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Norsemen's Burman golden at Ray Hamilton Classic

Justin Spencer of the Toronto Weightlifting Club was the star performer of the annual Ray Hamilton Classic weightlifting contest held Saturday at the Commerce Court Campus of Canadore College.
Justin Spencer of the Toronto Weightlifting Club was the star performer of the annual Ray Hamilton Classic weightlifting contest held Saturday at the Commerce Court Campus of Canadore College. The 18 year old powerhouse walked away with the 94 kilo title and the best male lifter award.

Spencer was successful with 125 kilos in the snatch: but it was in the clean and jerk where he most impressed the audience. Indeed, he opened with an easy 160 kilos or 363 pounds, followed by another strong effort at 166 kilos. For his final lift, the 90 kilo athlete called for 171 kilos to break the long standing national junior record of 170. Spencer shouldered the load and drove it to arms length, but was unable to secure it above his head. Despite the miss, his 291 kilo total stands as the highest registered by any junior male in Canada this year.

Jesse Burman of the North Bay Norsemen Club was the winner in the 85 kilo class with best lifts of 103 in the snatch and 137 in the clean and jerk. The silver medal in the same class went to junior lifter Logan Baker, also of the Norsemen. Baker made 105 in the snatch and 130 in the clean and jerk. Other silvers for the Norsemen went to Sergio Jeffrey at 56kgs, and Mark Haaksman in the 105 kg division. Evan Moore, a newcomer to the lifting scene place 5th in the 77 kilo class.

The Canadore Panthers team had four male entrants. Taylor Osborne was the bronze medalist at 77 kilos; his teammate Todd Elvrum finished fourth. Meanwhile Tyler Gregory and Brendan Shaffick were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 85 kilo class.

Apart from Spencer and Burman, the other male weight class winners were: Ben Miller of the Blue Mountain Club of Collingwood at 46kgs, Alex Bellemare of LaSarre at 56, Carl Aplacador of the Toronto Weightlifting Club at 62 kgs, Dominic Picciottoli of Toronto at 69kgs, Aaron Rose of Variety Village at 77 kgs, Justin Spencer at 94kgs , and Alex Liu of Variety Village at 105.

In the female competition the North Bay Valkyries secured two gold medals. Tikva Tigannelli topped the 44 kilo class by snatching 20 kilos and clean and jerking 26. Later on Bronwynn Sheppard made 47 in the snatch and 63 in the clean and jerk to win the 53 kilo class.

Other weight class winners included : Camille Papineau of LaSarre at 48 kilos; then three Toronto weightlifting club members : Jessica Jean of Toronto at 58, Kia Laylor at 63, and Maya Laylor at 69. In the last two divisions Joany Regimbald of LaSarre took gold at 75, while Kelly McGillis of Cornwall won the +75.

Maya Laylor was the top kilo-for-kilo lifter with a record breaking total of 164 kilos at a bodyweight of 68.9. Bronwynn Sheppard was the runner-up for the best female lifter in the contest with a total of 110 kilos at a bodyweight of 49 kilos. The 17-year-old Laylor, and 15-year-old Sheppard, have both secured spots on the provincial junior team.

The competition was a joint venture of the Canadore Panthers Weightlifting Club and the North Bay Norsemen and Valkyries team.

Submitted to BayToday.ca




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Chris Dawson

About the Author: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson has been with BayToday.ca since 2004. He has provided up-to-the-minute sports coverage and has become a key member of the BayToday news team.
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