The weekend of Mar. 3 to Mar. 6, 2022, saw Columbus, Ohio inundated with legions of Olympic lifting enthusiasts and career weightlifters alike. As part of the 2022 Arnold Sports Festival (ASF), USA Weightlifting (USAW) kicked off the 2022 competitive season with its first North American Open (NAO) Series competition, which saw nearly two thousand athletes competing over the course of three days at the expo’s Celeste Center.
With so many weightlifters in attendance, it’s only natural that there would be records smashed left and right over the course of the weekend. Below, you’ll find the podium finishers for both the Men’s and Women’s divisions, as well as a shortlist of some of the exceptional performances that colored the event as a whole.
2022 USAW North American Open Series 1 Results
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2022 North American Open Series 1 Men’s Results
Below are the podium finishers for each of the male competitive categories. Note that all listed results are in kilograms, and the first number refers to the athlete’s total, which is the sum of their best efforts in both the snatch and clean & jerk disciplines.
Men’s 55-Kilogram
- Gabe Chhum — 217 (97/120)
- Rene Navarrete — 206 (91/115)
- Matthew Kirkland — 190 (86/104)
Men’s 61-Kilogram
- Brian Reisenauer — 256 (115/141)
- Darrel Barnes — 250 (110/140)
- James Vaughn — 245 (109/136)
Men’s 67-Kilogram
- Hampton Morris — 284 (120/164)
- Hutch Friend — 251 (114/137)
- Kye Bryant — 245 (110/135)
Men’s 73-Kilogram
- Jacob Horst — 295 (133/162)
- Trevor Owens — 268 (118/150)
- Michael Mo — 258 (116/142)
Men’s 81-Kilogram
- Clarence “CJ” Cummings Jr. — 326 (142/184)
- Edward Ginnan — 322 (138/180)
- Matt Rattay — 315 (140/175)
Men’s 89-Kilogram
- Nathan Damron — 356 (160/196)
- Beau Brown — 337 (147/190)
- Braydon Kennedy — 331 (155/176)
Men’s 96-Kilogram
- Tom Summa — 317 (143/174)
- Benson Robles — 314 (142/172)
- Ross Bednar — 303 (137/166)
Men’s 102-Kilogram
- Ryan Sester — 354 (162/192)
- Trevor Kimm — 338 (156/182)
- Colt Armstrong — 330 (147/183)
Men’s 109-Kilogram
- Nathan Lewis — 341 (155/186)
- Drake Thompson — 335 (150/185)
- Zachary Huse — 312 (137/175)
Men’s +109-Kilogram
- Caine Wilkes — 385 (173/212)
- Alejandro Medina — 371 (167/204)
- Noel Leka — 328 (147/181)
2022 North American Open Series 1 Women’s Results
Below you can find the podium finishers for each of the female competitive categories. Note that all listed results are in kilograms, and the first number refers to the athlete’s total, which is the sum of their best efforts in both the snatch and clean & jerk, respectively.
Women’s 45-Kilogram
- Cicely Kyle — 163 (73/90)
- Gretchen Villa — 154 (71/83)
- Angelique Reed — 152 (67/85)
Women’s 49-Kilogram
- Jourdan Delacruz — 191 (83/108)
- Hayley Reichardt — 189 (81/108)
- Marena Morales — 142 (63/79)
Women’s 55-Kilogram
- Shayla Moore — 202 (86/116)
- Maddison Pannell — 189 (84/105)
- Tiffany Beaupre — 182 (79/103)
Women’s 59-Kilogram
- Taylor Wilkins — 214 (93/121)
- Meaghan Strey — 199 (87/112)
- Charley Leonard — 179 (81/98)
Women’s 64-Kilogram
- Danielle Gunnin — 215 (97/118)
- Hunter Elam — 206 (93/113)
- Haley Trinh — 196 (85/111)
Women’s 71-Kilogram
- Katherine Nye — 245 (109/136)
- Olivia Reeves — 234 (104/130)
- Meredith Alwine — 234 (103/131)
Women’s 76-Kilogram
- Mariah Park — 233 (101/132)
- Jillian Seamon — 209 (94/115)
- Francesca Duncan — 207 (93/114)
Women’s 81-Kilogram
- Martha Ann “Mattie” Rogers — 250 (110/140)
- Jessie Stemo — 233 (103/130)
- Maci Winn — 230 (108/122)
Women’s 87-Kilogram
- Juliana Riotto — 243 (108/135)
- Amanda Robles — 221 (103/118)
- Anna Bailey — 196 (84/112)
Women’s +87-Kilogram
- Mary Thiesen-Lappen — 278 (115/163)
- Sarah Robles — 276 (125/151)
- Kuinini Manumua — 236 (103/133)
Note: For athletes who lift the same weight in the snatch, clean & jerk, or total, their placement on the podium is determined by who lifted the weight first chronologically.
2022 North American Open Series 1 Highlight Performances
In a field of so many talented athletes across various weight classes and age brackets, it’s certainly a tall order to name the best of the bunch. That said, there were a few weightlifters who clawed their way to recognition in spectacular fashion in Columbus. Here are just a few of the many great performances that took place over the weekend.
Hampton Morris (67KG)
The 18-year-old powerhouse of the 61-kilogram class made his first National debut as a 67-kilogram lifter with style. Hampton Morris, at just 65.10 kilograms bodyweight, handily won the overall title by totaling 284 kilos, nearly thirty kilograms ahead of runner-up Hutch Friend.
