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2009 Arnold Sports Festival–Quest American
March 7, 2009, Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, OH
Texas A&M powerlifters, coach, competed at the 2009 Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, OH. The Arnold is a huge annual event, founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger, which includes bodybuilding, powerlifting, weightlifting, strongman, martial arts, boxing, gymnastics, and other competitions.
While the IPF World Championship is the highest level event in powerlifting, the Arnold is certainly right behind it in terms of lifters’ favorite meets. With huge crowds who are familiar with the athletes and high-profile celebrities on hand to watch the events, 2007 IPF World Champion Tony Cardella ’99 said that the Arnold was the meet where he felt like a professional athlete.
- Ashley Awalt, Post-Baccalaureate, 52 kg class
- WON the 52 kg class
- WON Female Best Lifter
- WON Junior Best Lifter
- Marked her true comeback and silenced internet critics
- The Arnold is Awalt’s true comeback meet. She was the IPF World silver-medalist in 2005, setting a world record in the bench press with 270 at 123 pounds bodyweight. She then took some time off from lifting but began training again last summer and competed at both the 2008 Summer Powerfest (Houston, TX) and the 2008 Longhorn Open (Austin, TX). Amazingly, she surpassed some of her old best lifts and she did it in the 114-pound class, a weight class down from where she previously competed. Now, she has taken gold on the big stage and made the biggest squat of her life in the process!
- Dustin Witte, JR, 90 kg class
- 3rd place, behind 2007 IPF Men’s World silver-medalist Jason Beck.
- Witte is the 2007 and 2008 National Teen Champion and was ranked #11 in the world as a 181-pounder after his 5th-place finish and deadlift gold medal at 2008 IPF Junior Worlds.
In additional, lifters were divided into groups based on geographical regions of the country. Texas A&M Coach Cort Spellman coached the Midwest group (in which Awalt and Witte lifted), along with former Texas A&M Powerlifting Coach and 3-time IPF World Champion Wade Hooper. The Midwest group placed 2nd ahead of Canada, but behind the Atlantic group.
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