We started off the morning session with Gwen Grasdal and Brenna Malanovich. Gwen had competed multiple times in the past, but this was her first meet representing 306 and under the tutelage of Coach Amy. Gwen ran into some strict judging with depth calls, but was able to hit a successful attempt at 92.5 kg. She also benched 60 kg and deadlifted 155 kg (341 lbs) for a big meet PR, enough to secure the gold and a Provincial championship. Brenna competed in her first meet, but looked like a veteran from the opening squat. She went 8 for 9, hitting a 105 kg (231 lb) squat, Brenna's 3rd bench was 77.5 kg (170.5 lbs) good enough for 3rd place on the 306 board and 125 kg (275 lb deadlift). All PR's and a gold medal in her first meet (with no belt)! Great work ladies.
In the afternoon, we had studly Clint Senko. Clint dieted through an entire Saskatchewan summer to get down to 83 kg, a feat we've missed in the past. Clint has competed in 4 or 5 meets and you could tell his mental toughness has improved. He was called on depth on his first squat attempt but came back to smoke it and finish with a meet PR at 210 kg (463 lb). Coach Kent picked some solid bench attempts to build his total, finishing at 145 kg (319 lbs). Clint was neck and neck with a lifter from Regina going into the deadlifts, with the meet being tied after openers. Clint missed his second deadlift - the bar drifted away from him at 240 kg (529 lb), but was smart enough to reattempt the weight, instead of chasing the win, and crushed it. Good enough for a 70 kg+ improvement on his total and a silver in the contest. Nice work, Clint!
Thanks for everyone who made the trip.
We start up a new block of training this week and also launch Ladies only lifting class on Friday's at 6:00 PM with Coach Amy (welcoming lifters of all levels).
- Coach Marc