Pumping iron reaps awards
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MISSOULA — Six Lake County weight lifters walked away with awards at the annual Welker Association of Bench and Dead Lift competition held in Missoula March 22.
The group of weight lifters, ranging from age 15 years to 75 years, broke both Montana state records as well as world records for the Welker Association.
Levi Couture, Ronan High School, trains at the Tribal Fitness and Health Center in Ronan. This young man set a new Montana state record in the teen men division, ages 14-15, with a hefty bench press of 253 pounds and also took a first in his division.
The class I weight class (242 pounds, age 26-32 years) was breezed through by Ronan’s Alex Finley with a dead lift of 573 pounds, topping the old state record from 2009. Alex trains at the Salish Kootenai College gym in Pablo. In watching Alex, we knew he was going to be a winner from the beginning.
Joe Pablo, Jr. and Ike Pablo, the sons of the late Joe Pablo, Sr., show that they will continue to carry on their father’s strength through their efforts. These young men gave it their all, on their father’s behalf, to earn awards. Joe and Ike train at the Arlee gym.
The Master Men, age 40-46 and weight 242 pounds, bench press, raw division class, gave Ike an opportunity to show his strength with a 330 pound lift, which earned him a first place in that division.
The Master Men category, age 40-46, weight 242 pounds, bench press, and wearing a single ply weight lifting shirt, was nabbed by Joe, Jr. Joe set a new Montana state record, and a first in his division by raising the bar to 424 pounds. Way to go — I am sure your dad was smiling down upon the two of you.
The Master Men, age 68-74 and weight 115-123 pounds division, earned Skip Schacher two Montana State records, and two world records. He earned a new Montana state record for the bench press with 170.7 pounds, also a world record. Skip showed his power in the dead lift. Skip’s body weight of just over 120 pounds proves that even if you are small, with the proper training, you can do well in weightlifting competition. His dead lift of 220.2 pounds earned him both a Montana state record and a world record. He was also honored with the best lifter award for all the effort he made at the meet. What a successful day for Skip, who also trains at the SKC Gym in Pablo.
The Master Women, age 75-80 years old, weight 166 to 181 pound division, granted Virginia Cornelius an opportunity to set new records for the State of Montana and to break old WABDL world records. With a mind set to doing just that, Virginia spent time in a home gym, with her son James, to train toward that goal. That goal was reached at the Missoula event when she was able to set new Montana state records in both divisions, and break previous WABDL world records. She now holds a new spot for the Montana state bench press in her age and weight division at 90.1 pounds, as well as a new spot for the Montana state dead lift at 165 pounds. She was also able to break world records in both the bench and dead lift with the same weight. She says the body can achieve what the mind believes;.and, of course, it means having a good trainer, and spending time in the gym.
Congratulations go out to these Lake County weight lifters who put forth the effort to go the extra mile with their goals in mind. Each has challenged themselves and then been able to follow through to meet that challenge. The awards they reaped pumping iron, proves their hard work paid off.
