Final Pan Am Qualifying Meet to be Held at Arnold Championships in Columbus on Saturday

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) - Twenty-six athletes will be vying for berths on the 2010 Pan American Championships Team during the final qualifying meet at the Arnold Championships at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday. 

Athletes' results from the Arnold Championships will be ranked against those of other lifters who competed at the 2009 Senior World Championships and American Open as well as the National Junior Championships that were held last weekend in Rochester, Minn. 

Competition in the divisions with potential Pan Am qualifiers will be held from 2 - 8 p.m. EST and can be watched live at http://www.livestream.com/arnoldweightlifting.   

Following the Arnold Championships, seven women and eight men will be named to the team that will compete at the Pan American Championships, with a maximum of two athletes per weight division.  The Pan Ams will be held May 23-31 in Guatemala.  

Four members of the 2009 World Championship Team will be among the athletes vying for slots on the Pan Am Team this weekend.  

Kendrick Farris (Shreveport, La. / Louisiana State University - Shreveport), an eighth-place finisher at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, is currently ranked fourth on the men's list based upon his results from the 2009 Senior World Championships.  Farris is looking to improve his status on the list and recently clean and jerked more in practice than his current American Record of 202kg by three kilograms. 

Sarah Davis (Rincon, Ga. / Team Savannah) had a personal best in the 53kg division at the Senior Worlds, but the former 58kg lifter will need a new PR to improve her 10^th place status on the ranking list.  

Davis' Team Savannah teammate Henry Brower (Bloomingdale, Ga.) had the second highest placing for the U.S. men at the Worlds where he finished 12^th in the 69kg division, but he is currently ranked 12^th across all divisions heading into this weekend.  

Sarah Robles (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Team Arizona) set her personal record of a total of 233kg in the +75kg weight division to place 11^th at the Worlds and is sitting comfortably in the #2 slot on the women's ranking list. 

Vying for a possible second slot at +75kg will be 2000 Olympic medalist Cheryl Haworth (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Coastal Empire Weightlifting).  Injuries kept Haworth out of competition for more than a year, but this return to competition could mark the beginning of Haworth's quest for a fourth Pan Am title.

Chad Vaughn (Florence, Texas / Spoon Barbell) also took time off after the 2008 Olympic Games, but the new father won the American Open in December at 77kg and is currently ranked eighth among the men.

The following is the list of the top seven women and top eight U.S. men on the ranking list leading into the Arnold Championships.  Athletes who will be competing in Columbus are noted with an asterisk:

Women
1. Kelly Rexroad (Atlanta, Ga. / Coffee's Gym / 48kg)
2. Sarah Robles (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Team Arizona / +75kg)*
3. Amanda Hubbard (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Team Savannah / 58kg)*
4. Erin Wallace (Shreveport, La. / Louisiana State University - Shreveport / 75kg)*
5. Danica Rue Jersey City, N.J. / Metropolitan Elite / 69kg)*
6. Sarah Bertram (Eugene, Ore. / Heavy Athletics Weightlifting Club / 69kg)
7. Holley Mangold (Centerville, Ohio / Unattached / +75kg)

Men
1. Patrick Judge (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Team Florida Gulf Coast / +105kg)
2. Cody Gibbs (Shreveport, La. / Louisiana State University - Shreveport / 105kg)
3. Donny Shankle (San Ramon, Calif. / Cal Strength / 105kg)
4. Kendrick Farris (Shreveport, La. / Louisiana State University - Shreveport / 85kg)*
5. Matt Bruce (Baton Rouge, La. / Gayle Hatch Weightlifting Club / 85kg)
6. Zach Schluender (Shreveport, La. / TSU Iron Dogs / +105kg)
7. Caleb Ward (Pleasonton, Calif. / Cal Strength / +105kg)*
8. Chad Vaughn (Florence, Texas / Spoon Barbell /  77kg)*

A complete list of athletes competing in the Pan Am qualifier is as follows:

Men's 62kg
Sean Hutchinson (Shreveport, La. / Louisiana State University - Shreveport)

Men's 69kg
Henry Brower (Bloomingdale, Ga. / Team Savannah)
Chris Yorkowitz (Butler, Ohio / East Coast Gold)

Men's 77kg
Mike Cerbus (Cortland, Ohio / Pendrago)
Lance Frye (Moorestown, N.J. / East Coast Gold)
Chad Vaughn (Florence, Texas / Spoon Barbell)

Men's 85kg
Kendrick Farris (Shreveport, La. / Louisiana State University - Shreveport)

Men's 94kg
Kyle Cooke (Yorkville, Ill. / Fox Valley)
Derek Fry (Columbus, Ohio / East Coast Gold)
Tony Grana (Grover, Mo. / Kirkwood Weightlifting)
Frank Murray (Floral Park, N.Y. / Metropolitan Elite)
Phil Sabatini (Lexington, Va. / East Coast Gold)

Men's 105kg
Jonathan North (San Ramon, Calif. / Cal Strength)
Benn Overkamp (St. Louis, Mo. / Kirkwood Weightlifting Club)

Men's +105kg
Jason Starks (League City, Texas / Team Texas)
Caleb Ward (Pleasanton, Calif. / Cal Strength)
Cameron Swart (Houston, Texas / Team Houston)

Women's 48kg
Rachel Churchward (Edmonds, Wash. / Calpian's Weightlifting Club)

Women's 53kg
Sarah Davis (Rincon, Ga. / Team Savannah)

Women's 58kg
Arielle Lippman (East Rockaway, N.Y. / Metropolitan Elite)
Amanda Hubbard (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Team Savannah)

Women's 69kg
Danica Rue (Jersey City, N.J. / Metropolitan Elite)
Rachel Crass (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Cal Strength)

Women's 75kg
Erin Wallace (Shreveport, La. / Louisiana State University - Shreveport)

Women's +75kg
Cheryl Haworth (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Coastal Empire Weightlifting)
Sarah Robles (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Team Arizona)

 

Tags: Amanda Hubbard, Amanda Hubbard, Chad Vaughn, Cheryl Haworth, Chris Yorkowitz, Cody Gibbs, Danica Rue, Derek Fry, Donald Shankle, Erin Wallace, Henry Brower, Holley Mangold, Kelly Rexroad, Kendrick Farris, Kyle Cooke, Lance Frye, Lance Frye, Matthew Bruce, Mike Cerbus, Patrick Judge, Sarah Bertram, Sarah Davis, Sarah Robles, Sean Hutchinson, Tony Grana, Zach Schluender