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Wildcats Capture Strongest Team Award At 2023 Ironman Teen Bench Press And Deadlift Tournament

Photos courtesy of Central Clarion Wildcats – Above: Front (holding trophy): Matthew Raymond. Second row (L-R): Brady Quinn, Noah Harrison, Carter Hindman, Braylon Beckwith, Jake Smith, Josh Duncan, Hayden Hindman. Third row (L-R: Charlie Hepfl, Colman Slater, Jimmy Kerr, Colby Wright.

A team of thirteen lifters from the from the Central Clarion Wildcats captured Strongest Team Award at the Ironman Teen Bench Press and Deadlift Challenge at All-Fit Gym in the former East Brady Elementary School building on Saturday, February 18th.

Lifters hailing from nine programs competed, some as teams, others as individuals. The programs included, Central Clarion, Armstrong, Gateway, Homer Center, Indiana, Karns City, Knoch, Lenape Tech, and Punxsutawney.

The meet was conducted by Sons of Thunder Powerlifting, “a nondenominational Christian-based sports ministry that conducts powerlifting meets for teenagers…,” headed by former powerlifter and bodybuilder Rick Balbo and his wife Debbie. Sons of Thunder is based in the North Hills area of Pittsburgh.

The event began with the National Anthem and Rick sharing a brief Christian message.

The Wildcats had a number of highlights, from their young roster.

Carter Hindman

Seventh grader, Carter Hindman was the top 13 year old lifter in both the bench press and deadlift. Competing in the 148 pound class, Carter posted a 165 pound bench and a 325 pound dead. He was fourth in the bench in the 13-15 category and third in the dead, among 13-19 in his weight class.

Carter Hindman

Central Clarion had four lifters with first place lifts in the 13-19 age group.

Tenth grader, Noah Harrison finished first in the bench press in the 165 pound class, with a 245 push. Noah also got second in the deadlift, with a pull of 405.

Braylon Beckwith, also a tenth grader and also competing in the 165 class, captured first in the deadlift, pulling 420. Braylon also had a 225 bench press to finish third.

Braylon Beckwith

Another sophomore, Josh Duncan, competing in the 243+ class, had a 260 pound bench press to claim first place. Josh was third in the deadlift, pulling 415.

Josh Duncan

Coleman Slater, an eleventh grader competing in the 198 pound class, was first in the deadlift, with a 405 pull. Coleman finished third in the bench press with a 235.

Coleman Slater

The Wildcats had some other impressive totals.

Freshman, Hayden Hindman had a good day at 220. Hayden finished third in the bench press with a push of 260 and also finished third in the deadlift, with a 420, in both the 13-15 and 13-19 divisions.

Hayden Hindman

Central Clarion had some other solid performances in the 13-19 class.

Junior, Brady Quinn captured second in the deadlift, with a 365 and third in the bench with a 165.

Jimmy Kerr, a tenth grader, had a second place deadlift at 243+, pulling 440. Jimmy also had a 195 in the bench press.

Eleventh grader, Jake Smith had two thirds in the 181 pound division, pushing 185 in the bench and pulling a 365 deadlift.

Jake Smith

Junior, Colby Wright, competing at 242 had a 175 bench press and a 375 deadlift.   

Colby Wright

Three more Wildcats competed in the 13-15 division and turned in solid numbers.

Seventh grader, Matthew Raymond turned in a 175 bench press and a 250 deadlift, in the 181 division.

Matthew Raymond

Freshman, Charlie Hepfl had a 155 bench press and 250 deadlift at 181.

Hunter Lechner, a ninth grader posted a 155 bench press and a 315 deadlift at 148.

Hunter Lechner

The Top Overall Lifter was Mason Fisher from Indiana Area; Outstanding Dead Lift winner was Vinny Tagliati, 18 from Homer-Center; Outstanding Bench Presser winner was Luke Cramer, 17 from Karns City; and the Top 13-15-Year-Old Bench Presser and Deadlifter winner was Brandon Goldinger from Armstrong.

(Some video of them can be seen on the sites linked below.)

Wildcats Varsity Coach Davey Eggleton, who was joined by Assistant Varsity Coaches Mike Hindman and Cam Kirkland as meet coaches had some good words about the Central Clarion lifters and staff’s work.

“I am extremely impressed with the work our guys have put in this offseason so far. They are a tremendous group of young men who are motivated to get better every day. I also appreciate the work my coaching staff has put in in the weight room with the team. Coach Kirkland has headed up the Clarion weight room and Coach Hindman has put in a lot of time with the kids at Forell Barbell.”

Coach Eggleton had another big shoutout. “I also want to Thank Eain Brooks. He has trained many of the guys who are working at Forells. It is exciting to see this commitment to the offseason training.” 

(Congratulations On A Fine Tournament, Wildcats!!!! Thank you to Central Clarion for their Photos!!)

Front (holding trophy): Matthew Raymond. Second row (L-R): Brady Quinn, Noah Harrison, Carter Hindman, Braylon Beckwith, Jake Smith, Josh Duncan, Hayden Hindman. Third row (L-R: Charlie Hepfl, Colman Slater, Jimmy Kerr, Colby Wright.

For more about Sons of Thunder and All-Fit Gym, click on links below (some great pics and video from the meet on both Facebook pages):

https://www.sonsofthunderpl.org/about.html

https://www.facebook.com/SonsofThunderPowerlifting

https://www.facebook.com/allaroundfitnesscenter