| | Western New York Powerlifter Profiles |
| |  | Derek Barker
Derek has been competing in the powerlifting scene for 19 years. At 36 years old he recently set a new IPA 220# submaster total record of 1725#. He has a best squat of 705#,bench of 470# and deadlift of 625#. Derek usually competes in the tougher open class and trains at the "GARAGE". Update: 5/31/08 Derek lost some 'fat' and went down to the 198# class to compete at Sandi's and Zane's meet in Tribes Hill, N.Y. He had an outstanding squat of 680#, a 405# bench after bringing his wrong shirt and a 600# deadlift for a 1685 total. Good going Derek! |
| |  | Mark and Paget Becht
Mark and Paget have been involved in powerlifting for many years with Mark being a former NYS chairman for the USPF with a real lot of help from his wife Paget. Paget and Mark are both making a comeback into competing again after a layoff of several years. Paget's best bench press is 215lbs. Mark has an equally impressive best bench of 350 lbs at 181bs. Both train at the Monster Garage Gym. Making their home in Angola, NY and hidden behind Mark and Paget is their awesome rare 1974 Plymouth Road Runner. Can you say HEMI? |
| |  | Maria Braughler
13 year old Maria is making it a habit out of competing at the Red Brick Bench Press Championships and getting ready for her second competition there. She enjoys training at home with her dad [Bob] and big brother, Bob Jr. and also enjoys just spending time with her family. She has set a goal for herself of a 75 pound bench press at Red Brick V. With her dad as her coach she shouldn't have any trouble. Nice going Maria on your first place finish at this years Red Brick Championships. Maria wants our troops to know she appreciates the time they have to spend away from their families for our freedom and protection. | |
| |  | Robert Braughler Jr
Robert [Junior] has made monumental strides in his lifting and size since his first Red Brick Bech Press Championships. He started in 2005 as a 181 lb competitor to a 220 pounder in 2007. Benching 195 raw [17-19] is a past tense these days as Jr. has been pushing 265 off his chest, making a 70 lb increase since last years competition. He is undefeated at the Red Brick and looks to be stronger and bigger for Red Brick V. Big Junior trains either at home with his dad and sister, Maria, or at his Uncle Tim's gym. Comment from Junior;"Making a difference in the lives of our soldiers and their families makes us all winners" Nice going Rob Jr on increasing your competition raw bench to 235 pounds. |
| |  | John Constantin
Standing next to the bright and beautiful GTO is John Constantin of Cheektowaga, NY. John maintains a body weight around 205lbs and has a bench press of 415lbs. John trains at the Monster Garage Gym under the tutelage of Mark Becht. Can you say GOAT? GM'S RULE!! |
| |  | Steve Coppola
Steve has been competing for only 5 years but has some really impressive numbers for a 275 pounder. At 25 years old, he has a best squat of 865 pounds, bench of 610, deadlift of 700 with a best total of 2175 all good for AAPFand IPA records. Steve is a salesman for his family run business, Len Co Lumber and trains at the "GARAGE". |
| |  | Tracy Craig
Tracy is a newcomer to the powerlifting world after being edged on by her little cousin, Al Lewis. Now a Buffalo, New York resident, Tracy just retired from the U.S. Navy. She served on the L.Y. Spear at N.O.B. in Norfolk VA, Port Royal at Pearl Harbor and in the Special Boat Unit #24 at Little Creek Base in Norfolk VA. She is a young 39 years old and trains at the Jewish Community Center in Buffalo. She is presently training for her first bench press competition, at the Red Brick. |
| |  | Brooke Fineis-Curry
Remember the Arnold movie "Kindergarden Cop"? Well look out, here's the "Third Grade Teacher"! Brooke holds all AAPF National and World Amateur records and IPA records in the 165 womens open class. She has a best squat of 530#, a bench of 341#, a 465# deadlift and a best total of 1330#. A three time AAPF/APF World Champion, Brooke has been competing off and on for the past 10 years. She really is a third grade teacher in the Ken-Ton school district with a first class personality. She is also an Iron Asylum "Women of Power" and trains at the "GARAGE". |
| |  | Kirk Dean
Kirk is one guy that looks as strong as he is. At 35 years old, Kirk is a muscular 181 pound class competitor. He has a best squat of 615#, a 480# bench and a 610# deadlift for a 1645# total. Kirk spent his first two years competing in bench press only then moved up to full powerlifting meets the past two years. Kirk trains at the "GARAGE" and works in construction/sider. |
| |  | Dave Epolito "Moe"
Of the "3 Stooge's" he is known as "Moe" and other times as "Eppy". At 23 years of age, Eppy has a best raw bench of 350 pounds weighing 220 pounds. He lives in the Town of Tonawanda, N.Y. and will be making his first assit bench press competition in Feb. 2008 at the Red Brick. Moe is a member of the TONAWANDA BARBENDERS and trains at the Tonawanda Aquatics Center Update; Dave competed at Mark Nechts meet and increased his bench press to 550. Way to go Moe.
