APF/AAPF Jersey Open
January 13, 2007
Carteret, NJ

AAPF FULL POWER		SQUAT		BENCH		DEAD		TOTAL	
97 WOMENS TEEN 13-15
Meg Tafuri				170			95			170		435	
123 WOMENS TEEN 16-17
Bethany Selph			200			105			230		535
132 WOMENS MASTERS
Ellen Stein*				340			170			380		890
114 TEEN 16-17
Josh Tafuri				265			190			250		705
123 TEEN 16-17
Bill Digese				225			145			275		645
148 TEEN 16-17
John Brida				400			245			435		1080
Phil Colombia			400			245			435		1080	
165 TEEN 13-15
John Cultera				275			200			340		815
165 OPEN RAW
Mike Trapani				420			265			520		1205	
198 TEEN 16-17
Kevin Piompino			450			315			470		1235
198 TEEN 16-17
Brian Deturo				405			265			400		1070
198 JUNIOR
Brian Bott				600			375			500		1475
198 OPEN RAW
Max Skrerchak			450			330			525		1305
220 MASTERS RAW
Bill Schemel				430			305			485		1220
242 OPEN
Chris Weaver				600			350			600		1550
242 MASTERS RAW
Pat Susco				675			300			625		1600
275 OPEN
Norman Rial				720			555			705		1980
Rob Fishbein				750			525			515		1790
275 MASTERS
Franz Adler				275			270			320		865

APF FULL POWER			SQUAT	BENCH	DEAD	TOTAL

220 TEEN 18-19
Chris Dellafave				600		400		615		1615
220 SUBMASTER
Mark Williams				600		465		505		1570
Steve Nilsen					550		470		455		1475
308 OPEN
Ron Simone					450		485		600		1535
Billy Mimnaugh				---		---		---		----

AAPF IRONMAN 				BENCH		DEAD	TOTAL

198 OPEN
Joe Ruscitelli						430			590		1020
SHW TEEN RAW
Pat Schell						355			555		910

APF IRONMAN					BENCH		DEAD	TOTAL

181 MASTERS						
Rick Ingravers					345			575		920
275 OPEN
Dan Martin						625			400		1025
Joel Killen						475			540		1015

AAPF BENCH					BENCH

132  OPEN RAW
Graig Oteri						225
220 POLICE/FIRE
Rick Hess *						530
242 SUBMASTER RAW
Tyrone Davis						405

APF BENCH					BENCH

123 WOMENS MASTERS RAW
Marcy Stein						125
165 OPEN
Brandon Greene					365
165 OPEN RAW
Ronald Porterfield					315
165 OPEN RAW
Rich Sanchez						175
198 OPEN
Bill Ross						480
242 MASTERS RAW
Jeff Anderson					330
275 OPEN
Rodney Roller					600
275 OPEN RAW
Jim Farina						425

AAPF DEADLIFT							DEADLIFT

148 WOMENS OPEN
Tamika Bixton								200
181 OPEN
Anthony Nacco								455
220 OPEN
Anthony Ditillo Jr.								455
242 SUBMASTERS
Todd Williams								655

