March/April 2009

Ed Gowins Ed Gowins is a running back from Bellport High School on Long Island who was featured along with his championship team in the September/October 2006 issue of BFS in an article titled “Business As Usual at Bellport High.” In high school Gowins power cleaned 315, squatted 600 for 5, bench pressed 385 and deadlifted 765. That led to a remarkable senior year where he emerged as a first-team all-state football player, won the Hanson Award as Suffolk County’s top football player, and was a Heisman tri-state honoree.

After high school he attended Brighton Academy in Maine, where he broke numerous records as a running back, then was awarded a full scholarship at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, where he has continued his remarkable success. Gowins was named National Freshman of the Year by College Sporting News and is the first SBU player to receive that honor. Gowins set new Stony Brook records for yards and yards per carry in a season, finishing second in the Big South with his 1,310 yards and 119.1 yards-per-game average.

Says his high school football coach Jefferson Cipp, shown in this photo with Gowins and Heisman trophy winner Troy Smith, “The entire Bellport community is extremely proud of Ed for his hard work and perseverance.”

Left to right: Brett Rather, John Broz, Pat Mendes, Taylor Smith, Ricky Rhinehart, Tyler Thuente Pat Mendes, winner of the 2007 and 2008 National High School Power Clean Championships, is making his presence felt in Olympic lifting. At 280 pounds bodyweight, here he is shown snatching 365 pounds (166 kilos) and squatting 617 pounds (280 kilos). He has also clean and jerked 440 pounds (200 kilos) and cleaned 462 pounds (210 kilos). Mendes’ coach is John Broz, shown with his powerful lifting team. Pat is only 18 years old.

Trinity Christian Wrestling: Winning the BFS Way The success of the Trinity Christian football team from Augusta, Georgia, was featured in the June 2006 issue of BFS, and now the Crusaders wrestling team has followed its lead with a 25-2 dual record and winning the region dual tournament, the first in the history of the school. One of its stars is Dustin Anderson, who wrestles at 125 pounds bodyweight and has won 57 straight matches.

Tiger Football: Be an 11 Confidence Congratulations to the Richfield High School football team in Richfield, Idaho. The Tigers won nine games and played in the championship game. Congratulations also to BFS clinician Rick Bojak, who helped inspire the athletes with a Be an 11 clinic.

Dressing for Success BFS has decided to upgrade its clothing line with a great selection of products, including coaches polos, warm-ups, compression shirts, shorts, sweatsuits, T-shirts – even hats and gym bags. All these fashionable and functional products are imprinted with the BFS logo so you can show that you are part of the most successful athletic fitness and character education program in the country.

To learn more about these quality BFS products, go to our E-store on our website, Power Clean High, Utah Style Maegan Snodgrass, a sophomore at Utah State, visited Hunter High School in Salt Lake City during the 2008 fall semester to give a weightlifting exhibition and offer the girls some tips on how to get strong. It was a tremendous success, and after the exhibition Maegan saw Desirae Hoffmann become the 10th girl in the class to earn a Physical Culture 101 T-shirt by power cleaning 135 pounds. The coach for the class is Heather Sonne, who is also the athletic director, and she is assisted by BFS Editor-in-Chief Kim Goss. Good stuff!

PLAYER PROFILES Kelly Charniga On several occasions BFS magazine has featured interviews with Soviet weightlifting expert Bud Charniga, who has provided our readers with insight into the training of many of the strongest athletes in the world. This time we’d like to tell you about another Charniga, Kelly. Kelly is a 15-yearold who attends Livonia Stevenson High School in Livonia, Michigan. She has been competing in gymnastics for five years, is now at Level 9, and competes in the 58-kilo (127 pounds) class. Her best lifts are 48 kilos (105 pounds) snatch and 53 kilos (116 pounds) clean and jerk.

Poliquin Takes On the World In January 2009 Charles Poliquin, an accomplished strength coach who contributes his expertise for many training articles that appear in BFS, gave a great international camp for weightlifters in his new headquarters in Rhode Island. Charles invited Pierre Roy, a Canadian strength coach who has trained several Olympians, to help with the coaching duties. From the great photos Charles sent us, it looks like an amazing experience.

Just Awards: Susquehannock High Susquehannock High School in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, was featured in our January/February 2009 issue in recognition for being named the 2008 BFS High School of the Year. Shown accepting the award are strength coach Kevin Lawrence, athletic director Chuck Abbott and principal Brian Cashman.

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From BFS Magazine — March/April 2009. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).