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| |  | Adam "the Phenom" Ferchen
Adam is a 17 year old junior at Niagara Wheatfield High School and has only been lifting since he was 14. At 15, Adam broke the AAPF National deadlift record with a 500# lift in the teen 165# division. In March of 2007 he competed at his second N.Y.S. High School Championships in the 168# division and won the "Most Improved Lifter" award and a second place trophy. At a body weight of 181 lbs he has competed in 2007 WNPF N.Y.S. Championships and set raw records in the squat [405#] bench [265#] and deadlift[500#]. In February 2008, Adam competed at the Red Brick Bench Press Champoinships and bench pressed a raw 315# to win the 181# teen division. This past March 2008, 17 year old Adam again competed at the N.Y.S. High School Championships. There he won the 178# division and "Most Valuable Lifter" award with raw lifts of 455 in the squat, 275 in the bench and a 525 lb deadlift. When not competing, Adam plays middle linebacker and fullback for the Niagara Wheatfield High School varsity football team. |
| |  | Dave "the Bull" Fiori
'The Bull' has been training and competing for nearly five years and has accomplished a 'ton' since his first meet. His first meet was the New England Record Breakers [NERB]. As a raw competitor he had a bench press of 275 in the 181 division for a 7th place finish. Since then he started training even harder for powerlifting where he eventually moved up another weight class and into the assisted division. In his first full meet competition he took first place at the WNPF New York State Championships and set records of a 500# squat, 340# bench press and a 525# deadlift competing in the single ply open, novice, and lifetime drug free divisions. This gave him a total of 9 state records at one event. He now has competed at 198# and 220# with personal records of a 575# squat, 400# bench press and 525# in the deadlift. A member of the Tonawanda Barbenders, Dave has a great desire to excel in powerlifting and can be found surfing on the internet for tips on increasing his strength. He has received sponsorships from APT PRO, Electrifire Energy and AST Sports Science. When not training, Dave works as an accounts manager for an insurance firm in Williamsville, N.Y. and makes his home in Niagara Falls, N.Y. with his wife Melissa. |
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| |  | Dan Gregory
Dan is not a newcomer to workouts, raw benches 405+ for reps of 5 at a body weight of around 210. Dan's best competition bench is 550 pounds. From the Tonawanda N.Y. area, Dan rotates training from the Aquatics Center in Tonawanda to the Niagara Health and Fitness Center in Lewiston, N.Y. He is also known for his ability to lift the back end of small cars off the ground and placing them on sidewalks.[Really, no lie] Dan is married with three children and is employed as a slime and scum remover. Dan is presently training for the Red Brick Bench Press Championships. |
| |  | Joe "Huge" Hall
This guys name should be just "HUGE". A true gentleman and one powerful 275 lb. raw lifter, Joe has a best competition raw bench press of 475 lbs. He is the Director of Fitness and Recreation at the Jewish Community Center in down town Buffalo. Joe and his wife Gail have 3 sons and two daughters. He is also the Minister of the Mount Ararat Temple of Prayer in Buffalo. Inbetween, Joe also works as a personal trainer and is currently training for a body building show coming up soon. He has been strength training for over 20 years mostly with his long time friend, Al Lewis. After a extremely very hard and punishing workout with Al, he can often be heard saying "I hate you Al". LOL |
| |  | Khris Herbert "Curly"
Mike "the Giant" Andersons' personal punching bag. Kris is 24 years old and weighs 198 pounds. His double ply Katana was supplied to him by Ken Anderson. Working as a personal trainer, Kris is the captain of the "TONAWANDA BARBENDERS".
