Robertson Training Systems

USA Powerlifting Indiana State Meet Recap

The 2005 USA Powerlifting Indiana State championships were held at University High School in Carmel, Indiana. University is a nearly brand-new school, and the facility was really top-notch for a state level meet.

IPF Cat II referee Cathy Marksteiner, Julia Ricks (wife of Mr. David Ricks), and myself sat as the referees for the meet, and it’s always a pleasure to work with such true professionals.

52 Kilo

We had two lifters in the lightest weight class, one being a teenager and the second being a guest lifter. Logan Zielinski, at the ripe old age of 12, demonstrated some excellent technique on all his lifts and great composure on the platform. It really is great seeing kids at this age learning to perform the lifts with proper technique and just having a good time.

In the teenage division, Ian Thomas Smith also had a great showing, despite some initial issues with the pound-to-kilo conversions. Ian demonstrated flawless technique (especially in the deadlift), and really just needs more platform experience before he starts to top into his strength potential.

Perhaps the coolest thing about this class was watching Dave Ricks, an IPF open world champion, help coach these young lifters. Many of us remarked on how they probably had no clue that the guy helping them out and giving them pointers was (and still is!) one of the best lifters in the world.

56 Kilo

In the 56 kilo class we had the ageless competitor Sam Meadows. However, Sam had a rough day and didn’t get any squats passed by the judges. I’m sure it won’t take Sam long to recover and get back on the platform.

60 Kilo

Chris Ferree is an up-and-coming lifter out of the Iron Pit gym in Bloomington, Indiana. Chris was a solid 7/9 on the day, only missing one squat and one deadlift. At the ripe age of 20, I’m sure Chris will only continue to get better as he gets more training and competition under his belt.

67.5 Kilo

We had two lifters in the 67.5 kilo class, both coming from New Castle, Indiana to compete. Ross Horn was the first, and he’s a very strong teenager. Ross went 7/9 on the day, and showed great proficiency in the squat, where he finished with a solid 175 kilos. I firmly believe that once he gets a little more experience in tight gear, Ross is going to be a very fine lifter.

The second lifter in the 67.5 kilo weight class was Mr. Mike Buck. Mike has been in the sport of powerlifting since the age of 12, and with the enthusiasm he brings to the sport at age 35, you’d have thought he just started lifting last year! Mike lifted very well, taking first place in the 67.5 Kilo open division. As well, at the end of the meet, Mike was named the new USA Powerlifting State Chair for the state of Indiana.

75 Kilo

We had three lifters in the 75 kilo class, ranging from the relative newcomer to the seasoned veteran. Leading off was Ben Stancombe, yet another product of the Iron Pit gym, and he lifted quite well. In typical “Pit” fashion, Ben only missed 2 lifts the entire day and showed great presence at the tender age of 15. Much like Horn, I believe that Stancombe has many great meets ahead of him in the future.

In the 75 kilo open class we had nationally ranked Erick Nickson. I firmly believe that if it weren’t for multi-time World Champion Wade Hooper, Erick would have won multiple National Championships by this time. I’m sure it’s got to be tough going up against an IPF gold medalist every time you attend a National event! Regardless, Erick had a great day, and finished out very strong with a final deadlift of 640 pounds. However, he gave us all a scare by going to his third bench press before getting a successful lift. Erick went 600-424-640 for a 1664 total and 538 Wilks coefficient. Needless to say, Erick blew away the competition in taking the Best Lifter award as well.

Our final lifter in the 75 Kilo class competed in the Master 5 Division. Jimmy Buck, at 64 years young, had a very successful meet. Jimmy went 7/9 on the day, and really proved that age is just a number with his 327.5 kilogram total.

82.5 Kilo

Alyssa McGuire was our only female competitor for the day. However, Alyssa was quite strong for a teenage girl in her weight class and has tons of potential. Alyssa went 6/9 on the day, with her best lift being a 125 kilo squat.

Our only male in the 82.5 kilo class was Tyson Sanders from Ada, Ohio. Tyson demonstrated amazing strength and power in the squat; unfortunately, his depth was not adequate on his attempts this day and he didn’t get a lift passed.

90 Kilo

The 90 Kilo class was quite competitive. Mike Lawrence and Jason Bales both hailed from the prestigious Ball State University powerlifting program, and both had very successful days. Mike has actually moved up from the 148 pound weight class since last year, and the improved leverages really showed. Mike is relatively new to the powerlifting game, so as his technique and leverages come around, I’m sure he’ll perform even better in future competitors. Jason had a great day as well, and finished up with what I believe was his first 500+ pull. Nice work Bales!

Joe Ellis rounded out the 90 kilo class with a 497.5 kilo total. Joe took a huge jump from 205 kgs. to 257.5 on his 2nd and 3rd deadlift attempts, but it proved to be too much for him on this day.

