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MN USAPL NEWS
2006 USA Powerlifting Bench Nationals
| September 2nd and 3rd |
| Charlotte, North Carolina |
| By Maura Shuttleworth |
The 2006 USA Powerlifting Bench Press Nationals II in Charlotte, North Carolina was in event not to be missed! Jen and Donovan Thompson put on a first class event in their debut as national meet directors. They really set a new standard for national meets. But more on that after we get to the main event – the outstanding performances by Minnesota lifters!
Only five Minnesota lifters attended the 2006 USAPL Bench Press Nationals. But those five lifters cleaned up! Minnesota came home with four gold medals – not bad for having only five lifters there. The Minnesota women (Fran Huston and Maura Shuttleworth) placed fourth in the Battle of the States.
Maura Shuttleworth got the Minnesota crew off to a great start. She successfully defended her national title on the bench at 105 pounds in a fierce battle with the very tough Ann Leverett. In the type of battle rarely seen in the light-weight women’s classes, Maura and Ann were neck and neck through all three attempts. After Maura spent most of the day on Friday in the sauna, the two lifters weighed in at the exact same body weight. This meant that the usual rule that the lighter lifter wins in the event of a tie did not apply. Instead, whoever does the weight first wins. Ann had the lower lot number and so lifted first. Both Maura and Ann opened with 75 kg (165 pounds). This was a good lift for both lifters. Ann put in 80 kg (176 pounds) for her second attempt. Maura matched this. Again, both lifters made 176 pounds on the second attempt. Ann then put in 82.5 kg (182 pounds) for her third attempt. Maura, going for the win, put in 85 kg (187 pounds). Ann upped her attempt to 187. Maura’s handler was waiting and ready to put in 87.5 kg (192 pounds) if Ann made her attempt. Ann locked out the 187, but the lift was disqualified on a technical ruling. Maura went out and made her third attempt at 187 for the win. Maura’s lift was also a new Minnesota state record, a new national meet record, and the biggest bench yet this year by a 105-pound lifter in the United States (at least according to the USAPL rankings database). Maura also had the fourth highest Wilkes formula out of all 27 women lifters at the Bench Press Nationals.
Next on stage for Minnesota was the always feisty and infamous Fran Huston. In addition to being a world-caliber lifter, Fran is a fifty-seven year old proud grandmother of four. Fran had a big opener with 115 kg (253.5 pounds). She missed her opener due to issues with her bench shirt, but it was clear that she had plenty of strength to do that weight and more. After listening to her coach for the meet, Nectar Kirkiris, Fran increased the weight to 117.5 kg (259 pounds) for her second attempt. Fran put up the 259 pounds with plenty of power and it was a good lift. For her third attempt, Fran went up to 125 kg (275.5 pounds). Wow – that is a big bench! Again, the weight flew up off her chest with plenty of power. She locked it out and everyone was cheering. Fran was so happy to put this weight up that she relaxed a moment too soon. Right before she got the rack command, one of Fran’s arms dipped a little, so the lift was disqualified. Fran’s second attempt, 259 pounds, was a new national meet record. She also won the Masters 4 category for her weight class and brought home another gold medal to Minnesota! Fran had the fourth highest Wilkes formula for all the masters women. Fran displayed great strength and power at this meet. She is sure to be benching 300 in no time at all! That will be something to see! Bring on the ESPN crews!
Minnesota’s next lifter was the outstanding and super strong Luke Hanifen lifting in the 165-pound weight class. Luke is a new addition to Team Minnesota, having moved here from Colorado just this summer. Luke had a rough day at this year’s Bench Nationals, but will be back and stronger than ever soon. He opened up with 200 kg (440 pounds). Luke had trouble on this attempt and didn’t get the lift. He then stayed with 200kg for his second attempt. Luke put up the second attempt and locked it out. He got two white lights. Then, the jury overturned the judges’ call and disqualified the lift. The call was for Luke’s butt coming off the bench, but from where I was standing it looked like a good lift. Luke then put on his new Katana bench shirt and went up to 217.5 kg (479.5 pounds) for his third attempt. Unfortunately, this was not a good lift either. Luke is one of the most promising young lifters in the USAPL. He is only 24 years old and already benching huge numbers. For those of you who don’t know, Luke was on the USAPL Bench Worlds team for the 2006 IPF Bench Press Worlds in Milskolc, Hungary. There, he benched a big 430 pounds and placed sixth at his first IPF Worlds! Look for many huge lifts to come from Luke!
