Area lifters do well in competitions

AREA LIFTERS SCORE BIG
By JERRY SCOTT/Staff

Rocky Gap High School was recently the scene of some serious iron pumping. The newly formed West Virginia Bench Press Federation held its first competition in Beckley in February and staged its second competition at RGHS on April 12.
Some 21 lifters competed in the competition as the federation is targeting residents in West Virginia and Virginia. Eleven of the participants were from the Bland County and Wythe County areas.
Below are the winning lifts for those that competed at Rocky Gap from Bland County and Wythe County:

Men’s Open Class (RAW Division)
Jonathan Sweet, 198 lb class, 335 lb bench press
Zane Perkins, 220 lb class, 500 lb bench press
Paul Beasley, 242 lb class, 315 lb bench press

Super Heavy Weight (RAW Division)
B. J. Kirk, 425 lb bench press

Men’s Sub-masters (RAW Division)
Dwayne Duncan, 242 lb class, 385 lb bench press

Men’s Masters (RAW Division)
Wes Asbury, 220 lb class (50-54 yrs), 275 lb bench press

Men’s Juniors (RAW Division)
Walker Suthers, 220 lb class (20-23 yrs), 440 lb bench press
Brandon McClaughty, 242 lb class (20-23 yrs), 475 lb bench press
Derrick Wingo, 275 lb class (20-23 yrs), 455 lb bench press

Men’s Teenage (RAW Division)
Brandon Falgiani, 114 lb class (18-19 yrs), 100 lb bench press
James Adair, 148 lb class (18-19 yrs), 225 lb bench press
Kyle Kennedy, 165 lb class (16-17 yrs), 215 lb bench press
David Williams, 165 lb class (13-15 yrs), 160 lb bench press
Jonathan Turpin, 181 lb class (13-15 yrs), 300 lb bench press
Josh Shrader, 181 lb class (16-17 yrs), 275 lb bench press
Matt Maddow, 220 lb class (16-17 yrs), 315 lb bench press
Josh Ferguson, 242 lb class (16-17 yrs), 270 lb bench press
Joe Price, 242 lb class (18-19 yrs), 300 lb bench press

On April 26 in Christiansburg, the Christiansburg Recreational Center held its ninth annual bench press competition. Those from the area who won or placed were Zane Perkins with a first place lift of 515 lb in his 220 lb class, Brandon McClaughty with a first place lift of 485 lb in his 242 lb class, Walker Suthers with a second place lift of 390 lb in his 220 lb class, Brian McHone with a third place lift of 410 lb in his 220 lb class, Dwayne Duncan with a third place lift of 405 lb in his 242 lb class, and Larry Smith (Fredericksburg) with a first place lift of 375 lb in his 181 lb class.
“We also enter as a team of six,” stated Zane Perkins of Rocky Gap and a former Bland County Bears running back. “They take the top five lifts and subtract your body weight from the lift to get a team total. Our team name is ‘Team Big Weight.’