight class

BP-HT DL-FB DL-HT Hip TOT PTS
160 198-R 375 550 1283 1444.6

EXTRA

Bench Press – Hands Together: 180 lbs.

MIXED PAIR DIVISION

1.  Jera Kressly ( 28 years old, & 231 lbs) and Logan Kressly (15 years old, & 169 lbs)
Open age Class and 105 KG Weight Class

BP-HT DL-FB DL-HT Hip TOT PTS
225 352-R 551 1423 2551 2108.2

EXTRA

Deadlift – Heels Together: 600 lbs.

MENS DIVISION

1.  Al Myers 46 years old, & 235 lbs) and Chad Ullom (41 years old, 252 lbs)
40-44 Age Class and 115 KG Weight Class

BP-HT DL-FB DL-HT Hip TOT PTS
450 452-R 904 2503 4309 3472.2

2.  Denny Habecker (70 years old, & 189 lbs) and Art Montini (85 years old, & 174 lbs)
70-74 Age Class and 90 KG Weight Class

BP-HT DL-FB DL-HT Hip TOT PTS
200 275-R 452 1150 2077 2509.7

EXTRA:

Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Right: 308 lbs.

NOTES:  All lifts recorded in pounds. R designates right arm used.  TOT is total pounds lifted.  PTS are adjusted points for age and bodyweight corrections.

Team Championships

by Al Myers

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT

2013 USAWA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

I'm a little reluctant to share this picture, as I don't want to discourage participation in the Team Championships. But Team lifting can be a different challenge - and when things go bad - there can be a disaster! It's pretty easy to tell how this lift ended for Chad and I as we were preparing for the Team Champs a few years back!!! Not good and it was all Chad's fault.

Every year the Dino Gym has an annual weekend celebration which we call the DINO DAYS.   It usually includes competitions of different kinds, and lots of good food and socializing!   This year will be no exception to that.  It is a gym affair, but the invite goes out to anyone else who wants to show up and be part of the fun.  Also, as has been the case the past few years, the USAWA Team Championships will be held at the Dino Gym that same weekend. 

The Team Championships are different than any other type of meet that you can enter.  It involves having a teammate that joins you in lifting – with BOTH of you lifting on the bar at the SAME TIME!  Team Lifting has three categories for Team Lifts:  2-Man (male & male), 2-Female (female & female), and Mixed Pair (female and male). The weight class the team is entered in is the weight class of the heaviest lifter, and the age group the team is entered in is the age class of the youngest lifter.  An exception is if a Junior lifter is teamed with a Senior (20-39 age) or Master Lifter (great than age 40).  In that case, the age class designation will be designated as open.

This is a fun event to compete in.  As I’ve said before – if you have a bad day you can always blame it on your partner!  And if you have a great day – you can take all the credit!   This is one of the “signature events” in the USAWA since it is one of our Championship Events, and the winners will be declared the USAWA Team Champions for the year. 

ENTRY FORM – TeamChampionships2013

Team Championships

by Al Myers

Group picture from the 2012 USAWA Team Championships. (front left to right): Al Myers, Chad Ullom, Mac Chapello, Jesse Jobe. (back row left to right): Jera Kressly, Doug Kressly, Darren Barnhart, LaVerne Myers, Dean Ross

What a GREAT WEEKEND!  The annual Dino Days Weekend started of with the USAWA Team Championships on Saturday and finished with the Dino Days Record Day on Sunday.   The Team Champs started out with a BANG, with 4 teams in attendance.  Chad and I lifted together again, Jobes Steel Jungle brought a team of Jesse Jobe and Mac Capello, two other Dino Gym members teamed up – Dean Ross and LaVerne Myers, and for the first time we had a Mixed Pair  (male & female) team compete.  Doug and Jera Kressly made their USAWA debut, and put up big lifts together. 

Jesse and Mac took "bragging rights" in the Team Bent Over Row, as they put up the top lift of the meet at 560 pounds.

Chad and I were able to defend our USAWA Team Title, but had some serious competition from the apes that represented Jobes Steel Jungle.  The KING APE Jesse brought a sibling primate along to team up with him, and Mac BABY CHIMP Chapello showed that he has what it takes to someday be the king of the jungle.  It was a close comp till the final event, the 12″ base deadlift, when Chad and I “pulled it out”.   We took what we needed for the win (1020#), and then took a fourth attempt which was successful with 1100#.   That now becomes the top 2-MAN deadlift of all-time in the USAWA, exceeding the effort of Bryan Benzel/Troy Goetsch (a couple other Jungle lifters) set earlier this year. 

