APA 2011 West Coast Open Championship Dec. 10th & 11th

Just feet from the magnificent Pacific Ocean and inside the beautiful Hallmark Resort, the platform was set for the 32nd Anniversary of the West Coast Open Powerlifting Championship. It was held December 10th and 11th featuring raw lifters day 1, and geared lifters on day 2. Being the 32nd anniversary and having so much history behind it, this meet was dedicated to one of its legends, Doyle Kennedy. The event brought a “new flare” to Northwest powerlifting with cash prizes, accessible bar for spectators, professional announcing, card girls and a post meet party. The audience and competitors alike had the honor to be in the presence of some of Doyle’s family who attended the meet. A short speech done by a close friend of his, Terry Lures talked about remembering Doyle as a man who had the look of a complete bad ass and nicknames like “Grizzly Bear” and “Sasquatch”. What was even more special about Doyle was even with that intimidating look he was a genuine, humble, kind, and helpful person. Terry Lures ended the speech by quoting Doyle’s famous words of “You do a heck of , get the bench, and you never ever miss a ”. That philosophy and attitude never more evident then when Doyle deadlifted 903 lbs in 1986 breaking Bill Kazmaier’s record. What was amazing about this lift and will forever cement Doyle’s name in history, it was after two massive attempts in squat, three attempts in the bench, and two attempts over 800 in the deadlift. Being the first man to ever deadlift over 900 lbs and doing it fighting some crippling conditions of fatigue, was truly a unreal performance. Along with Doyle, many of the greatest and strongest lifters competed at the West Coast Open. These included Gus Rethewisch, Ryan Kennely, Brent Mikesell and even a preview of what to come with AJ Roberts making a appearance in 2005. Entering the 4th decade of the West Coast open it has transitioned to raw lifting attracting a new generation of lifters. This meet featured one of the strongest junior raw lifters in the world (Ben Seath), a nationally ranked bodybuilder (Joe Derousie), and three APA American and World record Holders Kristy Scott, Matt Gaechter and Rudy Kadlub. Most importantly this meet brought all different kinds of people, training philosophy’s, gyms, techniques and styles to a common ground where everyone can do battle with the iron in the same meet as some of the best in the Doyle Kennedy 903 Deadlift world (Photo from Powerlifting USA 1986 June Issue) once did.

The set up was unique having the warm up room completely separate from the competition area. Curtains separated the awaiting competitors making each lifter feel like the main attraction while hitting their attempts. This meet started off with some more than impressive raw squats. Highlights from the 200 lb and below group included a unreal 407.9 lb squat done by Kristy Scott weighing 189.1 lbs and an awesome 528.6 lb squat done by Matt Gaechter weighing 180.8 lbs. Taking it to the next level the 200 lb and above group started to move some serious weight. Nationally ranked bodybuilder Joe Derousie hit a easy 677.9 lb squat weighing 273.7 lbs and Universal athlete Ben Seath hit a astonishing 826.7 lb squat weighing 307 lbs. Squat Hi-Lite: http://youtu.be/wurdR2Co6I

After a tremendous showing in the squats, the West Coast Open did not disappoint in the next lift. Spectators saw some familiar faces hitting some amazing numbers in the bench. Kristy Scott hit a world class 281 lb bench and Matt Gaechter nearly doubled his bodyweight with a solid 347.2 lbs. The next lifter may have been the most amazing bench of the meet. At a age of 71 Jerry Huhn benched 259 lbs at a bodyweight of 219.2 lbs. Moving into the two biggest and strongest competitors of the meet, Joe Derousie hit a massive 501.5 lb bench and directly after Ben Seath crushed the same weight. This gave Ben Seath a 1,328.4 lb sub-total setting him up to chase after a world class raw total of over 2,000 lbs.

Joe Derousie went for a third attempt of 512.6 lbs and as he drove the bar off his chest he suffered a pectoral tear. What can potentially make or break meets is the quality of spotters the meet promoter hires to protect the safety of the lifters. As with any future West Coast Open meets and this one being no exception, the exceptional spotters were quick to respond grabbing the weight and preventing any further injury. As Joe lay there grasping his torn muscle the crowd was dead silent. For what seemed like hours Joe finally sat up off the bench and was tended to off the platform. Spectators as well as competitors could not help but feel for Joe because of the amazing performance he has put on so far and his approachable demeanor. Bench Press Hi-Lite: http://youtu.be/9XC1bAIFeic Many people thought that this was the end of the road for Joe in this meet but he had other plans. As the first round of began to warm up Joe came out and said he was still going to deadlift. This solidified him as a true champion and gave inspiration for every competitor to finish the meet strong no matter what the conditions! Wrapping up a truly remarkable performance, Kristy Scott ended with a 490.5 lb deadlift. Also finishing up a terrific day of breaking records and huge numbers, Matt Gaechter deadlifted over 3 times his bodyweight with a incredible 600.8 lb deadlift. Finishing the under 200 lbs flight, Joey Stampke smoked a 628.3 lb deadlift at a bodyweight of 195.6 lbs. This bested Kameron Ross’s deadlift of 622.8 lbs making Joey the strongest under 200 lb deadlifter of the meet. Then came Joe Deroisie, fresh off a torn pectoral muscle, he battled through the pain and hit a big 677.9 lb deadlift. Not the number he wanted but given the circumstance it was a incredible way to finish the day with a 1857.3 lb total. Ben Seath was up next and at 21 years old, Ben finished the meet with a big 677.9 lb deadlift, giving him a world class 2,006.3 lb total. Deadlift Hi-Lite: http://youtu.be/gXDPynGKPVM

