News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Cenobia Gonzalez of Sisters sets Oregon State record in squat competition with 253.5-pound lift.
Conrad Kiefer’s 600-pound deadlift impressed Level 5 owner Ryan Hudson and Tony Gonzalez who looked on.
Strength athletes from five states converged on Sisters High School last weekend for what turned out to be the largest sanctioned powerlifting meet ever in Central Oregon.
Some 105 athletes competed in the USPA Oregon Outlaw Open. High Desert Power Team from Redmond and Prineville took top honors in the two-day meet, with Sisters' own Level 5 Barbell Club taking second place.
Coach Ryan Hudson of Level 5 reported that Sisters' 20 lifters set 26 new state records and made 34 personal bests on their way to 18 gold medals, one silver, and one bronze.
In powerlifting, athletes squat, bench-press and deadlift. They get three tries at each lift, with their top score taken for each event. The combined top scores of all three events make up the lifter's total, which determines placement in the competition. Team scores are an aggregate of individual scores.
(Totals for the Sisters lifters are alisted in the sidebar).
"The highlight of the event was Conrad Kiefer's 600-pound deadlift," Hudson said. "There may have been others that I don't know about, but the first ever from someone out of Level 5 Barbell Club or Sisters High School."
Hudson noted that, with runners from the Peterson Ridge Rumble and lifters from the Oregon Outlaw Open hitting town, there was a significant athletic shot in the arm for the local economy.
This was the first time Hudson hosted an event at Sisters High School - a necessary move to accommodate the number of registered lifters.
"That was a bit of an experiment," he said. "And it was a huge success."
The coach said he heard many compliments for the venue, from the weight room to the commons area where the event was held, and which offered plenty of space for competitors and
spectators.
"It was just a great vibe and atmosphere for that kind of event," he said.
Athletes were eager to sign on for more, and Hudson says he definitely plans to make the tourney an annual event.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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