Doug and Jera Kressly showed "perfect harmony" with each other all day long, as they won the first Mixed Pair Team Title in the history of the USAWA.

I can’t say enough how much I was impressed with Doug and Jera Kressly.  I have known both of them for many years (through the Highland Games), and I knew they would also be great All-Round lifters.  I sure hope they make it back to a USAWA competition soon.  Their Mixed Pair victory makes them the FIRST Mixed Pair team to win the USAWA Team Championships.  Hopefully next year, another Mixed Pair team will join in the fun of this competition so Doug and Jera can have some “two-on-two” competition.  I was especially impressed with their Team One Arm Clean and Jerk. 160 pounds is a HUGE lift for a 2-Man team, let alone a Mixed Pair team. 

LaVerne Myers and Dean Ross and their 380# Fulton Bar Ciavattone Grip Deadlift. These two teamed up quite nicely as they both are physically built very similar.

The Dino Gym’s OLD GEEZERS Dean Ross and LaVerne Myers showed up with one goal in mind, to beat the Mixed Pair team of Doug and Jera.  Doug and Jera was leading after the first two events, but then Dean and LaVerne used their strong callused hands  in the Fulton Bar Ciavattone Grip Deadlift to go past them.  It was a tense moment when Doug and Jera was deadlifing, after the OLD GEEZERS  had finished.  However, in the end the OLD GEEZERS edged them out (but ONLY because of the 29% age correction they received!).  So there are benefits to being a Senior Citizen Weightlifter!!

Al Myers and Chad Ullom and their record-setting team deadlift of 1100 pounds.

I want to thank everyone who attended this meet this year.  I especially want to thank Darren Barnhart for showing up just to officiate. Darren is “that guy” in the Dino Gym that I can always count on to show up to help out when he’s not competing, and I hate to think how much I owe him for the contributions he has made over the years.  

This is truly one of the “most fun” meets in the USAWA.  As I was explaining after the meet to Jesse, the reason I like this meet is because if you don’t do well in a lift – you can always blame it on your team mate.  That’s when I noticed the BABY CHIMP nodding his head in agreement…

MEET RESULTS:

USAWA Team Championships
Dino Gym
Abilene, Kansas
August 11th, 2012

Meet Director: Al Myers

Official: Darren Barnhart

Lifts: Clean and Jerk – 1 arm, Deadlift – Fulton bar, Ciavattone Grip, Bent Over Row, Deadlift – 12″ base

TEAMS:

Dino Gym – 115 KG Class, 40-44 Age Group, 2-Man
Al Myers – 45 years old, 247# BWT
Chad Ullom – 40 years old, 252# BWT

Jobes Steel Jungle – 110 KG Class, Senior Age Group, 2-Man
Jesse Jobe – 35 years old, 235# BWT
Mac Capello – 34 years old, 240# BWT

Team Kressly – 115 KG Class, Senior Age Group, Male/Female
Doug Kressly – 32 years old, 252# BWT
Jera Kressly – 27 years old, 209# BWT

The Old Geezers – 125 KG Class, 65-69 Age Group
Dean Ross – 69 years old, 274# BWT
LaVerne Myers – 68 years old, 250# BWT

Lifters C&J-1A DL-FB,CG Row DL-12″ Total Points
Myers & Ullom 260R 640 550 1020 2470 1970.8
Jobe & Capello 240R 600 560 950 2350 1903.7
Myers & Ross 85L 380 304 500 1269 1241.2
Team Kressly 160R 420 304 650 1534 1211.9

NOTES: All weights recorded in pounds. Total is total pounds lifted. Points are corrected points for age and bodyweight.

EXTRA LIFT FOR RECORD:

Myers & Ullom: Deadlift – 12″ Base 1100#

BEST LIFTER AWARDS:

Mixed Pair – Doug and Jera Kressly
Senior Age Group – Jesse Jobe and Mac Capello
Master 40+ Age Group – Al Myers and Chad Ullom
Master 60+ Age Group – LaVerne Myers and Dean Ross

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