The AWPC World Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships took place July 29-31, 2005 at the Purple Hotel in Lincolnwood, Illinois. This is the same venue as last year. It’s a great place to have a meet. The hotel restaurants are good but there’s also a wealth of restaurants and shopping within walking distance or a short bus ride down the street. It’s even an easy trip to downtown Chicago either by car or public transportation.
The meet began on Friday with the bench pressers. The women’s Open had basically two weight classes. The 148’s had Kim Hairston and Chicago Police Officer Kim Carter. Both are very strong but Hairston won 203 to 187.5. The unlimited class was a true clash of the titans. World Champion, 51 year old Sidney Thoms faced new comer, 37 year old Lisa Miller. Both women are from Illinois so every time these two show up at a meet it’s a contest. Sidney got a 325 within the meet with a 4th attempt world record 330. But it wasn’t quite enough. Lisa came in strong improving her result over her last meet. Her 347.5 world record was easily enough to take the Open Championship. A 3rd attempt 374.5 had just a slight bobble. She’ll have that and more in no time. Sidney received the silver in the Open and Gold in the Masters. Both women shared the best lifter honors with Lisa winning the Open and Sidney winning the Masters.
The women’s Master division was dominated by world record holders and champions in each class. Carol Krochmal, Susan Mies and Lisa Petergal, all of Illinois, improve at each championship. Breast cancer survivor Betty Tenorio is one great woman. At 75 years old and 181 lbs she’s returned from her valiant battle to compete again. She has a new world record. I look forward to seeing her at more meets soon.
Men’s Teen lifter Ronnie Mueller went 3 for 3 for a 440 gold. Juniors had two athletes. 165 lb Oleksandr Martynuk of Ukraine made world record and won best lifter Junior/Teen. Oleksandr came with the Ukrainian team to compete. Slovakia and a British Military team were unable to attend at the last minute due to visa problems. Mark Engle Jr. (275) went 3 for 3 for a beautiful 479.5 gold medal.
Men’s Open and Submaster 198’er Jeff Rebera (Michigan) competed bench only due to injury. His 501.5 brought him gold in both divisions. Illinois lifter Kevin Farley went 3 for 3 for his 501.5 gold medal winner. The 242’s has what looked like it could have turned into a real battle. Unfortunately, neither lifter made anything past their openers. So Rick Purdy (Texas) took the gold. Vitaliy Bobchenko (Ukraine) took the silver. 275 lb Chicago Police Officer Tommy Harrison is another "heart attack kid". If he ever harnesses that extraordinary strength he’ll be a super 700 + bench presser. Making one lift he got best lifter and the gold. 308’er Mike Gerard finished out the open division with a strong finish for gold and a new world record.
Submaster 275 lb lifter Dale Szymanski, a Bolingbrook Police Officer put up an enormous 573 for another victory. He’s a nice guy and always is an impressive lifter. 40-44 Masters, Bill Blackstone and Sam Luciano both won golds. Bill had an outstanding 3 for 3 – 380. Bill, Sam and Mike Gerard all took gold. 45-49 Mark Fadke (198) went 3 for 3 for gold. The 242’s had two fine competitors Mark Engle Sr. took silver. Gold medallist and Best Lifter Bob McConaughey blew the roof out with a 606. Retired Police officer Roger Ryan pushed 600 for his gold.
In the 50-54’s we saw two veteran lifters. It’s great to see Randy Egli back in competition. In addition to being a fine lifter, he’s also coached many outstanding lifters. Welcome Back! Dave Murphy’s been competing for quite a while. His 440 was enough for a gold and he had a good time doing it!
57 year old Dan Swift sort of blasted injured Ron Cuny out of the water. He took the 55-59 198’s by 115 lbs. 308 lb train engineer Tom Nelson pulled into the station with a 446 for his gold.
60-64, 198 lb lifters Jim Hussey and Walter Anczerewicz went head to head. Wally lifts without a shirt and lifts off for himself. Wally took silver by about 45 lbs to gold medallist Jim Hussey.
65 year old Floyd Kucharski from Iron Mountain, Michigan went 4 for 4 for his gold. An outstanding performance. And finally 70 year old Bruce Bianco got a nice 242.5 for his gold.
The full power division began on Saturday morning. The Women’s division had lifters from the teens to masters. One of the most impressive performances came from a trio of sisters: Sarah, Hannah and Abigail Biddle from Indiana. They need a lot more experience but each has a bright future in the sport. And I must admit I’m partial. They’re all musicians. Good combination! Returning champion of NY State Rachael Mayer posted a stellar total. She’s worked hard this year and it showed.
