Sacramento State?s Olympic weightlifting club has been one of the most successful clubs on campus for well over a decade. Head coach Bill Kutzer started the team in 1990 and has continued to coach, along with Greg Johnson and Henry Theodor.

Earlier this month, the team took first place in the 38th Annual Golden West Open hosted by California State University, Chico.Team Sacramento, the club?s official name, competed against four other regional teams, including Sports Palace, Heavy Athletics, Napa and Chico State. Sports Palace finished behind Team Sacramento, with Chico State trailing in third. Seven members of Team Sacramento placed first in their individual competitions. Dong Lim captured first in the 62-kilogram weight class, with Greg Johnson (105 kilograms) winning his division.

For the women?s team, Veronic Gozar-Carpenter (53 kilograms), Nadine Nouchi (58 kilograms), Katherine Redcher Bowling (69 kilograms), Jackie Mah (75 kilograms) and Erin Doyle (75 and over kilograms) won their respective divisions.

Bowling also garnered Outstanding Female honors for her performance.Team Sacramento also boasted five second-place finishers in Brett Kelley (85 kilograms) and Justin Crites (94 kilograms) for the men and Marlena Hauf (58 kilograms) and Janine Dickey (75 and over kilograms) for the women.

The Sac State Olympic weightlifting club has made great strides in recent years and continues to grow in numbers and in strength.

“We?ve had big improvements and have some really strong rookies this year,” said club president Kurt Vorsatz.

Currently, the club has over 20 members with both men?s and women?s divisions.

“Everything looks really promising,” said team member Justin Crites. “New people join all the time and this year we should be sending a full team to the Collegiate Championships. The whole team is doing very well. Everyone feeds off each other.”

Members of the Olympic weightlifting club are some of the most dedicated athletes around. Many hours a week are spent in the gym training for competitions. Meets are often held over three months apart to allow the body to recover and improve.

“We have to cycle back up,” Crites said.

For first-time members, the amount of training is surprising.

“It?s a big transition from other sports,” first-year member Audie Dingle said. “You spend a lot of time in the gym.”

The Golden West was Dingle?s first weightlifting match, and he is looking forward to competing again.

“I hope I?ll be doing this until I graduate,” he said. “I had a lot of fun.”

Dingle made six out of six lifts to finish eighth in the 85-kilogram category in the Golden West Open.Team Sacramento is now preparing for the 2001 American Open in Syracuse, N.Y. The tournament is scheduled for Dec. 7 through 9.

For more information about the club and competition results, check out its Web site at www.csus.edu/org/teamsac/info.htm.