Congratulation to Khris for setting a new personal record 625 POUND BENCH PRESS at last February's Red Brick! You have a promising future in this sport.
Update 8/1,2009: Congratulations Kris on your 725 pound bench press at the IPA N.Y.S. meet. |
|  | Gary Larson
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| |  | Al Lewis
Quite possibly the strongest pound for pound raw powerlifter this side of the Mississippi and maybe further, Al has been a competitor since 1989. With countless records in countless federations, Al has a competition best squat of 575 lbs., best bench press of 465 lbs. and best deadlift of 660 lbs all set in the 198 lb RAW division. A champion body builder winning the I.N.P.F. Super Natural, Al also works as a personal trainer at the Jewish Community Center in Buffalo, N.Y. Born in 1970, Al is married, has one daughter and a step-son. His training partner is Joe "Huge" Hall and is helping him train for an upcoming body building show. |
| |  | Joe ''Redneck" Moore
Known as the Displaced Redneck out of North Carolina and Ohio, Joe competes in the 198 Police and Fire division or sub-master class. He is currently a WNPF NY state record holder [198 Police/Fire] with a squat of 550 lb's, bench of 370 lb's and a deadlift of 515 lb's. He anchors that position also for the local U.S. Customs & Border Protection team known as the "BUFFALO LAW DAWG'S" powerlifting team.
His best PR's came at the 2008 USPF Push/Pull N.Y.S. meet where he posted a 375 bench press and a 535 lb deadlift. He also blacked out on his last deadlift and had to be told that he got three whites for the Oscar winning moment.
Joe was the 1991 Ohio High School State Champion at in the 165 lb class while at Fairborn High School.
He works at the border and can be seen walking behind his German Sheppard on any given day of the week. His next major competition will be at the World Police and Fire Olympics to be held at Disney World, Florida. He is married to the extremely lovely Lynn 'Pinky' Moore and make their home in Tonawanda, N.Y.
Congratulations Joe on increasing your bench to 400 pounds at the Battle of the Bench and a first place finish. Lookout Orlando! |
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| Lynn 'Pinky' Moore
Lynn is a new arrival to powerlifting but has already made a huge splash by competing in her first sanctioned meet and winning Best Female Lifter in the deadlift. Lynn smoked an easy 205 lbs and grinned at the crowd as they cheered for her. She has a best squat of 230 lbs and wants to do a full meet in September with her husband, Coach Joe Moore. Her main goal is to out pull Tim 'Tiny' Zee at their next session. Lynn lifts in the garage of her and Joe's home which has been turned into a full iron pit gym. |
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Ryan Pam Mark | Mark D. McPherson
Born in Burbank, California in 1958, Mark has always been into athletics. In 1973 he won the U.S. Junior Olympics in weightlifting and took a second place finish in the 100 yd dash [9.9sec] at Ft. Collins, Colorado. He has now moved up to a 220 master division lifter and has a best touch and go bench of 465 lbs. His best competition bench of 425 lbs, achieved at the 2008 Red Brick Championships, also won him the outstanding bench press award in the police/fire division using the age coefficient formula. Mark is also a member of the "Buffalo Law Dawgs" powerlifting team.
Mark's profession has been as a police officer in Castle Rock, WA, 21 yrs U.S. Army professional soldier and 6 years as a U.S. Customs & Border Protection Officer.
Mark is married to his biggest fan and love of his life, Pamela McPherson. He has a daughter, Kelli [aka his 28 year old wild child], son and personal hero, 25 year old Ryan [U.S. Army 82nd ABN Combat action Afghanistan and Graduate of Niagara University], 23 year old son Travis [U.S. Army, Ft. Gordan, GA], 14 year old daughter Taylor [self proclaimed princess], his grandson and 'little man' Connor and his new addition, grandson Landon.
