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Valkyries dominate Ontario Junior Weightlifting Championships

Submitted by Contest Director Larry Sheppard The Y Norsemen and Valkyries weightlifting teams hosted the 2004 Ontario Junior Weightlifting Championship on Saturday in the main gymnasium of the YMCA.
Submitted by Contest Director Larry Sheppard

The Y Norsemen and Valkyries weightlifting teams hosted the 2004 Ontario Junior Weightlifting Championship on Saturday in the main gymnasium of the YMCA. Local lifters made up the bulk of the roster and took the majority of the medals.

In the women’s competition the Valkyries won six of the seven golds awarded. Weight class winners included :Celyne Begin at 48 kilos, Melissa Ladouceur at 53 kilos, Kayla Turner at 58, Stavrula Lirtizis at 63, Sarah Harling at 69, and Alicia Houghton at 75. Samantha Scully of the Valkyries picked up a silver medal in the 58 kilo class. Natalie Williams of Sarnia prevented the clean sweep by taking first in the + 75 kilo class.

The results were similar in the men’s portion of the contest. Indeed, of the nine divisions contested, seven were won by lifters from the Norsemen team. Local gold medalist were : 46 kilos- Tyler Ellis, 51 kilos – Alex Gale, 56 kilos – Mark Neethling, 69 kilos – Theo Liritzis, 77 kilos – Dan Harling, 94 kilos – Trevor Brown, and 105 kilos – Kirt Trahan. Winners from other clubs included: Chris Campbell of the Sarnia Fury club in the 62 kilo class, and Alex Sills of the Belleville Apollo Club in the +105 kilo class.

Silver medalists for the Norsemen included Reid Martel at 46, Jeff McLellan at 51, Adam Newton at 77, and Greg Richardson at 94 kilos. Bronze medals were also awarded to Andrew Bell at 51 and Morgan Brown at 77 kilos

Two North Bay lifters , Melissa Ladouceur and Trevor Brown were the stars of the competition.

Ladouceur, the reigning National Junior and Senior champion at 48 kilos, weighed in slightly over her regular weight class limit at 49.1 kilos. Melissa’s plan was to take a run at some long standing Ontario records in the 53 kilo class. She started by faltering slightly in the snatch portion of the contest; registering only one success at 52.5 kilos. The record of 55 kilos was set in 1996 by Sophie Robataille of Elliot Lake. Robataille’s clean and jerk record stood at 67.5. Melissa made 65 kilos on her first attempt and made an easy 70 on her second to establish a new mark. Then on her third and final lift she had a gut-wrenching success at 72.5 kilos. Ladouceur’s final total of 125 exceeded the 122.5 on the books for Robataille.

Trevor Brown, meanwhile, had his best showing ever by making all six of his attempts and establishing new personal bests and club records in the 94 kilo class. His final snatch of 112.5 was a full 5 kilos above his best ever, and he added the same amount to his clean and jerk, finishing with 140 kilos. Brown by virtue of his 252.5 total won the overall male best lifter award, and for the second year running holds the unofficial title as “Ontario’s Strongest Teenager.”

Other special award winners : Alex Gale and Kayla Turner - best under 16 lifters, and Greg Richardson and Alicia Houghton- best novice lifters. The Wingate Lottery plaques, symbolic of the top male and female High School contingents, went to West Ferris Secondary School in both categories.


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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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