On Saturday January 13,2007 Henri Skiba and Skiba’s Barbell Club hosted the inaugural APF/AAPF Jersey Open Powerlifting Championships at Carteret High School, in Carteret, NJ. This is a great location for a meet because it is located right off the New Jersey Turnpike at Exit 12. Lifters from up and down the Eastern Seaboard can get to this location without any hassle with directions and a brand new hotel and restaurant are located only minutes away. 
	Over the years, we have had several APF and IPA meets in NJ, but never with enough consistency to build a following in the state. Most of our lifters traveled to Iron Island Gym in Oceanside, NY, York Barbell in York, PA, Nazareth Barbell, in Nazareth, PA, and recently to Iron Asylum Gym in Tribes, NY to compete. 
This meet was intended to be the beginning of a rebirth for APF/AAPF Powerlifting in NJ. We new it would not be easy to regain the trust of some who had lifted at previous meets and were dissatisfied with certain aspects of the meets, but we were willing to try our best to change things for the better, instead of just sitting back and complaining. I feel that we certainly accomplished our first goal, which was to run a quality, no frills local level meet for area lifters. We could have never accomplished this goal without the support of the Carteret Board of Education and our many powerlifting friends from all over NY, NJ, PA, and Conn. Lifters make a meet, but without the proper help the meet will turn into a disaster quickly! I have been involved in powerlifting for over 20 years and most of the “disasters” I’ve been to happened, not because the meet directors heart wasn’t in the right place, but that he had inadequate help! I would like to start by thanking Henri for providing us with a venue to run the meet and for all the little “unseen” things he did in preparation leading up to meet. I’d like to also thank my good friends Butch Smith and Pete Bowlby for volunteering to judge and/or spot and load all day. I knew that with Butch and Pete in the chairs the lifters would be judged strictly and fairly. These guys have been around a long time and are not intimidated by big numbers! Shawn Lattimer, Ted Morris, Zane McCaslin, and Dave Kirschen also pitched in to spot and load or judge whenever needed and did an outstanding job. Overall, I feel that the meet was judged well! I always feel that if you can walk away from a meet without feeling that the judges were giving away the house (passing obviously poor lifts) or stealing from the house (turning down obviously good lifts) then I think the meet was judged well! We will all make mistakes from time to time and we will never all agree on each call, but that is why there are three judges present for each attempt.
 The spotting and loading was excellent under the direction of Chris DelPreore and Damon Byrd. They had many helpers throughout the day, but all took their jobs seriously and kept the lifters safe. Sandy McCaslin and Jules Furniss handled the head table and announcing like the two veterans that they are. Thanks, you guys kept everything running smoothly. When Zane was not judging or spotting he was taking video of the entire meet and they can be seen along with some photos at http://www.ironasylumgym.com/videospage.html. Last but not least, I want to thank Gene Rychlak for supporting the meet. I have known Gene for many years and he has always been an ambassador for the sport. Gene drove three hours in the pouring rain so we could have another monolift if we needed it. How many WR Holders would do that for you? Before I get into the actual lifting highlights, I would like to mention that the platform equipment was top notch. We had a 12x12 carpeted platform, a monolift, a Reflex Squat Bar, an EFS Competition Bench w/suede top, a York Power Bar, and a Texas Deadlift Bar for the lifters to perform their lifts on. Unfortunately, I feel that the warmup area could have been better equipped, but that will be rectified before the next meet.
	We had 44 lifters compete in our inaugural AAPF/APF Jersey Open which was much more than we originally expected. The highlight of the day in my eyes was the overall performance of the Monsignor Donovan H.S. Powerlifting Team, under the watchful eye of coach Mark Deppen! I have had the pleasure of seeing this team compete in the past, but every time I am in their presence I can’t stop thinking, “Why can’t this be the way high school strength training programs are run around the country!” Mark’s teams exemplify what a well-coached team in any sport should. It is obvious that they are being taught the proper way to train and compete because every member of the team has solid form and refuses to quit on a weight! Coach Deppen is also very protective of his young lifters and carefully selects their attempts based on their previous training cycle and how they look that day! He does not get caught up in the moment, but rather uses his head instead of his heart to pick attempts for these young lifters. Most of his lifters go 7-9,8-9,or 9-9 with room to spare. Coach Deppen may not be an “internet icon” but certainly knows how to get his job done!
There were several other outstanding performances that deserve special mention. Ellen Stein is a former IPF Women’s Master World Champion, who I’ve know for many years, but she continues to impress me with AAPF American Master records of 340,170,380,890. In the 242 AAPF Master Raw Division, another one of my long time friends, Pat Susco, continues to move tremendous weights in the squat and deadlift. This former Roller Derby star squatted 675 and deadlifted 625 without any of today’s modern powerlifting equipment. In the AAPF 275 Division, we had two lifters with tremendous potential! Norman Rial, trains with the infamous Billy Mimnaugh, at Southside Gym in Stratford, Conn. He hit lifts of 720,555,705 for a 1980 total. Trust me, there is plenty more in his tank! Billy also came to lift, but unfortunately had trouble reaching depth in the squat and was out of the meet. Billy is recovering from a ruptured patella tendon and is still not 100% mentally or physically. Billy is hard core old school, so I know he will be back! The other lifter in this class was Rob Fishbein, who is coached by long time lifter Frantz Adler. Obviously, Frantz has been teaching his pupil the right things as Rob went 750, 525,515. Rob has the structure to be a full 308, if not possibly a SHW, and I think this is where he needs to be to really shine on the platform. In the single lift portion of the meet there were several lifters that caught everyone’s attention. Rich Hess bench pressed an AAPF Police/Fire American Record of 530 in the 220lb. class. Rodney Roller benched 600 in the APF 275 Division. He carries a ton of muscle and has room for much improvement once he learns the ins and outs of “shirt” usage. Jim Farina trains with Sandy and Zane at the Iron Asylum, so he came down to support the meet and bench an easy 425 in the APF 275 Raw Division. The last single lift lifter that I’d like to make special mention of is Todd Williams who deadlifted and easy 655 in the APF Submaster 242 Division. He is extremely explosive and will pull 700+ in the near future!
	
Where do we go from here? I hope to see more AAPF/APF or even IPA Meets run in New Jersey!
I have learned over the years that it is not the letters in front of the meet name that determines the success of the meet, but rather the people and support staff that run the meet! I have always done my best to support powerlifting throughout the country and will continue to do so as long as people are interested in running quality meets with the lifter’s needs first and foremost in mind. I would like to see two major meets run in New Jersey each year, with the possibility of running a third separate meet for HS lifters only, in the near future. If anyone is interested in running a meet from single lift to full power with either the APF/AAPF or IPA, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jtb2040@aol.com. 

Until next time…………….
Stay Healthy & Strong!
John Bott