Students, staff show off weightlifting skills

A small but avid group of fans cheered on the 14 competitors in the University's first-ever weight lifting competition in Hutchinson Gymnasium last night. University faculty, graduate and undergraduate students competed for the title in three divisions -- men's heavyweight, men's lightweight and women's. Each competitor was given three chances to lift his or her maximum weight. Rob Wagner, a strength coach in the Athletics Department, organized the event. "The idea of this competition is to expose students to the sport of weightlifting," he said. "I didn't really prepare anybody for it." The contest was organized according to a round robin format. Lifters completed their first attempts before anyone made a second or third attempt. Wharton freshman Scott Phillips began the evening's competition. His successful lift of 205 pounds to kick off the lightweight division won him applause from the spectators. "It was awesome to be the first," he said. "I was a little nervous, but it was cool." Lifting the most weight did not guarantee a win for competitors. The judges scored according to the Schwartz/Malone formula, which uses a ratio of lift to body weight in order to put the lifts into perspective. Obinna Adibe, a College junior, received a trophy and the most applause by clinching the lightweight title with a 300-pound lift and a point total of 202.56. "I've been lifting since eighth grade," he said. "My foundation is the bench. This is the first contest I've participated in that only involves the bench." Athletics Equipment Manager Francis Murray -- with a lift of 265 pounds for 192.6 points -- and Physics graduate student Pat Brady -- who lifted 295 pounds and scored 195.25 points -- came in second and third place respectively. The women's division followed the lightweight competition. College senior Meg Kinney was the sole competitor. She clinched the title -- easily -- with a 70-pound lift. "I was dared to do it," she said. "It was fun." Following the women's division was the heavyweight, with five competitors. The night's oldest contestant was Ed Lusk, a 51-year-old Statistics professor who completed a 200-pound lift in the heavyweight event. "I've always lifted weights," he said. "It is important to challenge yourself mentally and physically." Engineering sophomore Christian Reiss secured the heavyweight victory by lifting 310 pounds and totaling 178.06 points. "I've been lifting for three to four years," Reiss said. "It was fun and exciting." College senior Joe Curcio finished second, scoring 167.87 points for his lift of 265 pounds. School of Arts and Sciences graduate student Scott Trzaska finished third with 159.85 points and a 250 pound lift.