4 Norsemen win Ont. Senior Weightlifing titles

Jason Partridge does the Clean and Jerk at Ontario Senior Weightlifing Championships in Scarborough. Photo submitted.

The province’s top weightlifters met Saturday at the Variety Village Sport Complex in Scarborough for the 2009 Ontario Senior Championship. The contest featured lifters who had met the provincial qualifying standards in sanctioned competitions from November 1, 2008 and onward. Up for grabs were individual titles in the various male and female weight classes and the much coveted team pennant- awarded to the squad with the top scoring four males and two females. The North Bay Norsemen/Valkyries contingent was made up of 10 athletes, including 5 males and 5 females.

The first session of lifting featured the male classes from 56 kilos to 85 kilos. Norsemen Andrew Uyeda topped the 62 kilo class with personal best of 84 kilos in the snatch and 102 kilos in the clean and jerk. Uyeda, a second year Canadore Sport Conditioning student, won the same title at last year’s Seniors. Meanwhile, in the 85 kilo class, Josh Ranger picked up the bronze medal with lifts of 100 kilos in the snatch and 120 kilos in the clean and jerk.

The second flight of lifting was for females across all weight divisions. Melody Ogletree lead off for the Valkyries by dominating the 53 kilo class with lifts of 54 kilos in the snatch and 70 kilos in the clean and jerk. In the next heavier division, 58 kilos, Samantha Scully won her first ever provincial senior title with solid successes at 58 kilos in the snatch, and 68 kilos in the clean and jerk. In the 63 kilo division Kayla Turner and Courtney Simkins of the Valkyries were second and third respectively. They finished behind the eventual best overall female lifter, Miel McGerrigle of Mississauga. Turner, a Laurentian University student, did 72 kilos in the snatch and 78 kilos in the clean and jerk; Simkins did 57 and 76. North Bay’s final female entry was Stavrula Liritzis in the 69 kilo class. Liritzis, normally a 63 kilo competitor, went up a division in order to avoid McGerrigle and grab valuable team points for the Valkyries. The move paid off as Stavrula broke all her personal bests and took the gold medal. She finished with best marks of 58 in the snatch and 76 in the clean and jerk.

The final session included the three heaviest men’s division – 94, 105 and +105. At the 2008 Provincial Seniors, Norsemen lifters won all of these classes and coasted to the pennant. This time the situation was not nearly the same.

The 94 kilo class featured two of Canada’s best lifters, both at top of their game – Buck Ramsay from the Sabaria Club of Mississauga and Dalas Santavy of the Sarnia Fury team. Ramsay, a former North Bay native and Norsemen club member, ended up with the gold medal in the class and was later named the top male lifter of the meet. He made a best ever total of 323 kilos via 143 in the snatch and 180 in the clean and jerk. Santavy’s best lifts were 138 and 175 for second. Finishing in fourth place was Norsemen, David Staniszewski. The 19-year-old Staniszewski, lifting in his first ever provincial Seniors, made personal bests of 108 in the snatch and 133 in the clean and jerk.
Going into the final session of lifting Variety Village and North Bay were leading the team point chart. North Bay had no entrant in the 105 class, so the only hope for the team title rested with two of the favorites in the +105 kilo class, Jason Partridge and A.J. Wendover. The other leading contender at +105 was Matthew O’Brien of Variety Village.

Partridge opened with 118 kilos in the snatch for a success and followed with another three white effort at 122. Wendover elected to start at 125 and missed. O’Brien opened with 125 and made it easily. Wendover repeated on his second attempt and was awarded a good lift. Nevertheless, he aggravated his left elbow trying to secure the weight above his head and had to pass on his third attempt. O’Brien then went to 130 and missed twice. Before the clean and jerks started Wendover had to pull out of the contest, leaving Partridage and O’Brien to battle it out for top spot. Partridge made his second clean and jerk at 147 and waited. O’Brien then managed 150 kilos. With one attempt left for the title, Partridge took 154, and missed the clean. O’Brien took the gold with a 275 total, Partridge the silver with 269. The bronze medal went to Shawn Gawley of Belleville with 265.

The final team scoring saw Variety Village finishing first with 162 points followed by the Norseman/Valkyries with 154. Sarnia’s Fury Club was third with 124, followed by Sabaria of Mississauga with 79, and the Toronto Weightlifting Club with 77 points.

The next contest on the Ontario Weightlifting Association’s schedule is the 2009 Ontario Scholastic Championship this coming Saturday, April 4th at the North Bay YMCA.

All male and female weight classes will be contested and there will be elementary, secondary, and post-secondary school team awards.

Submitted to BayToday.ca