Gary Edwards started off Day 2 for Team Minnesota. Gary competed in the Masters 3, 220 pound weight class. The 220s was a huge weight class with around 24 men competing overall. To give you a little background, Gary had shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum tear in his left shoulder back in November 2004. Gary said this was his first “serious” contest since his surgery where he felt that his shoulder was fully healed. Gary definitely showed that he is back and stronger than ever! He opened with 170 kg (374 pounds), which he called a “conservative opener”. This weight flew up with no problem and the judges declared it a good lift. He then went up to 182.5 kg (402.25 pounds) for his second attempt! Gary’s previous contest PR was 407.9 pounds back in 2004. He easily put up the 402.25 pounds for a new post-surgery PR! Gary then decided to go for an all time personal record of 187.5 kg (413.25 pounds). The weight flew off his chest but he couldn’t quite lock it out. Next meet for sure, though. Gary won the Masters 3 category at 220 and garnered another gold medal for Team Minnesota. Gary’s success just goes to show that you can come back from surgery and that there are no limits in this sport!
Last but definitely not least for Minnesota was Michael Ricker, lifting in the Men’s Super Heavy Weight category. Michael went three for three and won the gold in the Masters 1 category. Michael opened with 212.5 kg (468.25 pounds). He easily got that attempt and went up to 227.5 kg (501.5 pounds) for his second attempt. Michael’s second attempt was also no problem. He finished up with a successful attempt at 232.5 kg (512.5 pounds)!
A new addition to the Bench Press Nationals this year was the “rep your weight” contest. Women repped 75% of their body weight, men up to 198 repped their body weight, and men over 198 repped 225 pounds. Maura Shuttleworth was the only Minnesota lifter who participated in this fun. Maura did 37 reps with 75% of her body weight to win the rep your weight contest for all the women! Definitely lots of great lifting by Minnesota lifters at Bench Nationals!
The meet was an outstanding production from every perspective! Jen and Donovan Thompson thought of every detail. The meet hotel, the Omni Hotel, is a first-class, luxury hotel right in downtown Charlotte. The location was ideal. The lifters were within easy walking distance of numerous restaurants, fun things to do, and even a grocery store. The Omni Hotel has a Core Fitness Gym right off the lobby of the hotel. Core Fitness gave the lifters complimentary use of their saunas and even kept the gym open extra late on Friday night for those lifters cutting mad amounts of weight (or just procrastinating).
The venue was a theatre only a short five blocks from the meet hotel. There was plenty of room for warm-ups and spectators. It was also very spectator-friendly as the lifters were up on stage and the spectators were in the theatre seats.
And what would any bench meet be without the fabulous lift-off specialist, Eric Curry. Eric’s lift-offs are incredible. You always know you are in good hands when he is doing the lift-offs. The most amazing thing about Eric is that he does lift-offs for the entire meet and never even appears to get tired. I have heard that Eric has a special training regimen specifically to hone his lift-off skills. As we all know, a good lift-off can make all the difference in the world on a bench, so an extra special thanks to Eric from all the Minnesota lifters at Bench Nationals!
Jen and Donovan also hosted an after-party on Sunday evening at a local bar only a few blocks from the meet hotel. This was a great opportunity for all the lifters to mingle and kick back. One of the highlights of the evening was seeing Scott Lade’s world record bench on the local news with everyone in the bar cheering! Hopefully, Jen and Donovan will be hosting many more national meets in Charlotte!
Way to go Team Minnesota! Now it’s time to hit the weights and get ready for the next meet! The great thing about powerlifting is that there are always more records to break and limits to test!
For full results click here.