Army vs. Navy Powerlifting

The West Point Powerlifting Team defeated Navy for the 8th consecutive year this weekend, giving them one of the longest successful Navy records for club sports. The results of the last 8 years are best summed up in a conversation between and West Point lifter and a Navy lifter at the start of this year's venue:
West Point lifter: "Where should we put the trophy?"
Navy lifter: “[pause]…there’s a trophy?”
The victory was hard won and well earned. Of note, West Point lifters won every weight class except one, and took the top three in almost half the weight classes. The “Strongest Cadets at West Point” also set a few New York USAPL records at this meet. To top it off, the "Best Lifter" award was awarded to CDT Caleb Shifflet (‘12). Caleb is one of the strongest lifters the team has seen for long time, and with plenty of time left he is destined to set national records.
Coach Rick Scarpulla has put his heart and soul into this team for the last 8 years, and the results speak for themselves.
The 114lbs weight class was uncontested by Navy, but CDT Greg Trahan (’12) had trouble with the bench press, and was eliminated from the meet. To make matters worse, his squat attempt was good enough for a New York state record, but not finishing the bench disqualifies his numbers.
West Point had 3 lifters in the 132lbs weight class, and scored the top three in the event. CDT Mike McKenna (’11)took first place with a squat of 374lbs, a bench press of 242lbs and a 402lbs deadlift. CDT Dustin Pope (’10), a little off his game, still managed 2nd place with 363lbs squat, a 237lbs bench press, and a 358lbs deadlift. CDT Ted Deavila (’11) lifted 297lbs(squat), 237lbs (bench), and 380lbs (deadlift) to clinch 3rd place, edging out the nearest Navy lifter to 4th place.
CDT Ryan McCormack (’12) performed well at his first meet as a 148lbs lifter. The weight class came down to a challenge between Ryan and another collegiate lifter from Penn State. Ryan blasted up a squat of 400lbs and a bench press of 268lbs. The deadlift would be the deciding lift for the 148lbs win. For the last lift, Ryan stepped up on the platform steely-eyed with the heart of a true warrior and made the deadlift of his life (424lbs), clinching the victory for West Point.
The 165lbs weight class was won by CDT Tyler Wright. Tyler has shown significant improvement over the course of the year and has turned into an extremely dependable and solid lifter. Tyler squatted 462lbs, benched 300lbs, and deadlifted 475lbs. Navy was wise enough to leave this weight class void of lifters.
In the 181lbs weight class, CDT Scott Schultz (team captain, ‘09) had a battle on his hands for the first place trophy. Navy stacked this weight class with 5 lifters, but it was Navy’s team captain, MSN Garrett Jacks that proved to be the main competition. Schultz and Jacks were within 15kgs of each other up until the last deadlift. Scott put up some good numbers (squat – 525; bench press - 330), but he missed his second deadlift attempt of 510lbs, which put Garrett in position to take the victory. Scott needed a strong pull to win. Scott’s tenacity and warrior ethos were put to the test. He called for 520lbs (an additional 10lbs on the weight he just missed) for his last lift of the meet and to seal the victory. Scott hammered the lift home and Garrett Jacks was unable to pull his last deadlift, and the victory was secured for West Point.
Navy put their best lifter into the 198lbs class. MDN Ingram was strong enough to set state records this day. CDT Joe Dang put up a good fight though, and made some incredible lifts. This is CDT Dang’s first year on the team and he has been turning some heads with huge numbers. With a 528lbs squat, a 347lbs bench press, and a 475lbs deadlift at his first meet, he has established himself as a solid performer. Second place was going to have to do it this year but if Joe keeps training hard, the trophy is his next year.
West Point stacked the 220lbs weight class with some star lifters. The top three placings were easily won. Caleb Shifflet (’12) took first place in this weight class after a disastrous squat attempt. Caleb lost his balance and the weight came crashing to the floor off of his back. Luckily no one was hurt, but Caleb was understandably rattled. Nevertheless, he continued on with the spirit of a true warrior and landed a “Best Lifter” award for his efforts, finishing with a 627lbs squat, a 445lbs bench, and a 535lbs deadlift. CDT Donnie Byerly (’12) hit some amazing numbers in his first meet, as well. He won the 2nd place award in the weight class with a strong 495lbs squat, a 420lbs bench press, and a 518lbs deadlift. The team co-captain, CDT Zack Wagner (’10), lifted extremely well for third place. He posted a bone crushing squat of 506lbs, pulling every inch of determination together to muscle the bar up over what seemed like a lifetime. He benched a solid 425lbs and pulled 474lbs for the deadlift. CDT Jonathan Laplante (’12) had a great first meet, hitting all 9 of his lifts with confidence. Nick has proven himself this year and performed like a true champion this weekend. He squatted 528lbs, benched 275lbs, and deadlifted 565lbs. This was landmark meet for CDT Dan Riggs (’10). He nailed his numbers with confidence (squat – 451lbs; bench – 325lbs; 524lbs – deadlift), with the exception of another mishap on the squat. Dan lost his footing in the bottom of a squat attempt and rolled the bar over his head. An exciting moment, but again, no one was injured. He came out for his third attempt and crushed it.
The 242lbs weight class was won by a considerable margin by CDT John Hackmann (’09). John is the strongest squatter on the team and consistently hits high numbers. To compliment a 677lbs squat and a 402lbs bench press, John was the last deadlifter of the meet and hit the highest deadlift of the day with an impressive 677lbs!. The entire team was screaming and cheering him on as he inched the bar up to the full lockout position. CDT Joel Rickenbach (’11) had an outstanding first meet and took second place in the 242lbs class. His “brute force” technique of lifting worked well for him. He put up an impressive 535lbs squat, a 407lbs bench press, and a victory clinching 535lbs deadlift that edged out the nearest Navy competitor.
CDT Drew Chapman (’11) won the 275lbs class. With a squat of 495lbs, a bench press of 365lbs and a deadlift of 524lbs, Drew has consistently improved and is right on track to make a great showing at nationals. Navy was unable to fill this weight class, but Drew came out and made his best attempts for the day.
CDT Nate Held was poised to take the 275+ class, but the huge man couldn’t get his bench to pass. The weight went up, but he was having technical difficulties with his gear and each attempt was red-lighted, thus eliminating him from the meet. He still hit some impressive number, though. He squatted and strong 535lbs and ended with a solid deadlift of 580lbs.