100 Kilo

The 100 Kilo class was by far the most competitive overall, with 6 lifters rounding out the class. Our first competitor was teenager Lucas Wall. Lucas had an excellent day, going 9/9 in front of some tough judging. Lucas finished up with a 510 kg. total, and has plenty of room for improvement as he ages and his body matures.

Next up was Mr. Aaron Willis. If I’m not mistaken, Aaron performed all his lifts raw and has a very powerful physique. Aaron had some technique and form issues throughout the day, which caused him to go 3/9 overall. However, it only takes one from each lift to post a total, and Aaron did just that. I’m sure he’ll be stronger and more confident in future meets.

Wayne Literal had an excellent day, and demonstrated the proficiency that you can only get from world-level experience. Wayne went 606-390-583 for a 1579 total and 1st place in the 100 Kilo open category. One of the more humorous comments of the day came from one of my spotters who remarked, “He doesn’t look like it, but that kid is STRONG!”

It was great seeing Jason Shoopman back on the platform. Jason had a rough day a few years ago at Men’s Nationals, and he really is a very strong guy. Jason pulled the 2nd best deadlift in the meet (second only to Nickson) at 632 pounds, but it wasn’t enough to take 1st place away from Literal. Much like Nickson’s bench, it took Jason all 3 attempts to get a deadlift passed.

Mike Hinders was our lone bench-only entrant in the 100 kilo class. Mike is a very strong guy, but has some issues getting a lift passed. It took him 3 tries, but he finally got his opening attempt of 182.5 kilos passed which gave him 1st place in the Masters 1 Bench Only division.

Mark Johnson rounded out the class and couldn’t get his opening attempt of 501 pounds on the squat passed.

110 Kilo

We had three lifters in the 100 Kilo class; Pat Schafer lifted in the Junior class and hails from Ball State University, Marty Mills competed in the Bench-only division of the meet, and John Valpatic competed in the Masters 3 division. Pat struggled in both the squat and bench where he needed all 3 attempts to get a lift passed. However, Pat is a very young and raw lifter; once he gets more training and competition under his belt he’ll be just fine.

Marty, like many of the competitors, appeared to have some bench shirt issues and struggled to get an attempt past. However, while it took three tries, Marty finished with a solid 606 and appeared to have a lot of strength left. If he can iron out a few of the kinks, these numbers should get him close to a spot on the World Bench Team.

Finally, John Valpatic performed very well, only missing 2 lifts throughout the course of the meet. John has a very calm and focused approach to lifting, and it shows with the fact that he very rarely seems to miss attempts. John finished with a 560 kg. total and 1st overall in the Masters 3 division.

125 Kilo

Joe Dibert had a rough day from the start, only making his second squat attempt after missing it on his opener. While Joe has a very strong bench press, he couldn’t quite put it together on this day and missed all three attempts.

Kevin Hutchison competed in the bench-only division, but he too had some bench shirt issues and couldn’t get a lift passed with his 230 kg. opener.

SHW

Joe Gilpin from BSU gave us all a scare as his first squat attempt caved him over and looked to roll up on his neck. Joe got his opener passed on his 3rd attempt, but failed to get a bench press passed by the judges. Hopefully Joe will bounce back and have a great showing at Collegiate Nationals next year.

Randy Bee was the final competitor on this day, and he was just a few lifts away from a huge day. Randy missed a 771 pound squat twice, as well as a 501 bench press twice. As well, Randy came in very light on this day, only weighing in around 280 pounds. At the young age of 28, once he decides to either cut down to 275 or fill and be a true super-heavy, Randy could be a very competitive lifter in the years to come.

Finally, it would be rude not to mention our top-notch staff that helped us put the meet on. Anyone that’s ever directed a meet knows that it’s truly a labor of love; not only can it be time-consuming, but it’s just flat out a lot of hard work. Dane Lewis, Justin Shrock, Steve Kouimanis, Matt Wenning, Mike Dodd, Craig Rasmussen and a guy I only know as “Chris” did an amazing job of spotting and loading; we did not have one single bar hit the platform, and they were also lightning quick in the loading which really expedited the meet overall.

As well, our scorer’s table staff was great as well. Joe Marksteiner and Justin Ware ran the meet tracking software, while Bethany and Jessica Robertson took the attempts and kept track of the paper scoring.

All in all, the meet was a huge success and I hope to hold more meets at the high school in the future. For their generous support, I plan to start a “weight room fund” for the high school, with all the extra proceeds from future competitions being put towards upgrading and keeping their weight room up-to-date.

Thanks to everyone who was involved, and I hope to see all of you (and a few more) back next year!

Stay strong
Mike Robertson