COMMERCE — The comeback trail was the story of the day at the 2019 American Powerlifting Committee (APC) National Championships at the Titanz Fitness Gym near Commerce Saturday.
A number of northeast Georgia lifters battled their way back through injuries and rehabilitation to win National Titles and set records.
The day featured husband/wife and father/son duos taking home championships as well; and members of the Georgia IronDawgs, a powerlifting team with local ties; also wound up with National Championship certificates in a meet where the competitors ranged in age from 13-65.
The heaviest lifts of the day in different classes went to the ‘Dawgs Joey Murphy, Uwe Thormann, Michael Kidd, and Dana Tripp. Other lifters not affiliated with the IronDawgs recording heaviest totals were Macon's Hunter McClesky and Danielsville’s Marlena Gorman.
Murphy, of Mt. Airy, had the heaviest lift of the day in the benchpress-only category as he set a National Equipped Record in taking the title in the Master’s Men’s 110 kilogram/242.51 pound weight class. He set the new mark of 272.5kg./600.75 lbs. on a fourth lift. The lift was also an International Powerlifting Organization (IPO) World Record as well. Fourth lifts are granted if the lifter is successful with a third lift and is trying for a record. Murphy had benched 260/573.2 on his third. Murphy was the only competitor of the day who lifted Equipped. The rest of the field competed “Raw” or without the special bench-press shirts and/or squat suits.
Thormann, of Palm Harbor, Florida, had the heaviest push/pull (bench/deadlift) total of the day with a 350/771.61 effort in the MM 60-64, 125 kilo/275.58 lb. division. Kidd, of Homer, won the deadlift only in the MM 60-64, 100/220.46 class with a world-record pull of 182.5 kg/ 402.34 lbs. Kidd also won the Full Power (squat, bench, deadlift) class in his division with World Records in the three lifts as he totaled 387.5/854.28). Dana Tripp of Monroe won the National Championship in Women’s bench only, winning the title in the Master’s Women’s, 45-49, 67.5 kg/148.81 lbs. with her lift of 47.5/104.72, the heaviest women’s bench-only mark. (Tripp’s husband, Russ, won the MM, 50-54, 82.5kg/181.88 lb. bench-only class with a press of 140/308.64.).
Heaviest Full-Power totals went to McClesky, of Macon, in the Men’s Open, 100-kilo class with a total of 840/1,851.86. (McClesky also had the heaviest raw bench of the day at 235/518.08); and Danielsville’s Gorman with National marks in all three lifts, plus the total when she combined her efforts for a total of 252.5/556.66, as she won the Women’s 75 kilo/165.35,18-19 class. She bumped the National record in the full-power deadlift in the division to 107.5/236.99 on a fourth lift.
The dean of the ‘Dawgs, and of this meet was 65-year old R. Garry Glenn of Oakwood. Getting back on the lifting platform after a two-year absence due to a series of surgeries and re-habilitations, Glenn wound up setting state and national records in the MM 65-69, 90 kg/198.41 lbs. bench-only class when he bested a record which had stood since 2010 with his last lift of 138 kilos/304.23 lbs.
“It was a true ‘Praise the Lord’ moment,” Glenn said. “The record I broke belonged to James Rouse, who is sort of an icon in the sport, and I am very happy and humbled to do it. Thanks to my family and friends for their support and prayers.”
“I am also proud of my IronDawg teammates,” he continued. “Joey (Murphy) is coming off a layoff due to injuries. Mike (Kidd) is kind of like me-been surgically put back together a lot- and Dana (Tripp) is facing another hip surgery in a couple of weeks. Russ was steady as usual and Uwe (Thormann) came all the way from Florida to lift. We all had a pretty good day. For me, if felt good to be back. I’ve missed the competition and the camaraderie. Also, kudos to Svetlana Baker of Bogart who has lifted with us on different world trips on winning another national championship. My wife Jill says she just doesn’t get older. Thanks to the folks here at Titanz and all the spotters, loaders, and judges, too.” (Baker won the MW 65-69, 52 kilo/114.64 lbs. bench-only class with a press of 46/101.41).
It was Glenn’s 13th National Championship in various age and weight categories across different federations, to go along with 10 World Titles, two world runners-up and one national second place in addition to a regional, and numerous state championships. He is a 1972 graduate of Jefferson High, where he was a varsity letterman in football and wrestling, and a junior high wrestling and football coach. Glenn is also the former head wrestling and an assistant football coach at Johnson High in Gainesville.
The father/son duo of John Mack Rowland Junior and Senior of Gray also won national championships in push/pull and full power. The 13-year old junior Rowland won his 67.5-kilo class with national records across the board and ending with a national record total of 105/231.48 on fourth lifts, while his dad totaled over 1,600 pounds in winning the MM 45-49, 110-kilo class.
