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MN USAPL NEWS
MN at 2008 NAPF Championships
Minnesota Lifters Represent the USA in Aruba
Three veteran lifters from Minnesota competed on Team USA at the 6th NAPF/IPF North American Regional Powerlifting Championships in Oranjestad, Aruba, held June 18-21, 2008. The competition included 133 nominations from 12 countries – the largest NAPF/IPF championship ever held in the Caribbean region thus far. Cheryl Anderson(Women’s Open 105), Mitch Edelstein (Men’s Open and Master 40-49 220) and Brad Gillingham (Men’s Open SHW) collectively won 9 medals – 8 golds and 1 silver – for the United States. However, even after strong training cycles, each lifter had to drop his or her opener and make adjustments to meet goals due to the hot and humid tropical climate conditions at the venue.
After an eight-month break from competing, Cheryl Anderson went 7/9 and placed first in the Women’s Open 48 kg. (105 lb.) class. She missed her opener squat of 243 lbs. due to incorrect rack height resulting in a loss of balance, ending with a 265 lb. squat on her third attempt. Maria Luisa Vasquez of Guatamala edged her out with a 275 lb. squat in this lift. However, Cheryl recovered with bench presses that were greeted with 9 white lights and a new NAPF bench press record of 171 lbs. She ended with a strong 314 lb. deadlift, just missing 331 – and two more potential NAPF records – after grabbing the bar unevenly. Her 749 lb. total contributed first place points to the USA Women’s Team, which placed first overall.
In his first international meet, Mitch Edelstein opened with an easy 551 lb. squat but missed his second attempt of 573 due to depth; he nailed it on his third with the help of a depth call from team coach Sioux-z Hartwig-Gary. It seemed the “sticky and sweaty” environment made gear fit – and function – differently for many lifters, which became apparent going into the next lift. In this weight class alone, no less than four lifters bombed out of the meet with no benches passed, including Mitch and the other Team USA member in the Open 220s, Rocco DeStefano. However, Mitch continued into what then became a deadlift competition: at Mitch’s request, both Cheryl and Men’s Team Head Coach Matt Gary monitored whatever attempts were submitted by Mitch’s closest competitors, Adrian Brown and Mark Johnson of Trinidad & Tobago, and turned in 2.5 kg. higher to maintain a lead. It was evident that Adrian and Mitch were vying for the gold in the last attempts of this lift when some changes were made at the last minute; but Mitch emerged victorious with a textbook-style 639 lb. pull. Adrian later told Mitch that the terrific competition pushed him to achieve a PR 634 lbs., though the president of his powerlifting organization had told him to “put some more weight on there.” Adrian gave Mitch a pin of the Trinidad and Tobago flag and told him that when he beats him, he would be taking the souvenir back!
Big Brad (“Billy”) Gillingham was far more familiar with competing in tropical conditions. The tall Superheavyweight consumed a liberal amount of salt at Tony Roma’s the night before his meet but still weighed in at a svelte 326 lbs. Team USA coaches and helpers had to borrow plates from the competition platform to assist Brad with warming up with an adequate amount of weight in the warm up area. He started with a series of strong squats, receiving debatable red lights on second, but ended with a solid 838 lbs. His opening bench of 573 lbs. looked strong as well, but after a change of shirts, two attempts with 601 fell out of the groove. Just as with the other two lifters from Minnesota, deadlifts were the welcome icing on the cake – and Big Brad’s left plenty of room to spare. He sailed through 772, 821 and 854 lbs., winning the gold over Henderson Martin and Kerron Commisiong of Trinidad & Tobago and qualifying for the 2009 World Games; then, he was greeted by a storm of fans who requested photo opportunities with the likeable giant.