Plumas County Power Lifters place First.
By Brad Loomis
The World Association of Benchpressers and Dead Lifters (WABDL) held the California State Championships at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Convention center in Chico California on Saturday March 20th. Four Plumas County Power Lifters would make the trip to compete in this event.
Tom and Melissa Klundby train at High Sierra Kettlebell Club based at their home in Portola. They competed together in the Dead Lift portion of the competition and both did very well. In its’ most raw form of power lifting, the competitor simply “picks up” the heaviest weight they possibly can in one motion from the floor to a straight and vertical lock out. Tom and Melissa would be competing “Raw” at this meet which means they would be wearing singlets only. Most competitors in the WABDL wear special dead lift suites which help them lift heavier weight. Weighing in at 129lbs, Melissa was successful at an attempt of 254lbs on her first try which was good enough for 2nd in her class. Hubby Tom went three for three on his Dead Lift attempts. His opener of 565lbs looked like a warm up as did his second attempt of 589lbs. After a brief consultation with the rest of the team, Tom decided to go for a PR of 622lbs. His pull took nearly 3 seconds to complete and had all of the fans screaming encouragement. Competing “Raw” did not hinder Tom in the least as his was the heaviest Dead Lift of the entire meet and needless to say won his class.
Tom
Nancy Fong of Clio also made the trip to Chico for her debut in power lifting. Nancy trains at Healthy Bodies Fitness in Portola and also competed “Raw” in both the Bench Press and Dead Lift competitions. In the bench press, the competitor lies on a bench face up with the barbell in the hands over them. The bar must descend, touch the chest and pause. Once the head judge gives the “Press” command, the competitor must press the weight back up to the lockout position and hold the weight there until the judge gives the “Rack” command. Nancy would go four for four in her bench press attempts and would set a WABDL California State record in the masters age 60 – 67. Her last attempt was good for 107.5lbs. Later that day, Nancy would return and compete in the Dead Lift Competition. The rest between competitions would serve her well as once again she would go four for four and set yet another WABDL California State Record in her class. Personal record after personal record would fall as she steady climbed with each attempt. On her second attempt she pulled 181lbs. 192lbs would not stop Nancy on her third attempt. The Grand Finale and California State record would come on her last attempt which was 10 ounces short of 200lbs.
Nancy
Gary McFarland of Quincy would also win big at the California State Championships. Gary trains at Feather River Fitness and is part of the “Woods Weightlifting Team” in Sacramento where he travels to train once per week. Gary has done numerous Bench Press competitions in California, Oregon, and Nevada including the WABDL World Championships in Reno Last year where he placed 4th in his class with a bench press of 435lbs. Gary would compete again in the Bench Press competition in the 242lb weight class of the Law/Fire Division. Gary’s strength and technique continues to improve as he would bench press 485lbs at the California State Championships. This would not only win his class, but was also good for the “Outstanding Bencher” award. Gary won this award by setting the highest bench press in all the Law/Fire divisions.
Numerous tons were lifted at the WABDL California State Championships without even a single injury. The age of the competitors was any where from 14 – 74 years old. Power lifting is a fun and safe sport under competent supervision and is really taking off in Plumas County.