Andrea's first meet results

The meet went really well. Zane and Sandi run a solid event. There were at least 20 people competing, with a dozen more in the bench only and ironman events. We are both looking forward to competing in another SSA powerlifting meet at Iron Asylum Gym.

So, Andrea was first on the platform and squatted 295lbs with ease. No issues with depth or weight. It was a good confidence builder. She said the weight "just flew up!" I opened with 700lbs, and it felt heavier than I thought it would, but it went up pretty well.

Andrea's second squat attempt was 315lbs, and again the weight looked super light. I took 740lbs, and AGAIN it felt super heavy, but everyone said it was going up fast...

Andrea's last squat attempt was 335lbs and she just missed it by leaning forward a little too much halfway up. It was close, and she definitely had the weight, just a technique error killed the attempt. I decided to take 800lbs based on feedback from the monkey pit, but it turned out to be an error as I was summarily crushed by the weight. Oh well... It never felt right on my back and I think it was just a little too much for me that day.

The bench press was emotional for me. Andrea pressed an easy 165lbs on her first attempt. I could tell she wasn't getting much out of the shirt, but we'll fix that for the next meet. I opened with 525lbs, but the weight was stubborn and I failed just short of lockout.



Andrea just missed 175lbs on her next attempt due to shirt issues. Seemed like she got a little pop at the bottom and then the weight stopped and sank a little before she kicked in the triceps. I called for 525lbs again. I got the lift, locked it out, threw it into the rack and got 2 red lights. Didn't wait for the "rack"command. Damn! So at this point I am in danger of bombing out of the meet. To top it off, I cramped my back a little on the last lift. What to do?

So Andrea gets a great setup and absolutely crushes 175lbs. We were hoping to get her to 200lbs today, but our benches were not working well. I finally hit the 525lbs by the hair of my teeth, and thus remain in the meet!


Deadlifts were the highlight for us. Andrea smoked 275lbs, 285lbs, then a strong 300lbs. Amazing! She could have hit 315lbs, but we'll get that next time. I pulled 600lbs, 620lbs, 650lbs, and a forth attempt for a National Record at 670lbs, and just missed it due to "hitching," which is frustrating because it was really subtle. Next time...

Damon Squats 675lbs

Cadet Dang Squats 405lbs + chains x 5

Andrea's workout 23 January 2009

HUGE bench workout for Andrea! She finally got her bench shirt...

Today she pressed 190lbs for two solid singles. Not bad! Then she pressed 205lbs on a foam roller (about a 3 board?). See video... Arms aren't torn up too bad from the shirt. Sunday in the squat suit should be interesting. I see her hitting an easy 315. Stay tuned.

205lbs X 3

Andrea's workout 18 January 2009

Well I finally remembered the camera! Andrea had a pretty solid workout today. We pushed easy 1RM's for squats and deadlifts. Didn't want to work too hard, just get comfortable with heavy weights. She ended up squatting 295lbs very well, and missing a 290lbs deadlift, hitting 280 with ease. As if that wasn't enough, she did a set of 185lbs x 10 to finish off the deadlifts.

The rest of the workout was SLDL on blocks 3 x 10, super deep squat w/ 95lbs 2 x 8, and some ab work. Solid workout!!!

230lbs x 3

295lbs

Pictures from NYC during Christmas

Museum of Natural History

West Point (w/ Harrison and Payton Risdon!)

West Point looking over the Hudson

Needs no explaining...