THE BATTLE OF BELLEVILLE

Kristin Stansfield with Sonya Stevenson

The Battle of Belleville otherwise known as B.o.B. was a successful meet not only for Team Lab’s Power Team but also for USA Powerlifting of Illinois. This was a unique competition that brought out the areas best RAW powerlifters. This was a no weight class, winner take all competition, slated as “who is the strongest pound for pound powerlifter in the area”. Scoring was done by a Wilks coefficient, which is a coefficient that can be used to measure the strength of a powerlifter against other powerlifters despite the different body weights of the lifters.

	Rhonda Winterhalter

Team L.A.B.’s Power Team had a strong showing with 9 athletes representing, 4 of which competing in their 1
st powerlifting meet.   The strong women of the Power Team started off with our very own Rhonda Winterhalter. After battling a tough year with a VERY painful degenerative hip issue, she still managed to have a very successful meet making 7 of 9 attempts and hitting new PRs in her Bench, Deadlift and Total! Rhonda opened with 75 kg (165 lbs.) in the Squat and could not get the depth call for her next 2 attempts. This didn’t affect the rest of her performance, going on to hit a new Bench PR at 52.5 kg (115 lbs.) and crushing her old deadlift numbers by 28 lbs., hitting 107.5 kg (237 lbs.) and posting a new PR Total at 235 kg (518 lbs.). Huge performance Rhonda!! Next on the platform Veteran

Jennifer Joy Lilly

Jennifer Joy Lilly, competing at her new lighter weight class!!, goes 7 for 9, hitting competition PRs in all 3 lifts. Squatting 100 kg (220 lbs.), Benching 70 kg (154 lbs.) and Deadlifting 140 kg (308 lbs.) for a new PR total at 310 kg (683.4 lbs.) at a lighter weight than her previous meets!! Great job Jen! Kristen Stansfield’s

	Kristin Stansfield

rookie performance was one that proved great things to come from the staunch competitor, going 8 for 9.  Posting a very respectable total at 282.5 kg (622.8 lbs.), with a 95 kg (209 lbs.) squat, a 70 kg (154 lbs.) bench press and 117.5 kg (259 lbs.) deadlift. Last and most certainly not least, Sonya Leta Stevenson, stepped onto the platform for her 1 st powerlifting competition as our most senior Masters Athlete. Sonya’s performance was awe inspiring as she went 7 for 9,

Sonya Stevenson

totaling 225 kg (496 lb). In between her knitting sessions, Sonya hit a very strong squat at 77.5 kg (170.9 lbs.), bench pressing 55 kg (121 lbs.) and clearly her favorite a 92.5 kg (204 lbs.) deadlift. When asked what she thought about the day, she enthusiastically responded, “I will definitely be doing this again!!” Great job ladies!! And welcome to the team Kristen and Sonya!
The men’s portion of the competition started later in the afternoon, with the Power Team slated to put on a show, with 2 VERY strong rookies in the lineup and 5

	Sherman Voegtle

men in total. First up, Veteran Sherman Voegtle, never disappoints. Always showing a gritty performance, goes 8 for 9, posting new PRs in all 3 disciplines which resulted in a huge Total PR at 330 kg (727.5 lbs.). Squatting 102.5 kg (226 lbs.) , bench pressing 85 kg (187 lbs.) and blowing away his previous deadlift with a 17.5 kg PR (38.6 lbs.) at 142.5 kg (314 lbs), which is double body weight for him. His 3rd attempt deadlift was one of the longest fights in the sport, which he was not going to lose. Expect bigger numbers out of Voegtle in the future as his training numbers are soaring. Trainer,

Scott Marler

Coach and Dietitian Scott Marler, steps onto the platform in his sophomore performance crushing his previous numbers by going 7 for 9, adding 83 lbs. to his new PR Total of 585 kg (1289.7 lbs.). After battling a strain in the offseason, Marler rebounded with a 20 kg Squat PR at 220 kg (485 lbs.), hitting a solid 145 kg (319.6 lbs.) Bench Press and a PR deadlift at 220 kg (485 lbs.). Not too long after his record performance, Scott and his wife Jane announced the birth of their 1st child and new Power Team Member!! A big congratulations to Scott and Jane! The

	Justin Snorton

Lab’s very own Trainer and Coach Justin Snorton stepped onto the platform for his maiden powerlifting voyage and proved himself to be one of the country’s top powerlifters by qualifying for Nationals. By going 8 for 9, Justin posted a 570 kg total, with a 200 kg squat, 125 kg bench press and a 245 kg deadlift. In a field of 27 of the areas strongest men, Justin finished 13th overall in a performance that looked like he barely broke a sweat.  Expect to see big things from Snorton as he becomes more seasoned in the sport. Next up, Andrew “Animal”

Andrew Jones

Jones starts his (long overdue) career in this great sport in his rookie competition. Jones finishing 7th overall, posts some incredible numbers with a 657.5 kg total going 7 for 9. Jones squat 245 kg, bench press 147.5 kg and deadlift 265 kg numbers qualify him as one of our country’s top powerlifters by qualifying for Nationals along with Snorton. Great job guys!! Charter Power Team member

	Matt Swanson

Matt Swanson posted some record numbers in his comeback meet at B.o.B. Posted the 2nd highest total of the meet, finishing behind World Champion Nick Weite, however, due to the scoring coefficient and competing against different body weights, Swanson medaled in the top 5 finishing out in 4th place, by a VERY thin margin of 2.7 points from 2nd place and .3 points out from 3rd. This was Swanson’s first meet in over a year, due to an injury that almost ended his career in the sport. Swanson’s return was poised to bring in record numbers as he weighed in 5kg lighter than his previous contests with greater training numbers to support. Hitting a PR Squat 260 kg, PR Deadlift 295 kg and PR Total 705 kg, Swanson quickly sees that his powerlifting career is far from over as he

Matt Swanson

joins Jones and Snorton as a Qualifier for RAW Nationals. Swanson performance also set a NEW Illinois State Deadlift Record at 295 kg. He is slated to compete again in February and we can all expect him to improve all of his numbers once again.
Team L.A.B.’s Power Team has a very busy 2016 planned already. We have a few competing at the “River’s Edge”, February 13, 2016 at Tank’s Training Facility, which will be another Open RAW Coefficient meet, capped at 45 lifters. Coaches Drew Thompson and Chris Thacker will be competing at The Arnold Sports Festival’s Pro RAW Challenge March 4
th. The Illinois State meet has been slated for late April and McKendree University. The Missouri State meet is scheduled for early June at The Lab Gym and USA Powerlifting RAW Nationals is October 13-16 in Atlanta, GA. Come support the sport, the athletes and our very own Lab Rats! If you would like more information on how to get more involved in the sport contact christopher@labgym.com