Ron used his loose F6 and opened conservativley in the bench press with 207.5 lbs. The weight proved no match for the 71 year old on this day and the weight flew to lockout! Encouraged by the ease of his opener Ron called for 220.0 for a second attempt. He used the same loose F6, but we cranked it down a bit and he nailed 220.0 almost as easy as his opener.

For his third attempt bench press Ron threw caution to the wind, put on his tight F6 (which we decranked for an easier touch) and called for 232.5 lbs. It has been a long time since Ron hit this big a bench in a meet and none of us knew what to expect. Ron touched the weight perfectly, the bar exploded off his chest, and barely even slowed down to lockout. Ron finished the day 3 for 3 in the bench press, which was good enough for 1st Place, and a State record!

Per the old expression, "the meet don't start 'till the bar hits the floor" Ron attacked the deadlift with a vengeance. I could tell in warm-ups Ron was locked in. I have never seen him this intense.

Ron opened with an easy 451.7, then went up to 479.5 for his second attempt. The weight was a bit slower than his opener, but there was never any doubt. It was a steady lift, which Ron was clearly excited about afterwards.

Ron called for a 496.0 lb deadlift for his last attempt, which was just about 27 lbs. off the WABDL World Record for Masters 68-74. There was some question about the lift until Ron got it to his knees. From that point on the determination on Ron's face left no doubt that he would get three lights. Just like the bench, Ron finished the deadlift 3 for 3, and set another State record in the process. Ron proved to be the highlight of the meet as he won best Master Deadlifter, and amazed everyone at what a 71 year old man can do!

Ron finished the day with a first in the bench press, and a first in the deadlift.

Patrick has done all his work RAW and so decided to compete RAW as well. He opened with a very easy 374.0 lbs., then went on to get a very impressive 402.2 lbs on his second attempt.

For his third attempt Patrick decided on a 418.7 lb press, which was also a PR. I had the honor of handing off to Patrick, and the ease with which this big man handled the weight (RAW) was very impressive. If Patrick decides to learn the shirt he will be hitting well over 500 lbs within the next year!

Patrick finished first in the 308 lb. weight class of the Submaster Division in the bench press.

How do you ask did Patrick receive the nickname Braveheart? Well aside from bearing a striking resemblence to a young Mel Gibson, Patrick is of Scottish heritage, wears a skirt, and in addition to Powerlifting he competes in the Highland Games.

This turned out to be a good day for me. I had not benched in three weeks or so due to a sore shoulder, and so planned to take only a token bench opener just to get on the board and get some team points. My opener at 330.5 lbs was so light though that I thought I would try 363.7. Wow, this went up faster than my opener and nobody was more surprised than me. For third attempt I went for a State Record 413.2 lbs. I was not paying attention though, and my competitor, Thomas Bennett from Battle Creek hit the same weight on his third attempt and he beat me on bodyweight. Congratulations to Thomas! You earned that victory bro!

I decided to take a fourth attempt bench press for a State Record and hit a VERY easy 418.7 lbs, and so I once again had the State Record. This was short lived though, as Thomas chipped my 418.7 and earned the State Record with a a very nice fourth attempt. Congratulations again to Thomas!!

I subscribe to "Papa Smurf's" motto (the meet don't start 'till the bar hits the floor), and I was more than ready to attack the lift that I love, the deadlift!

I opened up heavier than I ever have at 507.0 lbs, which turned out to be a joke. My second attempt at 556.5 was almost as easy, and so I thought I would go for an all time sanctioned meet PR. I called for 578.5 with big chips, but I was to find out after the lift that the bar was misloaded to 589.5 plus big chips, which was 592 lbs. I remember thinking about half way thru the lift that it should not feel so heavy, but I managed to lock it out for 3 whites. This won the meet for me, and increased my WABDL State Record to 592 lbs.

'The Kids' convinced me to take a fourth attempt to increase my record, so I had them load 600.7 on the bar. My concentration lapsed during set up though, the bar drifted from my legs, and I could only manage to get the bar to just below my knees. 600.7 will fall by the end of the year though, hopefully at WABDL Worlds in November!

I finished the meet with a second in the bench, and a first in the deadlift.

I am unsure of what Josh did in the becnh press portion of the meet, but I believed he went over 450 lbs.

As evidenced by his lifting on this day Josh Decker is a World Class Powerlifter regardless of federation!