Strongman competition in Frazer pits amateur athletes from across the nation against local talent

Some of the nation’s strongest amateur athletes made the trek to a Frazer fitness center this month to compete for honor and glory.

Steel City’s Strongest, a United States Strongman sanctioned contest at the Legends of Pittsburgh Fitness and Performance Center in the Pittsburgh Mills mall, featured 65 athletes including nine women and multiple local competitors including Jamie Whitman of Monroeville and Luke Sinagra of Hampton.

Whitman, a breast cancer survivor and Plum business owner, said she was excited to show the fruits of her training after having not competed since 2017.

“I was extremely nervous to start, which I kind of expected,” Whitman said. “But it was a little more than I had anticipated. All that settled down after the first event and I dialed in and got to work.”

Challenges included a dead lift, keg toss, log press and a medley involving carrying sandbags about 50 feet. The frames used in the medley were inspired by the Fort Pitt Bridge. There was also a sled pull outside the center with the sled resembling the Mt. Washington incline.

Whitman, 42, competed in the women’s masters division and took home fourth place in the Sept. 18 event.

“I was extremely happy with my performance,” she said. “The women I competed with were absolutely amazing.”

Competitors who came in first, second and third in their respective divisions earned the chance to compete for USS titles in upcoming national contests.

Whitman had a bit of a home-field advantage. She and about a dozen others train at the fitness center on Saturdays.

The event was organized by her mentor, longtime competitor and first-time promoter Vaughn Sikorski and his wife, Paula, both of Harrison.

“She was so close in every event, but those other women were legit,” Sikorski said of Whitman’s performance. “I think every one of them hit a personal record during the deadlift. As long as the athletes were happy with the production of our show, I’m fine with how it turned out.”

Admission and parking were free. About 150 people attended including the athletes. Masks were optional.

There was a recovery station for the athletes which had reclining chairs, food and beverages.

”It wasn’t as overwhelming as I thought it was going to be,” Sikorski said of organizing the contest. “Probably because I had some incredible help from the people around me and my wife. The people that had specific tasks had their own backup plans, which relieved a lot of stress from me being that I wasn’t able to put the time in earlier because of my own job being so busy. Paula and I went on about four hours sleep the last three days leading up to the show.”

Three judges watched each athlete carefully to ensure they had proper form and lifts complied with competition standards. Those who were unable to complete timed challenges earned credit for qualified lifts and distance traveled.

USS legend Aaron West served as announcer and made the competition feel as if it was being broadcast on ESPN.

Dante Petrella of Camp Petrella filmed the contest and has begun uploading some of the content to his YouTube channel.

“We wanted the athletes to be a part of something we will be doing annually,” Sikorski said. “Not one promoter can pull off a event production without the help of the staff around them. Being an athlete in these types of competitions, I never paid that much attention to the workings behind the scenes.”

Whitman credited her team and coach Ken McClelland for pushing her to success.

“I most definitely will be competing again,” she said. “I can’t say enough good things about Vaughn and Paula in the realms of this event promotion. What they did and the extent they went to to provide a fantastic competition for the fans and competitors was unreal. It was great that they were just wanting to make sure everyone had fun.”

Other athletes, highlights and results

David Johns, 55, of Winchester, Va., was the oldest competitor at the event.

He stayed true to his claim not quitting until “somebody beats me in the dead lift.”

The former power lifter had no problem hoisting 545 pounds 12 times as he took home first place in the 50+ World Championship division.

Sinagra, 24, of Hampton finished the medley in under a minute carrying 230- and 260-pound sandbags and matriculated a 550-pound steel frame across the course.

The 2015 Hampton Township High School grad became involved in Strongman contests about four years ago after recovering from knee reconstruction surgery. He was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash.

“I just love it,” he said. “It’s a passion. It’s really nice because I know everybody here and everybody coming in. I normally have to drive between and hour or eight to compete. It’s nice to have one here locally and it brings people together who haven’t had a chance to try it yet without that time commitment.”

First-place finishers were Skylyn Kopas of Pittsburgh in novice women’s lightweight division, Kellie New of Michigan in the open women’s middleweight, Karrie Ann David of Michigan in the masters women’s division, Bo French of Michigan in the novice men’s lightweight, CJ Jasper of Pittsburgh in the novice men’s heavyweight, Ray Chine of Pittsburgh in the open men’s lightweight, Cameron Peters of Fairmount City in the open men’s middleweight, Joe Scrim of Youngstown in the open men’s heavyweight, Dillon Gartner of Nebraska in the open men’s super heavyweight, Andy Root of West Middlesex in the masters men’s middleweight and Joe Edwards of East Liverpool, Ohio in the masters men’s heavyweight division.

Competitors also came in from Florida, Missouri, Georgia, New York, Maryland and Indiana.

More information on USS competitions is available at unitedstatesstrongman.com.