Another super performance came from junior lifter Jasmin Desrosier from Michigan. She’s a college student who lifted last year. She’s made outstanding progress this year coming away with her second World Championship.
The Master women came on strong from New England. Stephanie Ross just needs some confidence and she’ll be handling much bigger weights than she realizes. Jane Stabile at 176 lb bodyweight posted a very creditable 782.5 total. Susan McCallion in the 123’s made some beautiful lifts, matching her squats and deadlifts, Twynia Brewton returned to the platform as a USA team alternate after almost a year off with a serious knee injury. She’s back and will continue to make great gains.
The Open women showed real strength and finesse. 30 year old Alison Rogers (114 lb) set several records including a 341 world record 4th attempt deadlift to claim her gold. Brooke Fineis-Curry has become a premier lifter in the world. She’s really strong and a lot of fun. Her 1146 total establishes her up with the best in the 165’s. Kathy Saunders (Maine) had her first full meet at AAPF Nationals in Saco, Maine in April. She’s made extreme progress since then. If she keeps going (and I hope she will) the sky’s the limit for her.
The Teen men has some really strong kids. Illinois lifters did some great lifting. Juan (Junior) Silvestre lifted in his first Worlds. With a huge smile he went 8 for 9 for his first World Championship. Eric Lilliebridge stepped up to take Brother Ernie Jr’s place when he was injured 2 weeks before the meet. As usual he did a find job and set more records on his way to gold.
The 16-17 year old class showed remarkable strength and experience. Joshua Morris (181) and Paul Green (220) came in from the East Coast to compete. Both won gold, deservedly so. Zach Zenzen is one of our most experienced teen lifters. He set records with the largest total in his age group earning yet another World Championship.
In the 18-19 division Cam Clayton got off to a bit of a rocky start but picked up the pace nicely for a win. Kyle Davis of Maine posted the biggest total of all in the men’s Teens and Juniors, and he didn’t even have his best day. Once in a while a lifter comes along who shows such strength and perseverance that everyone just has to take note. Otis Brown is one of those lifters. Otis is a Special Ed student in Chicago. Call it karma or fate he was in the right place at the right time. He is fortunate enough to have his coach Dimitre (a former track coach from Bulgaria) who takes a huge interest in him. Otis lifts with power and a smile. He draws the crowd right along with him. He set all new world records and is now a World Champion.
The Junior men finished out the day on Saturday. 165’er Eric Cressey posted the biggest total of the division Dan Diemert also became a World Champion on that day. In the 198’s Travis (3000) Kaufman of Naperville, IL hadn’t had the day he wanted but he had a good solid meet! He works hard and it shows. Joliet, Illinois resident Nick Mezera is coached by multi World Champion and World Record holder Rudy Ruettiger. You can always tell when the lifter is one of Rudy’s boys. Nick’s been lifting since he was a teenager. He had a very nice day.
The Master men lifted on Sunday as did the Open men. In the 40-44 division 148er Mike Robinson of Illinois totaled 1240. He’s one of those strong silent types. He just smiles and goes about his business. Dyke Naughton (New York) came in injured and still set world records in the bench press. Absent from competition for several years, Leo Welch returned with a beautiful 1708 total. Bruce McCord wanted a better day but still took the gold in the 220’s. 275 champion Sam Tyler walked away with a 705-521-604-1841 total for his gold. He’s just too cute and too much fun to have a bad day.
In the 45-49 age group, Vincent Scelfo was alone in the class but he didn’t slack. He went 9 for 10, setting a fourth attempt world record squat of 452. The 165 class Manuel Rivera emerged the winner by a hefty margin. One of the last true nice guys, Steve Lumpe (Indiana) took the silver. He’s coached by the entire family and it works. Posting 1300 after a kind of tough day he’s always seen with a smile on his face. Taking the bronze was Mike Larsen, he’s been off the competition platform for a while. It looks like this is just a new start for him. The 181’s highlighted Bob Fabiano out of Michigan. His interest and support of the APF/AAPF are never in doubt. He got himself a very nice 413 world record bench press. Doug Morong finished out the age group with a nice 1604 total going 3 for 3 in the deadlift. Marc Terman (220) went 3 for 3 in the bench. Bob McConaughey out benched himself in the squat and deadlift. He put up a phenomenal 621 bench for a new World Record. Tim Lane (308) competed in his first World Championship. I think nerves played a bit of a role for this huge Mainer but he still got a nice 446 World Record Bench.
