USA Powerlifting Collegiate National Championships

Powerlifting Competitive Club traveled to Providence, Rhode Island to compete in the USA Powerlifting Collegiate National Championships. Over 20 schools competed for the title of best in the U.S., including Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, Northeastern University, University of Texas, and Texas A&M, Firstie Shaina Coss led off Army’s scoring, making a splash for the team and for women’s powerlifting as she achieved All-American status with a fourth-in-the-nation finish in her first National Championships. Firstie and Co-Captain Tom Evans also scored for Army West Point, becoming a two-time All-American with a fourth place finish off a huge 579 lbs deadlift (at 163 lbs body-weight), improving on his fifth place finish from last year. These two upperclass leaders did a great job setting the tone for the rest of the team and setting the conditions for success on the following day of competition, when most of the team lifted. The next day featured some outstanding performances, beginning with Firstie and Team Captain James Haworth. CDT Haworth put together an incredible performance (including a competition bench press personal record) to become an All-American with a fifth place finish in his final collegiate competition. Following Haworth’s lead, next year’s Team Captain Bryson Randall had a monster day, punctuating a second-in-the-nation finish and All-American award with a huge 640 lb. deadlift at 205 lbs. bodyweight. Last, but equally impressive - this year’s other Co-Captain Clay Barone had the best Powerlifting meet of his life, setting the example for the rest of the team by coming through when it counts the most to be-come an All – American with a fifth place finish; he set a huge personal best in the deadlift to achieve his fifth place, pulling 628 lbs. at 205 lbs. bodyweight. The fireworks finale occurred in the afternoon session of lifting, as Army West Point swept the top three spots in the 231 lb. weight class. Yearling Morgan Willcox captured the national championship with a dominant performance, achieving over 1600 lbs. for his three lift total. Yearling Justin Byers took second place and Class of 2017’s Jacob Weiss was third in a masterful performance by these three All – American athletes. Rounding out Army West Point’s scoring, Class of 2017’s Seth Kirchner put together a masterful meet at 264 lbs, capturing second place and securing his own All-American status. When the final results were read the men’s team succeeded in winning their first National Championship since the early 1990s. Every single individual performance was absolutely critical as the scoring was very tight – Army West Point beat Ohio State by two points. The women’s team, in their first recent national competition, notched their first All-American in over a decade and placed in the top 10 in the nation with an eighth place finish. The hard work by these men and women paid off; every cadet that made the trip represented USMA superbly and with class the entire weekend and came away champions.