His goal in life; to be the best Husband, Father, Grandpa and friend he can be, to hopefully live to a ripe old age and enjoy his family and friends. |
| |  | Jennifer Runco
Jennifer has only been competing for 2 years but her numbers are more like someone who has been around the sport for a much longer time. An Iron Asylum "Woman of Power", Jennifer has a best squat of 345#,bench of 205 #, deadlift of 325# and a best total of 840# competing in the 148# women’s open division. Married to big Mike Runco, Jennifer works at Daemen College as an assistant coordinator of learning center and trains at the "GARAGE". Congratulations to Jenn on setting a new personal record of 205# at the Red Brick. |
| |  | Mike Runco
Big Mike is a 275# open division competitor that, like his wife Jennifer, has only been competing for two years. Even so, he has already accomplished some really large numbers. To date he has a best squat of 750#, bench of 425#, deadlift of 650# and a total of 1825#. Just a couple of years shy of the submaster division, Mike trains at the "GARAGE". |
| |  | Thomas "Big Tom" Schmidt
"Big Tom" has been competing since 1999 in the 220lbs and sometimes the 242lbs division. He holds the IPA World record in the 220lbs submaster division and has a best bench of 605lbs at 220lbs and 645lbs at 231lbs. Born in 1966, Tom trains at the Aquatic Center in Tonawanda and is employed as an union pipefitter. Tom lives in Tonawanda, NY with his wife, Michelle, and two daughters. Tom is a large reason for the success of the past three Red Brick Bench Press Championships. Tom, who has raised money on his own for the past 3 Red Brick Championships, is responsible for over $5800.00+ of the $37,400.00 raised so far for our troops. |
| | | Kevin Villareale "Larry"
The third member of the "3 Stooge's", Kevin [Larry] has only been training since September 2007. He already has posted a personal best raw bench press of 285 pounds weighing 181. A member of the "TONAWANDA BARBENDERS", Kevin trains at the Tonawanda Aquatics Center. |
| |  | John "the Judge" Teixeira
Judge Tex has been a town justice for the Town of Niagara for 32 years and counting. He was a Town of Niagara Police Officer for 9 years and a member of the Town of Niagara Law Enforcement Community for 40 years. He enjoys pistol shooting and big game hunting in the Southern Tier. A new man in the fitness scene, Tex works out at the Niagara Air Base where the staff at the gym helps him with his fitness goals and provides the encouragement and guidance to meet those goals. After working out three times a week for the past four years, Judge Tex is now ready for his first bench press competition. This Judge, at 73 years old, is planning on slamming the hammer down at this year’s Red Brick Bench Press Championships, so look out! |
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Phil Portnoy
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| | Coming soon | Nick Zee
Nick is 14 and a new addition to the Western New York Powerlifting family. His first meet was on a world stage as a guest lifter at the International Police and Fire Games. He won two gold medals at the games, one for total and one for the bench press. At 80 lbs he boasts a 185 lb squat and deadlift. At a more recent meet in Rochester he had a near miss 200 lb deadlift. That's nearly 2 1/2 times his present body weight. Pound per pound that makes him stronger than his Dad. Nice going Nick. His next goal is to triple his body weight in the deadlift. Look for him at his next scheduled meet which will be the Red Brick Bench Press Championships. |
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| Tim "Tiny" Zee
At 6'3" and 335 lbs, "Tiny Zee" is anything but tiny. In his younger years he was a 4 year starter for the Hobart College offensive line and a NFL Europe prospect
His new powerlifting career is starting out as a big bang as he is currently ranked no.1 in the WNPF SHW squat standings with a N.Y.S. record of 630 lbs. In practice, Tim has now increased his squat to the 700 lb mark. His bench is also improving in leaps n' bounds and under the tutelage of Tom Schmidt is close to cracking the 600 lb barrier. Tim was also awarded the 'outstanding bench press' award at the 2008 Red Brick Bench Press Championships in the police division.
"Tiny" works as an attitude adjuster at the border and is also a member of the "Buffalo Law Dawgs" powerlifting team.
Hailing from East Aurora, Tim is married and father to three great kids.
Tim dreads his workouts with Lynn 'Pinky' Moore because she likes to sneak in cardio on him. [Hey, she's keeping you in that lean mean fighting machine shape]
Congratulations Tiny on your first place finish and new PR of 550 pounds at the Battle of the Bench. |