THE  2003 APF/AAPF ILLINOIS STATE POWERLIFTING AND BENCH CHAMPIONSHIPS, March 29, 2003, Park Forest, Illinois

 

  

The APF/AAPF Illinois State Meet was held on Saturday, March 29, 2003. The venue was Rich East High School in Park Forest.  This is a great place for a meet.  It’s large and roomy enough to run a two-platform meet, which was the case here.  The warm up area was the high school weight room so that was very nice, too.  Between the equipment provided by the school and Frantz Sports, the lifters had the best available. 

 

There were 37 lifters in the AAPF full power meet.  A majority of the teen lifters were from Kaneland HS, coached by World Champions Gary Baum and Stanley DuPlessis.  There were some very outstanding performances. Best Lifters were Rob Leoni (Open), Jim Swanson (Junior), Andrew Kolodziej (Heavy).  Sharra Powell won the BL for the women.  World Champion, Sidney Thoms set new Master and Open records.  Other fine performances came from Chris Therman, Isaac Levario, Tony Luna, Ajit Gogawale, Rich Anderson, Mario Nigro, and Dick Zenzen.  Best Lifter in the Bench Press only division went to Jim Pinkard.

 

The APF Full Power Meet was almost mind boggling for a state meet.  Noel Levario, Isaac’s Dad, squatted 942.5 on his way to winning Best Lifter Open.  Teenager Nathan Gentges won BL Teen.  He is one of the strongest kids I’ve seen in a long time.  Other great performances came from Mario di Beneditti, Alex Klest and Alan Baehr.  The Best Lifter in the Bench Press only division was no surprise:  Bill Carpenter.

 

Many thanks to Sponsor and Meet Director Ernie Frantz and his staff at Frantz Sports.  The loaders and spotters did some fancy catching, saving several lifters from sure injury.  Thanks to judges Bob Spaulding, Ernie Frantz, Byron Gregory, Dick Zenzen, Willie Wessells, Jose Garcia, Mike Sweeney, and Gary Baum.  I want to say a special thanks to my table help Dave Laff, Trudie, and particularly, Amy Jackson.  My job as announcer was much easier thanks to them.

 

The totals here can be used as qualifying totals for any other APF/AAPF meets.  Remember, if it doesn’t come out of APF/AAPF/WPC/AWPC Headquarters in Aurora, IL, it is NOT a legitimately sanctioned meet.

 

Maris Anne Sternberg, Sec’y and Record Keeper, APF/AAPF/WPC/AWPC