3 golds for Valkries and Norsemen

Allison Loyst hoists 85 kilos in the clean and jerk. Photo submitted.

On Saturday, the Variety Village Sport Complex in Scarborough played host to the 2010 Ontario Junior Weightlifting Championship. The contest featured lifters, 20 years of age and under, from clubs across the province. Included on the roster were 11 athletes from the North Bay Norsemen and Valkyries squad, led by coaches Ray Hamilton, Larry Sheppard and Kayla Rose. Also competing was a contingent from the newest OWA affiliate, the Canadore Panthers Weightlifting Club. The team, headed by coaches Matt Blanchard and Dan Harling, entered six lifters.

In the female portion of the contest the Valkyries finished with two gold and two silvers. The gold medals just happened to come in the lightest and heaviest divisions.

Bronwynn Sheppard won the 44 kilo class with personal records of 37 kilos in the two hand snatch and 47 kilos in the clean and jerk. Later, Allison Loyst snatched 69 kilos and clean and jerked 85 to win the +75 kilo class. Loyst, an 18-year-old University of Windsor freshman, dethroned the 2009 champion, Sheila Paulin, of the host Variety Village club.

Valkyries Courtney McColeman and Carla White were silver medalists in their respective divisions. McColemean did lifts of 35 kilos in the snatch and 42 in the clean and jerk to place second in the 63 kilo class. Meanwhile, White made 38 and 48 for the same ranking in the 75 kilo division.

In the male sessions, seven Norsemen took to the platform, finishing with one gold, two silvers and three bronze medals.

The lone gold went to Zach Gebhart in the 51 kilo class. Gebhart had a perfect competition making all six of his attempts and finishing with two personal bests. The 13 year old powerhouse did 45 kilos in the snatch and 60 kilos in the clean and jerk.

Silvers went to Brad Janzen at 77 kilos, and Ryan Hunter in the +105 class. Janzen snatched 76 and clean and jerked 107, while Hunter hoisted 92 and 120. Bronze medals went to Kempton Morris, who snatched 66 and clean and jerked 87 in the 62 kilo class, Mark Wang, with 83 and 98 at 77 kilos, and Andrew Holland, with 66 and 95 in the 85 kilos division.

The Canadore Panthers had one female entrant, Ashley Nicholson in the 69 kilo category. Nicholson, a first year Sport Conditioning student, and a novice weightlifting competitor, made 36 kilos in the snatch and 46 in the clean and jerk. In doing so, Nicholson totaled 5 kilos more than the runner- up, Samantha Cerpin of the Ottawa Capitals club.

On the male side, Dave Dickson and Tyler Whareham, also Sport Conditioning students, were the winners in the 94 and 105 kilo classes respectively. Dickson totaled 150, via a 65 kilo snatch and an 85 clean and jerk. Whareham totaled 200, by way of 85 in the snatch and 115 in the clean and jerk.

Other competitors for the Panthers were Etienne Desaunier, 7th at 69 kilos, and Ryan Purkhart, 4th in the 77 kilo division. Jeff Paquette lifted as a guest in the 69 kilo class.

At the conclusion of the contest the twelve member provincial junior squad was named. The team will compete in the 2011 Canadian Weightlifting Federation Junior Nationals, being staged in Regina, Saskatchewan on January 22. Lifters were selected based on competition results from mid –July up to and including the weekend’s contest. One of the province’s top junior male lifters, Logan Baker, had the unfortunate luck to miss all his attempts in the snatch portion of Saturday’s contest, and thus register a no total. Regardless, he was still chosen as Ontario’s 85 kilo representative for Regina. Other locals named to the team were Mark Wang at 77 kilos and Allison Loyst in the + 75 female category. The veteran Norsemen and Valkyries coach, Larry Sheppard, will be the Ontario team manager.

Submitted to BayToday.ca