This made him the strongest lifter of the meet and Overall Champion. Check out Ben Seath’s complete highlight video of all is lifts at http://youtu.be/sWFmFrgPgp8

With day 1 in the books the West Coast Open geared up and moved into day 2. On this day there was a standard gear (singly ply) and unlimited gear categories (multi ply and beyond). Hyped up without question from yesterday’s huge success and impressive performances, the geared lifters where more than ready to do battle. First up in squats was the standard gear lifters. This flight was highlighted by Jerry Riley hitting a big 562.2 lb squat weighing 176.3 lbs and Cody Hyatt squatting 766.1 lbs at a bodyweight of 274.9 lbs. Three lifters in the unlimited category were able to break the 800 lb barrier with John Hare squatting 804.7 lbs at a bodyweight of 215.1 lbs, William Rogers hitting a fast 865 lbs at a bodyweight of 353.8 lbs, and Jason Payne hitting a massive 876.3 lbs weighing 273.8 lbs. With squats in the books the gear lifters went on to tackle the bench press. Some highlights were all in the standard division including two 600 lb bench presses with Joajuin Daizdeleon hitting 617.3 lbs weight 363.8 lbs and Tony Bias hitting a massive 661.4 lbs weighing only 240 lbs. To wrap up the West Coast Open Powerlifting Championships the deadlift once again proved to be the fan favorite with some geared lifters hitting some impressive numbers. This included four lifters hitting over 500 lbs starting with Larry bush deadlifting 523.6 lbs, Jerry Riley grinding through a close to triple bodyweight pull of 501.5 lb deadlift, Joajuin Daizdeleon deadlifting 540.1 lbs and Dustin McFarland pulling 551.2 lb deadlift at a bodyweight of 205.1 lbs. Moving into the unlimited category three deadlifts highlighted this flight. Jennifer Taylor hit a big 407.9 lb deadlift weighing only 185.5 lbs, Rudy Kadlub at the age of 62, deadlifted a big 545.6 lbs at a bodyweight of 217.9 lbs. This gave him a impressive 1,521.2 lb total for the day. Finally Jason Payne hit the biggest deadlift of the meet with a huge 749.6 lbs giving him a 2,182.6 lb total. Check out all the hi-light videos and extra meet coverage at http://www.youtube.com/bigbearsgym. The success of the 32nd Anniversary of the West Coast Open largely depends on the people behind the scenes. Luckily this meet had a all-star line up of people willing to give up their time to help run a smooth and enjoyable meet. A huge thank you goes out to Diana McFarland who helped run the scores table flawlessly and took part in announcing. There was also some great spotters and loaders that included Ric Rabourn, Tim Kaufman, Mark Ross, Kameron Ross, Larry Ligget, Dylan Paolone, and Chris Duffin. Giving the meet a new “flare” the beautiful card girls included Jen Rabourn, Julia Carlson, and Christi Schones. Keeping the meet moving along was Nikki Wyatt along with Amanda Maddox greeting everyone at the door welcoming them into the party. Finally the judges that called the meet fairly the entire day were Sam Pectal, Chuck McFarland, Rick McClung and Rudy Kadlub. A special thanks also goes out to Sports Nutrition Center for all their help and gifts for the lifters. Next years event promises to be bigger, stronger, and more epic then what was already a fantastic event. The 2012 West Coast Open “Strength Fest” will include a raw USPA meet on Saturday followed by a after meet party with the rolling thunder championships. On Sunday Valley Sports Nutrition will be putting on a Strongman event with many events that will be a blast for spectators to watch. That weekend will be a celebration of strength, some fierce competition, and most importantly a giant party for athletes to come together to throw around some iron! http://www.facebook.com/events/148050745304149/ For entry forms and posters for the 2012 West Coast Open “Strength Fest”

-USPlabs Athlete http://www.facebook.com/KamStrength Day 1

Day 2