APF Senior Nationals Meet Report

by Michele, Jun 16, 2009

Big Iron Gym won Best Team at the 2009 APF Senior Nationals, held in West Palm Beach, Florida, June 13-14. Every BIG lifter placed 1st through 3rd, qualifying them for WPC Worlds in Bournemouth, England this November. And on top of that, most of the BIG lifters that competed are still novice lifters.

The girls started off the meet in the first flight on Saturday. Mandy Bennett represented the 132 lb weight class with a 330 lb squat, 170 lb bench, and 303 lb deadlift. She placed 2nd in her class. Krystal Cary and Michele Cogger both lifted at 181. Krystal, the winner of their class, squatted a world record of 622 lbs on a 4th attempt, benched 385 lbs, and deadlifted 430 lbs. She narrowly missed locking out her 4th attempt bench, going for a world record of 402 lbs. This was only Michele’s second meet, placing 3rd in the 181 class with her 434 lb squat, 253 lb bench, and 363 lb deadlift.

The lightweight men lifted in the second flight on Saturday. At 165 lbs, Al Caslow squatted a world record of 871 lbs on his second attempt. He benched 540 and pulled 689, locking down a 2,100 lb total and the Best Lightweight Lifter award. Michael Cartinian took home 1st place in the 181 lb class and smashed the squat record with his 920 lb squat on his fourth attempt, followed by a new world record bench of 683 lbs. He finished off his meet with a 621 lb deadlift, breaking his previous total record with 2,224 lbs. Mick Manley placed 3rd in the 181 lb class with a 733 lb squat, 418 lb bench, and 611 lb deadlift. Mick didn’t have the best day on the platform, but pulled together a great meet considering the airline lost his luggage with all of his gear in it.

On Sunday, Aaron Wilson was our only heavyweight lifter. He placed 2nd in the 242 lb class with his 848 lb squat, 705 lb bench, and 661 lb deadlift. Aaron had previously been a bench-only lifter, and just started squatting and deadlifting ten weeks before the meet. He had been battling painful bicep tendonitis throughout the training cycle, so even though his bench was not up to his full potential, he still ended up with an incredible total.

Results:
Mandy Bennett (132) 330/170/303 - 803
Michele Cogger (181) 434/253/363 – 1,050
Krystal Cary (181) 622/385/430 – 1,439
Al Caslow (165) 871/540/688 – 2,100
Mick Manley (181) 733/418/611 – 1,762
Michael Cartinian (181) 920/683/621 – 2,224
Aaron Wilson (242) 848/705/661 – 2,214