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Wow! What a great weekend for Power Lifting in
Minnesota, and the Nation. MN was well represented
this weekend at the Men’s Nationals in Rapid City,
SD. It was great to see so many lifters and coaches
from MN at this meet. First of all though, I would
like to say thank you to Steve Howard and the show
he put on for Men’s Nationals and I look forward to
seeing more events from him in the future. |
On to the lifting, Peter Wong had a good day getting
all three squats and performing solidly in the other
lifts. Peter took a solid second in the 123s behind
Halloway.
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Paul Wong had trouble through the day only getting
his opener in each of the lifts. Needless to say
Paul finished 6th just 50 Kilos shy of
first place in a hotly contested division.If he had
gotten what we all know he is capable of Paul would
have finished near, if not at, the top.
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Tony Reid placed well in a very competitive division
with many legends of lifting in the competition. I
had a chance to talk with Tony after the competition
and though he did well he feels that he could have
done better. Finishing 5th in this
weight class Tony did Minnesota proud.
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The 220s had three MN lifters in the
competition and proved to be the most exciting
division to watch during the weekend. Mitch
Edelstein coming off of the flu proved that even
when sick he can still compete. Though thoroughly
disgusted with his lifting and claiming the desire
to quit I expect to see more of Mitch and
improvements in the future. |
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Tom had the makings of a great day going 3/3 on his
squats after making the move up to the 220s this
past year. The most talked about bench press at the
meet came from Tom Hines, who wrapped his left wrist
a little too tight. Tom on his second attempt took
479lbs on the hand off and as he got the press
signal his grip failed and dropped the weight on his
chest. Although this can be a devastating injury
Tom was able to joke about it at the North Dakota
After Meet Party, and he is doing well with no
lasting injuries beyond bruising. Tom was able to
come back after this accident and take 479 for a
third attempt although it was not passed. He then
took a token DL in order to preserve his numbers on
the Squat. Tom was also seen to call for 27.5 Kilos
on the Deadlift while sitting out in the crowd
watching the loaders tear 350Kg off the bar. |
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The Powerlifting Freak of the Day was Nick
Tylutki, with shirts to proclaim it. Apparently
Nick’s father Pete got T-Shirts made for all of the
family and friends that attended the meet to show
support for him. Nick had an awesome day going 3/3
in the squats with lots left in him finishing with
340 Kilos. His benches were on as well only having
trouble with 212.5 Kilos on his third. Nick took an
easy 320 opener and jumped to 340, which didn’t go
up right. Adding 2.5 Kilos Nick attempted his last
and it was passed. During this time Nick was
competing with two individuals that were a bench and
a DL specialist. Although able to stem off the
attacks of the bencher Nick was unable to stop the
dead lifter who called for just enough weight to win
the competition with a controversial last lift of
the session. |
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Brad Madvig was on for the day taking seventh in
the deepest division of the meet. The 275ers had 19
lifters and some amazing lifts. Brad ended up with
PRs all around after needing to cut 15lbs in the two
weeks prior to the meet and 5lbs over the weekend.
Going 8/9 Brad was able to officially hit 1940 lbs.
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Greg Wagner did MN proud by taking fourth only 12.5
Kilos out of first. Greg had trouble getting his
Deads to go up and his final bench press. Greg had
a great day and group of people cheering for him
through the meet. Greg Collins had a great day as
well taking what I believe were PRs all around.
Greg had some trouble with balance on his first
squat, but was able to come back and smoke two more
to prove he had the power to compete. Taking 9th
in the Supers Greg showed the improvements he has
made in the recent years. |
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Brad Gillingham came back from recent bicep
surgery to go 9/9 showing us what, as he stated
during the lift, “textbook” squats and dead lifts
were all about. Brad came back again from seemingly
overwhelming odds to prove he still has what it
takes to be one of the best. In a fitting end to
the Nationals Brad took the last DL of the day at
367.5 Kilos raising his arms overhead in another
personal victory and giving that single bicep a flex
showing that it works. |
Credits:
Write up by Ken Andrs.
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