Saturday June 14th
The California "Open" State Arm Wrestling Championships were held in
conjunction with the largest bluegrass festival west of the Mississippi, The
Huck Finn Jubilee!
Seventeen years of exciting one on one arm wrestling competition has made
this tournament one of the best in the west!
The weather was perfect, Shed World provided us with the perfect stage again
this year. The competitors were lined up waiting for weigh-ins.
The weight class's were full!
The California "Open" draws a wide mix of competitors, from well seasoned
veteran pullers to novice amateurs and just plain walk ups that want to give it
a try!
The great part of the "Open" is that you never know when some new raw talent is
going to step up to the table!
The competition began at noon, right after reviewing the rules.
The competition started off furious! Competitors from several states were
battling to take home one of the prestigious trophies.
Several hours of non stop competition whittled down the competitors to the
trophy rounds.
Hosts: U.S.A.W.A: Randy Sampias
Pullers For Christ: Harold Ryden
Announcing/MC: Randy Sampias
Score Keepers: Joyce Stark & Randy Sampias
Referees: Bob Eazor & Steve Harriman
Bantam Weight: 1st Place Diego Degrovanni, a first time competitor from
Argentina! went undefeated in his class with a surprising upset over 2nd Place
Gregory Gray from Lemon Grove California, and 7 time national champion! 3rd
Place went to Bob Shove from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rt Hand Light Weight Division: 1st Place went to the unstoppable Harold Ryden
from San Marcos, California. 2nd Place Richard Smith from Highland, California.
3rd Place Alex Barela from Lucern Valley, California.
Rt Hand Middle Weight Division: 1st Place seasoned competitor Mike Wildey from
Murrieta, California went undefeated. 2nd Place veteran competitor John Burgeson
from Canyon Lake, California. 3rd Place first time competitor Anthony Marinis
from San Bernardino, California, was very impressive, we'll be seeing more of
him!
Rt Hand Light Heavy Division: 1st Place Don McClary from Moreno Valley,
California battled his way through a huge class of tough competitors. 2nd Place
Bob Watkins from Valdosota, Georgia! very impressive on the table! 3rd Place Tim
Smith from Highland, California.
Rt Hand Heavy Division: 1st Place Scott Cibrowski from Escondido, California a
veteran of the sport dominated the division by going undefeated. 2nd Place: Don
McClary from Moreno Valley, California. 3rd Place: Vic Dison from Fontana,
California.
Women's Open Division: 1st Place: A local favorite and defending champion Alison
Olson cruised through the competition undefeated. 2nd Place: First time
competitor Lisa Stevenson from Hesperia, California. 3rd Place: First time
competitor 16 year old Kristen Brady from Madisonville, Louisiana! was the crowd
favorite by hanging in there with the experienced competitors.
2003 California "Open" State Arm
Wrestling Championships
Mens Left Hand Heavy Division: 1st Place: Gentleman Scott Ciborowski from
Escondido, California dominated this division and went undefeated all day. 2nd
Place: Ryan Constantino from Las Vegas, Nevada after taking an early loss
battled his way back through a field of nine competitors to take an impressive
2nd place. 3rd Place: An impressive debut by first time competitor Gene Brown
from Victorville, California. We'll be seeing more of mean Gene.
New addition to results for left handed division.
Left Hand Light Weight Division: 1st Place: Harold Ryden from San Marcos,
California was undefeated. 2nd Place: Bob Shove from Las Vegas, Nevada. 3rd
Place: First time competitor Rick Karpinski from Chula Vista, California.
Left Hand Middle Weight Division: Amazing! performance by first time local
competitor Erik Olson went undefeated through a field of experienced
competitors! 2nd Place: Mike Wildey from Murrieta, California. 3rd Place: John
Burgeson from Canyon Country, California.
We'll be seeing more of Olson in the future! He now has arm wrestling fever!
A great day of non stop competition was had by all!
