RYAN WENT 700 LBS FOR 6 REPS IN A LOOSE BENCH SHIRT.



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Weight Classes were as follows:

LIGHTWEIGHT: UNDER 182 LBS

MIDDLEWEIGHT: 182-242 LBS

HEAVYWEIGHT: OVER 242 LBS

2006 OREGON BENCHPRESS CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
..............
NAME	PLACING & WEIGHT CLASS	BODYWEIGHT (lbs)	WEIGHT LIFTED (lbs)
James Gibson	1st - Lightweight	176.5	425
Gabriel Hamel	2nd - Lightweight	166.5	335
Greg Skipper	3rd - Lightweight	150.5	100
Bob Moore	1st - Middleweight	214.5	505
Will Dinwiddle	2nd - Middleweight	213	425
Justin Kirkbride	3rd - Middleweight	215	415
Greg Guth	4th - Middleweight	219.5	415
Charles Bean	5th - Middleweight	221.5	415
Elliot Baum	6th - Middleweight	216	405
Justin Sandlin	7th - Middleweight	215	375
Cody King	8th - Middleweight	183	200
Paul Ratsch	1st - Heavyweight	314	600
Boomer Fleming	2nd - Heavyweight	271.5	545
Jason Wands	3rd - Heavyweight	254	475

BEST OVERALL LIFTER: JAMES GIBSON


BEST RAW LIFTER: JAMES GIBSON


BEST TEEN LIFTER: ELLIOT BAUM





PHOTOS



2006 Oregon State Benchpress Championships


The 2006 Oregon State Benchpress Championships brought 14 men to the platform at the Parkrose Highschool venue on July 1st, 2006. The contest officially began after Heidi Henke beautifully sang the national anthem. Three weight classes were used to separate the lifters: Lightweight being under 182 lbs, Middleweight between 182-242 lbs, and Heavyweight over 242 lbs. These weight classes were based on the classes used at WPO (elite level) powerlifting contests. The contest brought out the competitive spirit in everyone. Three men in the middleweight class all benched the same weight, 415 lbs, with placings doled out to the lightest man receiving a higher placing. Several teenagers and first-time competitors came out to compete, and were glad they did. A teen class is planned for next year’s competition. Notable lifts were: best overall and best raw bench of 425 lbs done by James Gibson weighing only 176 lbs! This was his first time competing, too. James was in such great shape, he could have been mistaken for one of the bodybuilding competitors. Best teen lifter was Elliot Baum, who at age 19 benchpressed 405 lbs in the middleweight class. These two lifters received swords for their efforts. One more sword was given out to Bob Moore, who beat seven other men to take first place in the middleweight class. Bob benched a personal best of 505 lbs on his third attempt, after a frightening mishap on his second attempt. The bar had gotten out of the groove on the second attempt and had fallen back onto his head. He received a concussion from the accident, he later found out at the doctor’s. But this did not keep Bob from coming back and getting the lift on his third attempt. For this effort and mental fortitude, Bob was awarded the Brute Strength award. The show promoter Andre Scott presented an appreciation plaque to Julie and I after the contest. We were thrilled to receive it and we proudly hung it on the wall of our living room.

At the evening portion of the Oregon State Bodybuilding Championships, Ryan Kennelly came in huge weighing 312 lbs and did an exhibition benchpress to wow the crowd during intermission. Ryan stormed out to the Rob Zombie song Demon Speeding. For those of you unfamiliar with the song, it starts out with the narrative: "Why don't you ask me what it feels like to be a freak". The bar was loaded to 700 lbs, and Ryan had thrown on a loose fitting Rage-X shirt to wear for the lifting. Loose meaning he put it on by himself over a t-shirt. With the bar bending under the massive weight, everyone thought he was going to go for one rep, which is something most people will never see benchpressed in their lifetime. Ryan would not be satisfied with just one rep. He just kept going and going. Many people thought he would pump out a solid three reps for good measure. When the dust settled, Ryan had pressed an unheard-of SIX reps with 700 lbs - PAUSING THE LAST REP! I have been around the lifting scene since 1981 and never in my life have I seen anything more impressive, he just kept getting stronger with every rep. You could see him feeding off of the energy from the huge crowd, and the crowd was simply blown away. He has never looked stronger or more explosive than he did this day. His training partner Paul Ratsch agreed that he has never seen Ryan look as strong as he did on this day. Ryan was unstoppable!!!!

~Tod Becraft


Comments from the show promoter Andre Scott:

I couldn't have done any of this stuff without an awesome support system. Tod and Julie did an awesome job coordinating the benchpress contest. Everybody was talking about how many people were in to see the bench competition. I guess it was pretty packed in there. And everybody was buzzing about the 700 lbs for six reps. That's still hard for me to wrap my mind around and I actually saw it happen! Ryan was really cool to have at the show. He was very personable and very well spoken.

I don't know how to thank Tod and Julie enough for everything they've done. I know it takes a lot to put on a meet, but they made the whole thing seem very uncomplicated. THANK YOU!!! Tod and Julie are more deserving of an appreciation plaque than just about anyone. I know both of them have trained people, worked their asses off and had a lot of individual success in their own competitive endeavors. And that doesn't even include all the countless help they've given to everyone around them over the past 15 plus years. A job very well done!


Comments from the Ryan Kennelly:

That crowd really had me fired up! I did not want to let them down. I really wanted to give them their money’s worth, especially since they were only expecting me to do 675 lbs for 1-2 reps. So I figured I'd give them a little extra with 700lbs. That loose and baggie single-ply Inzer Rage-X shirt kind of had me worried at first, especially since I randomly picked it out of a pile of old BA3 shirts from last year that I had never worn before. But that all changed when I smoked those big 600+ raw lifts like 135. I knew then that I was ready to play. I had a total blast entertaining the crowd and my fans. I thought it was cool when several bodybuilders asked if I was in the super heavy weight class for the show - all with a worried look in their eyes too. Eek! Haha, kind of a cool compliment. Thank you Tod and Julie for putting on another great contest. I can’t wait till next year!