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Super Grip Challenge Results


Kevin Fulton

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The 3rd annual Super Grip Challenge proved to be the best one yet.  The overall level of competitors was indeed impressive.  I will just give some highlights here as I strained tendons in my left forearm doing the middle/ring finger deadlift and typing is difficult.   There should be pictures and results up on www.purepowermag.com  soon and the entire list of  results will also be posted on the USAWA site as soon as I get them turned in.  Also more pictures and results will go up at www.armwrestle.com as well as in Iron Grip and MILO publications.

The standings for the women's division were:

1).  Tressa Brooner-Lakowsky       12 pts.

2)   Mary McConnaughey                15 pts.

Mary closed the #2 inverted and was very close to closing it in the acceptable position.  She also did 120 lbs. in the pinch grip.  Tressa is an accomplished armwrestler and beat Mary in a very close race.  

In the men's division we actually had a tie for first place and I awarded first place to Matt Graham because he won the most events.  He won 4 events and I won 3 events.  He was the better man!! AND truly deserved the win based on his dominance in several of the events.  Matt Kucera won 2 events  (18 yr. old, 185 lb. college basketball player).

Here are the final standings:

1).  Matt Graham                     21 pts.

2)   Kevin Fulton                      21

3)   Matt Kucera                      25

4)   Jason  Keen                      36

5)   Brian  Carlton                    47

6)   Bob Burtzloff                      51

7)   Seth Holcomb                     60

8)    JD  Hansen                        63

IT was a small number of competitors, we had 4 entries that ended up not competing.  It was a LARGE group in terms of stature.  There were 3 competitors over 300 lbs. and 7 of the 10 competitors were over 110 kg.   There was a good mix of competitors that included 2 arm wrestlers, 3 strongman competitors, 1 powerlifter, 1 all-round lifter,  one high school football player, one college basketball player, and one old farmer.  The competiton was not dominated by any one individual due to the variety of events.  Most events were adjusted for age and bodyweight.  The COC and Burlap bag hold were not.

We had 2 competitors close the #3.  Jason Keen closed it for the first time ever!  I closed it and held it shut for about 20 seconds.  I also closed several other #3 grippers that were on hand.  I really couldn't tell much variance between any of them.  Matt Graham was very close to closing the #3.

In the 2" bar deadlift with overhand grip, Matt Graham did an amazing 540 lbs!!!  Everyone else was far behind.

I would challenge anyone in the world to match  this feat of strength!  If others have done more or have even come close, I would like to hear about it.  

Matt also did 600 with the 3" bar (alternate grip) and was VERY close with 650!!  Bob Burtzloff did 550 in this event.  Bob is one of the strongest All-Round lifters in the world and has done a 253 lb. one hand Clean and Jerk.

In the pinch grip I did the most with 185 lbs.  THe plates we used were fairly wide and the numbers reflect that.

Matt Graham and myself both did 225 in the one hand thumbless grip deadlift.

In the 130 lb. burlap bag hold for time Matt Graham was first with 1:17.  He beat Matt kucera by a mere 1 second!

In the middle/rings finger deadlift I had the top score by making my opener with 350 lbs.  I strained some tendons on my second attempt which left me very disappointed with my performance in this event.

Personally I thought the farmers walk was the most fun.  We used 200 lb. tractor weights in each hand.  The handles are 8" in circumference.  Matt Graham walked 220 ft.  I went 163 ft, Jason Keen--132 ft., Brian Carlton---119.5 ft., Bob Burtzloff---110 ft.,  Matt Kucera---109 ft.,  JD Hansen---107.5 ft.,  and Seth Holcomb--21.5 ft.

We ended up having the meet at my barn due to losing the National Guard facility.  Everyone seemed to enjoy our unique training environment.  Thankfully everyone had 4-wheel drive transportation as the roads were almost impassable in places due to the recent rain.

Once again, thanks to all the competitors who entered. You demonstrated some outstanding performances and most of all displayed great sportsmanship.  Also thanks to our sponsors for their contributions:  IronMind Enterprises, PurePower, and Heartland Armwrestling.  A special thanks to Dan Wagman for making the long trip and taking so many pictures.  Dan is an elite level powerlifter and world record holder.  He shares the same passion for strength that we all do.  We even got him to join us in the farmers walk!!

I hope everyone had as much fun as I did!!  See ya all back next year I hope.....

Kevin

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Forgot to mention Matt Graham's try with the Thomas Inch DB.  Matt warmed up with my 2.5 " DB handle and C&J'ed an impressive 155 lbs.  Then he proceeded to the Thomas Inch DB and failed to break it from the floor!   After several tries it finally came up a couple of inches.  He was surprised to see how much more difficult it was than a regular knurled DB bar of equal diameter!!  I think someone would have to do 200 or more on a 2.5" knurled DB in order to have a shot at deadlifting the Inch DB.  Matt has the body strength to clean and jerk this much weight but not the grip strength to do it with the Inch DB.  Matt is 6'7" tall and weighs 275 lbs.  He competes in powerlifting and has deadlifted about 730 lbs. I believe.  Since Matt is only 24 years old, he should have a long career ahead of him and we should see more great feats of strength from this man.

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Well done to Kevin, J.D, Matt and everyone else. Some terrific performances. Matt's deadlift of 540lb on a 2" bar is superb. He must have been tired when he tried the Inch replica as I think he could have done some damage with it. Tell Mary she'll definitely close the #2 orthadox style, and maybe we'll see her in Poland if she's going.

David

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Thanks for posting the results.  Those are some incredible performances.  

For one thing, I didn't realize that any woman could pinch grip that much weight.  That's amazing.  

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Kevin

Congratulations on the running of such a successful event. It's nice to hear of some other ladies competing. Well done to every one who took part. By the way, what was the width of the pinch lift?

Elizabeth

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Elizabeth-- the width of the pinch grip was 2 3/4 inches.  

David--I think Mary mentioned the World Champ's were coming up in Italy so I assume she is competing in a different association than the one in Poland.  I'm not real familiar with the sport of armwrestling so I'm not sure abou it.  See her website for more details.  www.armwrestle.com

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Kevin- Thanks for posting the results.  Some outstanding lifting!!  I look forward to seeing pictures and complete results.  Steve Weiner

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Great contest Kevin and it was nice to finally meet you.  I thoroughly enjoyed having the competition in your barn.  The atmosphere was great and very condusive to gettin' down and lifting some weights.  I had great fun and will certainly be there next year.

BC.

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