JEFFERSON — It wasn’t total domination by northeast Georgia Lifters at the 2016 American Powerlifting Committee National Championships as the meet wrapped up Sunday at the Jefferson Civic Center, but it was pretty close.
In addition to numerous national championships National and World Records, local athletes came away with three Best Lifter Trophies out of the seven awarded, winning Best Men’s Benchpress-only, as well as Best Lifter in both Women’s and Men’s Full Power.
It was also a family affair for Tim and daughter Leslie Moon.
“T”- of Gainesville won the BL trophy in Bench-only while Leslie, of Braselton, won the women’s Full-power award in her first-ever powerlifting meet. Gainesville’s Marcell
Allen survived a spirited battle with two other lifters, including Helen’s Robert Morrison, to win the men’s Fullpower BL.
In the formula used to calculate the Best Lifter, only 2.8 points separated Allen from the third place Morrison. Allen is co-owner of the Iron Beast, the originating gym of the Georgia IronDawgs, who took another team National Benchpress Championship.
Lifting Saturday in the 100 k/220.46 lbs. raw fullpower (squat, bench, and deadlift) Open class Allen totaled 795/1,752.65. Sunday, the 285-pound “T” Moon had the heaviest bench of the meet with an equipped opener of 340/749.56 to win the National Championship in the MM 50-54, 140 kg/308.64lbs. division. (Sunday athletes 110 kilograms/242.51 pounds and above lifted. Lighter lifters went Saturday.)
“It was good,” Leslie Moon said of her first meet, where on Saturday she won the raw Junior Women’s title at 67.5 kilograms/148.81 pounds with her total on the three lifts of 280kg./617.29 lbs. The best part? “Competing with my dad.”
“It’s really neat,” said T Moon about being in the same meet with his daughter. “I’m really proud of her.” Moon notes he trains alongside his daughter quite a bit, but “to see her do it in competition, it’s a whole different ballgame than doing it in the gym.”
T Moon attempted to break his own all-time, all-class bench mark for lifters over 50 with his final attempt of 375/826.73, but could not lock out the weight, although he has done close to that mark in competition.
The newest Georgia IronDawg is Gainesville’s Chris Dimeo, who won the National Bench Title Medal in the MM 40-44 125k/275.56 lbs. class with his press of 192.5/424.39. Sunday Dimeo helped the IronDawgs take home the team bench trophy and was awarded that memento by IronDawg team captain, R. Garry Glenn of Oakwood.
“We’ve won several of these (National Trophies),” said Glenn. “Most everyone on the team has one. We had some of our folks missing for this meet due to commitment or injury, but we’re still usually the team to beat on the bench. Chris is really stout and took up a lot of slack. I thought he deserved to take home that hardware.”
Other members of the bench-only team include husband/wife Russ and Dana Tripp of Lawrenceville, Gainesville’s George Bradley and Zack Layfield of Flowery Branch. All were national champs in their respective classes. Glenn, who Saturday won his second national title in push/pull (bench, deadlift), listed himself as an alternate on the 6-person bench team.
“Really?” asked a surprised Dimeo holding the trophy. “It’s nice,” he continued. “I get to lift with the best guy in the world here,” Dimeo said indicating Moon. “(You) can’t ask for much more than that… The comradery (of lifting); the rush; the intensity; (the physical) focus- it’s all good.”
As for goals? “Next PR (personal record),” said Dimeo.
“Gotta get stronger,” added T Moon.
Helen’s Morrison had the heaviest full-power total of the meet with National Records across the board in squat (305/672.4); bench (192.5/424.39);deadlift (345/760.59); and total (842.5/1,857.38) in winning the Submaster’s (35-39) men’s 125 kilo class.
Floridian Uwe Thormann, who has lifted with the IronDawgs, won the raw MM 55-59, 110/242.51 push/pull class and broke his own marks with a new National and World Record push/pull deadlift of 235/518.08 on a 4th lift. That also gave him a WR total of 370k/815.7 lbs. Jefferson’s Andy Williamson, another sometimes ‘Dawg, won the Raw MM 50-54 110 kilogram push/pull class with a new divisional national record of 168.5/371.48 on the bench press and a total of 398.5/878.53. That total would have been higher, but Williamson had to retire from the competition after tweaking a hamstring on his second deadlift attempt.
Other Best Lifters were Amy Rudder of Winchester, Tennessee in women’s bench-only women with an equipped press of 105/231.48; James Thomas of Riverdale, Georgia in Men’s Raw Deadlift-only with 200/440.92; Joni Reynolds of Eatonton, Georgia in Women’s Raw Push/pull at 170/374.78; and Anthony Ford of Montgomery, Alabama in Raw Men’s Push/Pull at 435/959.
The APC plans for two more competitions this year, The America’s Cup in September at the Iron Beast in Gainesville with all classes; as well as a push/pull, bench and deadlift meet in Thomson in November.
The Global Powerlifting Alliance (Raw) and International Powerlifting Organization (Equipped) World meets will be held at the same time this coming December in Moscow, Russia.
For complete results of the 2016 AP Nationals and more information on upcoming competitions, visit the APC web-site at www.americanpowerliftingcommitte-usa.com.
