The Ralph Klein Centre gymnasium echoed with the sounds of grunts and cheers as more than 80 of Alberta's strongest men and women took part in the 2014 Alberta Powerlifting Union Provincial Championships on July 5 and 6.Competitors ranging in age from their teens to their mid-60s tested their mettle in three events at the championships: Squat, bench press and deadlift.Two contenders from Olds, Ariel Chessall, 21, and Tanner Pochapsky, 18, came away with gold medals from the competition.Chessall lifted a total of 305 kilograms over the weekend and landed first-place honours in the 84-kilogram female junior category.She said despite a few hiccups during the event, she was happy with her performance.“I hit most of my numbers I set out to hit except for my squat and bench,” Chessall said.This was Chessall's second competition after taking up power lifting just over a year ago.“I've always kind of been into sports and stuff like that and I just didn't have a chance to do much post-secondary collegiate sports so I decided to do a fitness competition a couple years ago which I placed and did really well in but it wasn't for me. So I decided when I was introduced to the sport of power lifting that I would take it up because it's pretty phenomenal.”Although she's still new to the sport and was “shaking” during her first squat attempt from nervousness, her apprehension soon gave way to excitement and confidence, Chessall said.“You get out there and even though there's all these people and the judges, it's like you can almost barely see them and you're just like, boom, you are there and this is a lift that you have to make,” she said, adding taking part in the event was a big “reward” for all of her training.“It leaves you fired up for days and months and weeks.”Chessall said she trains under the tutelage of Mark Oxer, Olds College's strength and conditioning coach, who also organized the championships this year.It took eight weeks of training to prepare for the competition, she added, and since her performance at the event has qualified her for the national power lifting championships in Newfoundland and Labrador next year, Chessall plans to begin a new training regime soon.“I have a few minor tweaks I need to make on all my lifts but that can be bettered by accessory work after our main lifts and our training,” she said.Pochapsky earned gold in the men's 83-kilogram sub-junior category after lifting a total of 430.5 kilograms over the weekend.He said he is also new to the sport as Oxer introduced him to power lifting last year when Pochapsky was still training with the Olds High School Spartans football team.Having set personal provincial records for bench press and squat, Pochapsky hit every attempt over the weekend except for one bench press attempt.“I got way too excited and I just racked it way too early.”He said he is attending Red Deer College in the fall and will check out training facilities at the school to determine if he'll stick with the sport.“To be honest, I didn't even know I'd come this far when I joined it,” Pochapsky said, adding he is considering the possibility of training in Olympic-style lifting as well.Other gold medalists from the weekend included:Jillian Clark in the 72-kilogram female junior categorySandra Drake in the 72-kilogram female M1 categoryAngelina Van Ryswyk in the 84-kilogram female open categoryRaelene Marion in the 84-plus kilogram female open categoryJudy Seeley in the 72-kilogram female M3 categoryClifton Pho in the men's 66-kilogram junior categoryJohnny Choi in the men's 74-kilogram junior categoryEric LeClair in the men's 105-kilogram junior classic categoryFranklin Marion in the men's 120-kilogram junior classic categoryRyan Pelletier in the men's 120-kilogram plus junior categoryBrent Woolnough in the men's 105-kilogram M2 categorySteven Chen in the men's 74-kilogram open unequipped categoryJon Marrese in the men's 105-kilogram open unequipped categoryAdrian Locke in the men's 120-kilogram categoryJimmy Veilleux-Marois in the men's 74-kilogram sub-junior categoryKelly Fillion in the men's 105-kilogram equipped classic categoryKevin Breiter in the men's 120-plus kilogram M2 equipped categoryAntonio Poskovic in the men's 120-kilogram junior equipped categoryBradley Dayman in the men's 120-plus kilogram junior equipped categoryBrody Laybolt in the team 120-plus kilogram super heavyweight categoryThe best lifter awards, given to the strongest lifters in all classes, went to Meighan Chafe for the women and Brody Laybolt for the men.The best men's lifter in the equipped category was Bradley Dayman.Equipped lifters are allowed to wear items such as knee and wrist wraps, belts and supportive singlets or T-shirts.The best provincial club award went to the University of Alberta Powerlifting Association and Mike Armstrong, one of the pioneers of organized power lifting in the province, was given an award acknowledging his induction into the Alberta Powerlifting Union Hall of Fame.A portion of the entry fees from the championships also went toward anti-doping efforts with $3,000 raised.Organizers said that amount would cover five drug [email protected]