The 50-54’s had Rudy Ruettiger (181) from Joliet, IL, one of the all-time greats in Powerlifting. Not only is he a great lifter himself he gives back to the sport by coaching teens. In fact he spent a good amount of energy coaching his "boys". He took yet another World Championship in the Police and Fire. Gordon Wolfe had a good day. It took all 3 attempts to get a bench press in, but once he got it together it was a nice looking lift. 198’er Vince Donofrio’s 1438 gave him the gold and his first World Championship. Legendary lifter Dick Zenzen of Dekalb, IL won both the Master and Police & Fire divisions. Joe Smolinski came from Michigan to compete for his gold going 3 for 3 in the squat.
55-59 age group. Two well prepared and experienced lifters went to battle in the 148’s but it was Mike Wider (Indiana) who went 10 for 10 for a perfect day and the gold medal. Mike’s another lifter who just goes and has a good time. His competition Ted Feight (Michigan) had a good time also, but just couldn’t stay close and so received the silver. In the 165’s Jon Smoker, a veteran weightlifter and powerlifter from Indiana added another World Championship to his resume. He sets all kinds of records each time he competes and this was no exception. I really enjoy a meet in which Jon lifts. SHW John Magee, I call the heart attack kid. He’s from Hammond and he always gives me a heart attack! It took all three squats to get in the meet but he did and his gold was saved.
60-64 148’er Tony Noplos (Dekalb, IL) had his class to himself. His 1008 total was a record for him.
65-69 age group. The 148’s in this division has almost become a grudge match after all these years. Bronze medallist, new comer Kirby Anderson went 9 for 9 in his first Worlds appearance. But the fight for the gold pitted two long time challengers against each other. Fred Glass was ahead after the squat but Richard Gidcumb out benched him by about 100 lbs. That made it virtually impossible for Fred to catch Rich. And so Richard Gidcumb came away with records and the gold with a striking final total. 67 year old Rich Flores, it seems, just can’t be beaten. Even coming in with an injured back, he still went 3 for 3 in the squats. Unfortunately, the back started getting in the way. After making only one bench press he passed his 2 deadlifts and still he posted 1124 and Best Lifter honors. 66 year old Ed Brown came from the East Coast for his World experience. He went 3 for 3 in the squat to total 959 and takes the gold.
The oldest competitor in the competition was in the 75-79 age group, Eugene McCulloch traveled from Virginia for his gold. Eugene devised our Master coefficients for Best Lifter a few years back. He’s been a part of the APF-AAPF since the beginning.
The Submaster division had two strong lifters. The Submasters are only competed on a World basis in the AWPC, although records may be claimed by all qualified competitors. Charles Morse went 4 for 4 in the squat settling with a 550 world record squat. Going 3 for 3 in the bench, he missed a 4th for another world record. Finishing strong in the deadlift he posted a very strong 1295. 308’er Andrew Miller (Maine) posted a 9 for 9 lifter’s dream in his first World’s appearance.
The Men’s Open division started out with an explosion. That explosion was cancer survivor Rob Leoni. He went 10 times bodyweight. He cut to 114 which was not easy for him and still blew out all the records.
Eric Stone coming off a terrific showing at Senior Nationals in June, had a stellar day here as well. He went 9 for 9 for a 1571 total. He destroyed the records and took a well deserved gold.
The 181’s were an East Coast division. Putt Houston (New York) came in injured but took the silver. Louie Morrison from Maine had a resounding victory for the gold and also took Best Lifter. A fourth attempt 705 world record squat just built his confidence even more to take the class by over 200 lbs.
All three 198’s broke 1700. In fact gold (Jesse Soule) silver (Robert Clark) and bronze (Ronnie Paras) were separated by only 38 lbs. It was the closest competition of the meet.
The 242’s had two lifters who broke 2000. This was the only class to do it. Toby Irby went 8 for 9 for his gold. Tony Acome out of Nebraska took the silver with another one of his strong performances. Bronze went to Joshua Gottlieb who went 3 for 3 in the squat.
275’er Brandon Williamson took gold after an extended absence from competition.
In the 308’s Scott Edmiston lifted in Open and Master taking gold in the Masters and silver in the Open. Bob Bierschbach took gold with an outstanding 8 for 9 total.
Amy and Kieran put together a fine meet. Thanks to Officials John Burgard, Terry Dangerfield, Bob Kelly, Maris Anne Sternberg and Mike Sweeney. Without Amy Jackson expediting it would have been chaos. Also thanks to Pam Clayton and her daughter Jessica who kept the scoring totally under control so we had the placings out within minutes of the end of the meet. Rudy Ruettiger’s team did a phenomenal job of loading and spotting.
Thanks to Kieran’s crew who drove up the equipment. If I’ve left anyone out I sincerely apologize. It looks like AWPC Worlds 2006 is going to Michigan. Stay tuned for more info. Congratulations to all our new World Champions and to all the lifters. It was a great show.
Maris Anne Sternberg