KeepOurTanker.com American Open Day 1 Results

(Mobile, Ala.) - Gold medals were awarded in six Olympic weight divisions at the KeepOurTanker.com American Open in Mobile, Ala. on Friday.

After placing 16^th at the World Championships in South Korea three weeks ago in the 53kg division, Sarah Davis (Rincon, Ga.) came to Mobile with something to prove. 

"I knew my training had been going so well before the Worlds and I wanted to come here and do the lifts I knew I could do," Davis said.

Davis beat her Worlds total by five kilograms, lifting 72kg in the snatch and 92kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 164kg.  . 

"I just wanted to have a good time here," said Davis whose total beat her closest opponent by 10kg.  "There was a lot more pressure at Worlds, but I wasn't nervous here.  I felt good and it showed."

This is the fourth national event Davis has won this year after taking titles at the Collegiate Nationals, Senior Nationals and Rodger DeGarmo Invitational. 

Davis hopes to have another opportunity to succeed at the World Championships in 2010. 

"Going into the Worlds I was excited to have made the team, but I thought the other girls would be so much better than I was and I got nervous, but then I realized that I was good enough to be there on the platform with everyone else.  I don't think I proved that there, but I know that I can be a lot more competitive," Davis said.  "I definitely want to improve my total.  I think there's a lot more ight out there that I can reach." 

Amanda Hubbard (Ann Arbor, Mich.) also was scheduled to compete at the World Championships this year, but a torn ligament in her elbow at the DeGarmo Invitational in August kept her out of the event. 

"There was a lot of time between my injury and the Worlds and there was a lot of uncertainty about whether I would be ok to lift," Hubbard said. "Everyone has different opinions, but it wasn't good enough for me to just go to the Worlds, I wanted to be able to do well and it was only fair for me to pull out and give someone else the chance."

Although this was Hubbard's first event since the injury, she won the gold medal easily, defeating her opponents in the 58kg division by a margin of at least 24kg with her total of 193kg. 

"I had a PR in my clean and jerk (108kg), so that was good, but I still wanted to do better," Hubbard said.  "Next year I want to make the Pan Am Team and medal.  And I want to make the World Team and actually get to compete this time.  I'd be really happy if I placed in the top 10 there." 

A former 53kg lifter, Rachel Churchward (Edmonds, Wash.) moved down to the 48kg division and won her first national level event at her new weight.

"I'm still working on performing well at national events and this is my first time at 48, but I wanted to give it a shot to see if I could do it and how I would perform," Churchward said.

Churchward distanced herself from the other athletes immediately with opening attempts that were heavier than her opponents as she went five-for-six on attempts, lifting a total of 142kg. 

Although he didn't win his 69kg division, 17-year-old Peter Musa (East Stroudsburg, Pa.) set three new school-age American Records for athletes ages 17 and under. 

Musa broke his own records of 133kg in the snatch and 143kg in the clean and jerk, by a kilogram each and two kilos in the total where he won the silver medal against senior players.

"I've actually lifted more than that, just not in a national meet, so I wasn't thinking about records," Musa said. "I just want to focus on what's coming up next."

Competition continues on Saturday at the Mobile Civic Center Arena, 401 Civic Center Dr. 

Competition will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at approximately 11 p.m. Saturday.  Competition on Sunday begins at 10 a.m. and is expected to end at approximately 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are available at the door.  The schedule of divisions is as follows: 

Saturday December 12
9 a.m. Men's 77kg division Group B

11 a.m. Men's 77kg division Group A

1 p.m. Women's 69kg division

3:30 p.m. Men's 85kg division

6 p.m. Women's 75kg

8 p.m. Men's 94kg 

Complete results for each division are as follows:

Completed Scoresheets

Women's 48kg
1. Rachel Churchward (Edmonds, Wash.)
2. Gina Guide (Orland Park, Ill.)
3. Alison James (Longwood, Fla.)
4. Kaysie Junco (Port Orange, Fla.)
5. Suzanna Sanchez (Shreveport, La.)
6. Anne Lehman (San Francisco, Calif.)
7. Sandra Arechaederra (Alamo, Calif.)
8. Ellen Kercher (Hoschton, Ga.) 

Women's 53kg
1. Sarah Davis (Rincon, Ga.)
2. Samantha Turnbull (Port Orange, Fla.)
3. Sarah Cowles (Marquette, Mich.)
4. Jo Arnold (Oakland, Calif.)
5. Rachael Bommicino (Atlanta, Ga.)
6. Cortney Batchelor (Mobile, Ala.)
7. Danielle Durante (San Jose, Calif.)
8. Beth Terranova (Whiteston, N.Y.)

Women's 58kg

1. Amanda Hubbard (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
2. Megan Kranz (Shreveport, La.)
3. Chelsea Kyle (Sandusky, Ohio)
4. Arielle Lippman (East Rockaway, N.Y.)
5. Breanne Bassler (Seabrook, Texas)
6. Gwendolyn Sisto (Eliot, Maine)
7. Stephanie Spencer (Castle Rock, Colo.)
8. Michelle Downs (Annapolis, Md.)

Women's 63kg
1. Rizelyx Rivera (Moorestown, N.J.)
2. Jessie Humeston (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
3. Vanessa McCoy (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
4. Jessica Gee (Eugene, Ore.)
5. Robin Feuerman (Marquette, Mich.)
6. Kari Shimomura (West Sacramento, Claif.)
7. Laura Davie (Marietta, Ga.)
8. Kelly Charniga (Livonia, Mich.)

Men's 56kg
1. Vang Weced (Sacramento, Calif.)
2. Michael Graber (Montclair, N.J.)
3. Dominique Brunson (Savannah, Ga.)
4. Virgil Young (Altamonte, Fla.)

Men's 62kg
1. Kyle Yamauchi (Honolulu, Hawaii)
2. Sean Hutchinson (Shreveport, La.)
3. Darrel Barnes (St. Louis, Mo.)
4. Ryan Borges (Bradenton, Fla.)
5. Jordan Miller (Gainesville, Fla.)
6. Zach Ladlie (Orlando, Fla.)
7. Ryan Cook (Yorkville, Ill.)

Men's 69kg
1. Derrick Johnson (St. Louis, Mo.)
2. Peter Musa (East Stroudsburg, Pa.)
3. Christopher Yorkovitz (Butler, Ohio)
4. Daniel Moeller (Waterloo, Iowa)
5. Greg McElravy (Marietta, Ga.)
6. Gabe Dutch Lowy (Fort Worth, Texas)
7. Timothy Scott (Palm Coast, Fla.)
8. Joey Botero (Altamonte, Fla.)

Tags: Amanda Hubbard, Amanda Hubbard, Peter Musa, Rachel Churchward, Sara Cowles, Sarah Robles