The 2016 USA Weightlifting University and Under 25 Nationals got off to a strong start Friday as many competitors enjoyed record-breaking lifts in New Orleans. Check out the recaps of each weight class below!

Don't miss a minute of the action -- stay tuned to FloElite through Sunday, September 25, to follow along with our coverage.

Women's 48kg A Session

The women's first A session started off in the snatches with Kerri Keegan, Shannon McNames, Brooke Tanacredi and Megan Seegert gunning for the lead. Tanacredi ended the snatches in third with 69kg, as Seegert and Keegan set a new university record with 71kg. Seegert barely missed her third attempt at the lead -- and a new junior American record -- at 74kg, and Keegan took the lead based on bodyweight.  

The clean-and-jerk session was no disappointment. Suzanna Sanchez was the first to break her own university clean-and-jerk record at 83kg. Keegan and McNames sacrificed two attempts to get the record, but McNames took the record first at 85kg. It was all for naught, though -- Seegert followed with an 86kg completion to claim the university total record. Keegan also lifted a university record after two missed lifts to stay in the competition. Seegert came out again with an 89kg to break her junior clean-and-jerk record and tie her junior total record, which would be short-lived as she lifted 92kg to break her university and junior records. Seeger ended in first, Keegan in second, and McNames in third.

Men's 56kg/62kg Combined A Session

The combined 56/62kg A session did not show the lighter class first, as many of the smaller lifters didn't appear until well into the snatch session. At the end of the session, Trey Kobashigawa posted a 95kg opener and had two attempts at a university-record snatch at 102kg, which he made on his third, to take the lead in the 56kg class. Ben Prior took the lead in the snatch in the 62kg class, and Brennan Koeller missed his last attempt at 103kg to take second with a 100kg snatch.

The lifters began to show signs of a backroom chess game in the clean-and-jerk -- they made small jumps and tried to offset their opponents' rest times in both the 56kg and the 62kg classes. Along with some technical difficulties, many athletes had to change their warmups to compensate for the clocks running down. Despite almost three minutes without action, the 56kgs and 62kgs still put up attempts. Many of the 62kgs opened with successful heavy lifts in the clean-and-jerk to close the gaps in the snatch. A battle between Alan Fang, Caleb White, Justin Browder, John Ellison ensued for third place in the clean-and-jerks. Each went match-for-match on their openers, and then finished all-out on their remaining attempts in the 62kg session.

Kobashigawa again appeared at the end of the clean-and-jerk session and made a 115kg opener. After that, he posted a massive jump to 121kg. Fang snuck up from behind with a massive 126kg clean-and-jerk to grab the session by bodyweight from Koeller and Prior, who had significantly higher snatches, and overall ended with 218kg totals.  

The rankings ended in 56kg with Kobashigawa in first, Josh Pineda in second, and Anoulack Phousirith in third.

In 62kg, Fang finished first, Koeller took second, and Prior grabbed third.

Men's 69kg A Session

This session was the first to show signs of competitors gunning for placement right off the bat. Many lifters struggled with their openers and second attempts. Echoes of the infamous 85kg A "Red Session" began to run through the snatch session as athletes struggled with standing weights up and locking out. In the end, Aaron Addison took first, followed by Jordan Wissinger and Marcus Carrasco, respectively.

The clean-and-jerk session was challenging, as well. As the lifters tried to recover from a rough snatch session, they set their weights close to their best competition lifts. As a silver lining for the lifters who succeeded in their attempts, they matched or made personal bests for competition clean-and-jerks. Manzanilla, who was ninth after the snatches, made some major jumps to capture second place and barely missed a 161kg clean-and-jerk for a university record. Wissinger finished third overall.

Women's 53kg A Session

The 53kg session started with some lineup changes. Danielle Marino moved down to the 53kg class from 58kg. Marino's 58kg total would have put her in fifth based on the starting list. To contrast the men's 69kg A session before them, the women opened strong with consistent makes. The main highlight of the women's 53kg snatch session, Jourdan Delacruz, broke her junior American record with a 79kg. She also had a close miss at both the university and junior snatch records at 81kg. But Cortney Batchelor took the lead with a 81kg at the end of the session.

The clean-and-jerk session kicked off just as strong, with lots of good openers that led up to another record-breaking climax. Delacruz broke her own junior American clean-and-jerk record with a 95kg lift, which also broke the junior American total record with a 174kg total. Batchelor finished the session with a 99kg clean-and-jerk and a miss at 102kg. But it wasn't a bad day for Batchelor, whose sights are set on the American Open. There, she'll look to take the snatch record once and for all.

The 53kg session ended with Batchelor in first, Delacruz in second, and Andi Cribari in third.

Women's 58kg A Session

The last A session of the day set the standard for how the rest of the competition, male or female, should be executed with 15 consecutive made lifts. The women's 58kg class was a tight competition -- one slip-up on a snatch could lead to disaster. Stephanie Lemmen, who competed in the Rio Test Event for Team USA in the spring, led the pack at the end of the snatch session with an 88kg lift, followed by Danielle Roberts, and Leanna White.

The clean-and-jerk session started off just as strong and was one of the few 6/6 A session performances completed by Catherine Hamilton, who took three straight attempts within a three-minute time frame. The clean-and-jerk proved a little more difficult, as every kilo counted. This was one of the more contentious sessions for both the University and Under 25 Championships (further breakdown on that later), but in the end, the leaders were again Lemmen, Roberts and White. Roberts and White opened at their competition bests, or just under, to attempt to win the session. But the veteran Lemmen came out on top in the end.

The 58kg session ended with Lemmen in first place, Roberts in second, and White in third.


By Matt Bergeron