Despite missing his third attempts in the snatch and jerk at 125 and 170 kilograms, respectively, the 2021 Youth World Champion vastly exceeded his pre-competition entry total of 270 kilograms. Morris is clearly filling out his new weight class well, and there’s plenty of room for him to soar even higher.
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Jacob Horst (73KG)
2021 Pan-American Championships bronze medalist in the 73-kilogram class Jacob Horst brought his talents to Columbus in a big way. Despite only going two for six on the day — missing every lift other than his second snatch at 133 kilograms and first clean & jerk at 162 — Horst had more than enough strength in reserve to clinch the gold medal in the total by a full 27 kilograms.
The Men’s 89-Kilogram Podium
In extraordinary fashion, all three male athletes that stood atop the 89-kilogram podium in Columbus lifted more weight in the total than the next weight class above them.
Veteran competitor Nathan Damron led the charge with new personal bests in both lifts and the total to win the class with a whopping 356 kilos, but silver medalist Beau Brown and bronze finisher Braydon Kennedy also brought out the big guns. All three men totaled higher than the best result from the 96-kilogram class, speaking to how competitive the 89’s are likely to be now that the class is all but confirmed as an Olympic category in Paris 2024.
[Related: Weightlifter Tian Tao Wants to Qualify For the 2024 Olympics at 89 Kilograms]
Jourdan Delacruz & Hayley Reichardt (49KG)
The 49-kilogram class was a tale of two lifters — Tokyo Olympian Jourdan Delacruz and 2021 Pan-American Champion Hayley Reichardt. The two have traded blows on the competition platform for several years with extremely close performances. Reichardt’s 189-kilogram total was only good enough for silver this time around, but both women were well ahead of the crowd. Reichardt’s silver-medal total was 47 whole kilograms beyond that of bronze medalist Marena Morales.
Notably, Delacruz lifted 108 kilograms on her final clean & jerk attempt. 108 is the number that she failed to register thrice over during her session in the Tokyo Olympics, which made her ineligible to complete the competition. Upon securing that same weight overhead in Columbus, Delacruz’ first major competition since the Olympics, she embraced her coach in tears.
Delacruz went five for six on the day, missing only her third snatch at 85 kilograms.
Taylor Wilkins (59KG)
Taylor Turner Wilkins, one of the most dominant 59-kilogram lifters in the States, brought her talents to Columbus in a big way. The current triple-American-record holder went four out of six during her session and totaled 214 kilograms, 15 kilos ahead of runner-up Meaghan Strey and only three below her current American record total of 217 kilos, which she set at the 2020 Pan-American Championships.
Katherine Nye (71KG)
Katherine Nye needs no introduction at this stage in her career. For the uninitiated, Nye has climbed higher in weightlifting than almost any American athlete in history at such a young age. She’s the 2019 Junior and Senior World Champion, and at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, won a silver medal in the 76-kilogram class — the first American woman in history to place so highly at the most prestigious competition in the world.
As part of her qualification campaign for Paris 2024, Nye is moving down to the 71-kilogram category where she set many of her pre-Tokyo records. Her 245-kilo total in Columbus was exactly nine ahead of Junior World medalist Olivia Reeves and 2021 Senior World Champion Meredith Alwine. Although her Columbus lifts weren’t new personal bests, Nye has a lot of time to readjust to a lighter body weight for the remainder of 2022.
Mattie Rogers (81KG)
For Martha Ann “Mattie” Rogers, the waters in Columbus were smooth sailing. Although she did compete in the Women’s 81-kilogram division, Rogers performed weighing only 76.5 kilograms — indicating that she may be moving down to a lighter body weight after her performance in Tokyo in the Women’s 87-kilogram class.
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Her body weight adjustment seemed to have served her well at the NAO Series 1, where she had a flawless six-for-six performance, nailing all of her attempts with confidence. Her 110-kilogram snatch and 140-kilogram clean & jerk were seven kilos ahead of her recent silver-medal showing at the 2021 World Championships, where she did participate in the 76-kilogram class.
To go six-for-six and bump her total by close to 10 kilos in just a few months at roughly the same body weight speaks to the quality of Rogers’ recent training and coaching.
Mary Thiesen-Lappen (+87KG)
Mary Thiesen-Lappen made a huge splash in Columbus when she defeated Sarah Robles, a two-time Olympic medalist and reigning super-heavyweight American record holder for the better part of a decade, head-to-head.
With only a few prominent competition appearances on her resume, such as the 2020 Rogue Weightlifting Challenge and 2021 Pan-American Championships, Lappen brought the heat against Robles’ tenured skillset. Both women had selected a 275-kilogram entry total prior to the event, and both exceeded it — Robles by one kilo, and Lappen by three.
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To stamp her name into the history books of American weightlifting, Lappen clean & jerked 163 kilograms on her second attempt, the heaviest competition jerk of all time by an American athlete.
Looking Forward
With the competition in Columbus under wraps, many of the competitors who shed sweat and tears on the platform are likely shifting their gaze towards the 2022 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) event calendar. The NAO Series 1 meet results will help determine who is selected for Team USA at the 2022 Pan-American Championships in late July, and as of now, the competition seems jaw-droppingly tight.
The full result book for the North American Open Series 1 and National University Championships can be found here courtesy of USAW.
Editor’s Note: BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting. The two organizations maintain editorial independence unless otherwise noted on specific content projects.
Featured Image: @mattiecakesssss on Instagram
