2023 Cincinnati's Strongest Man and Woman Recap
The inaugural Cincinnati’s Strongest Man and Woman Strongman competition took place on June 3 in Addyston, Ohio. The Strongman Corporation sanctioned event had over 60 competitors signed up across 15 different divisions along with over 200 spectators cheering them on. This event was organized by our very own 105kg Pro Strongman, Ben Eisenmenger, and Jerry and Danielle Robinson of Imperium Fitness.
The event took place at Addyston Park where the competitors had to tough through the heat and sunshine with temperatures exceeding 91 degrees! Competitors had to battle through five events in hopes of coming away with the title of Cincinnati’s Strongest! Here is the breakdown of each event.
Log Clean and Press for Reps
The first event of the day was the Log Clean and Press for max repetitions in one minute. The competitor would start with their hands off the log until the time begins. They had one minute to clean and press the log overhead until given a down command by the judge for a successful repetition. Besides being a very heavy weight, the event was made even harder outside because there is nothing to look at for a point of focus while staring up; only blue skies and sunshine. The competitors had their work cut out for them.
Some notable performances for the groups were from Natalie Whittsett of the women’s lightweight novice, Laura Anderson of the middleweight open, and Georgeanne Crabtree of the Masters women all completing 9 reps to win their class. On the Men’s side, Brandon Bebee almost doubled third place in the men’s heavyweight novice with 9 reps. In the middleweight 231 group, Steven Owens (a late addition to the group) dominated with 4 reps while half the class was unable to get one rep. In the heavyweight open, Jake McGaha pressed the log an impressive 8 reps with a very heavy weight. Here are the full results:
Women’s Novice LW: 85lbs
1st. Natalie Whitsett - 9 reps
2nd. Paige Kowarsch - 7 reps
3rd. Megan Miller - 6 reps
Women’s Novice HW: 115lbs
1st. Cheyeanne Morris - 4 reps
2nd. Landra Tedrick - 3 reps
Women’s LW Open: 95lbs
1st. Morgan Thayer - 8 reps
2nd. Nina Baily - 7 reps
3rd. Rachel Webster - 3 reps
Women’s Middleweight Open: 125lbs
1st. Laura Anderson - 9 reps
Women’s Heavyweight Open: 145lbs
1st. Kailynn McComas: 4 reps
Women’s Masters: 115lbs
1st. Georgeanne Crabtree - 9 reps
Men’s Novice LW: 185lbs
T-1st. Joel Justice, Hunter Steimle - 9 reps
T-2nd. Max Dubree, Nick Nolan - 8 reps
3rd. Brandon Shoemaker - 7 reps
Men’s Novice HW: 225lbs
1st. Brandon Beebe - 9 reps
2nd. Josh Bibee - 6 reps
T-3rd. Hunter Mayo, John Dyer - 5 reps
Men’s LW Open: 205lbs
1st. Carson Aquino - 4 reps
Men’s MW Open 200: 225lbs
1st. Jackson Mahorney - 1 rep
Men’s MW Open 231: 245lbs
1st. Steven Owens - 4 reps
2nd. Robert Tedford - 3 reps
3rd. Jonathan Hiles - 1 rep
Men’s HW Open 265: 265lbs
1st. Adam Conti - 4 reps
2nd. Jimmy Noel - 1 rep
Men’s HW Open 265+: 285lbs
1st. Jake McGaha - 8 reps
2nd. Jake Dankert- 5 reps
3rd. Sean Cox - 1 rep
Men’s Masters LW: 225lbs
1st. John Roeder - 6 reps
2nd. Chris MIller - 5 reps
Men’s Masters HW: 265lbs
1st. Davey McCann - 5 reps
2nd. John Corson - 4 reps
Yoke and Madewell Strength Farmer’s Medley
The second event of the day was the moving event medley. The athlete’s goal was to carry the yoke 50ft down and then transition quickly back with the farmer’s bars 50 ft for the fastest time. The temperature was starting to rise and many athletes were trying to catch up after getting zero reps in the pressing event.
Notable performances from the women’s side were from Natalie Whittsett, Landra Tedrick, and Kailynn McComas who all completed the course in under 20 seconds! On the men’s side, only Bradon Bebee of the HW novice division was able to break 20 seconds, but a tight finish in the Heavyweight division between Sean Cox, :22.78, and Jake McGaha, :23.07, kept the crowd on their feet. Here are the final results:
Women’s Novice LW: 305/100
1st. Natalie Whitsett - :17.97
2nd. Megan Miller - :21.13
3rd. Lilly Effron - :21.68
Women’s Novice HW: 395/130
1st. Landra Tedrick - :19.35
2nd. Cheyenne Morris - :37.44
3rd. Cindy Embry - 7ft
Women’s LW Open: 345/110
1st. Morgan Thayer - :21.67
2nd. Rachel Webster - :37.93
3rd. Nina Baily - :40.73
Women’s Middleweight Open: 395/130
1st. Laura Anderson - :20.65
Women’s Heavyweight Open: 435/150
1st. Kailynn McComas: :19.93
Women’s Masters: 345/110
1st. Georgeanne Crabtree - :24.71
Men’s Novice LW: 525/220
1st. Joel Krenz - :21.8
2nd. Todd Fisher - :25.67
3rd. Hunter Steimle - :26.84
Men’s Novice HW: 615/240
1st. Brandon Beebe - :18.43
2nd. Adam Czanik - :24.52
3rd. Tim Kleiman - :26.43
Men’s LW Open: 575/225
1st. Carson Aquino - :25.67
Men’s MW Open 200: 615/245
1st. Jackson Mahorney - :30.32
2nd. Casey Atkinson - :31.36
Men’s MW Open 231: 665/255
1st. Jonathan Hiles - :22.99
2nd. Corey Frank - :26.08
3rd. Robert Tedford - :48.02
Men’s HW Open 265: 705/275
1st. Adam Conti - :27.33
2nd. Jimmy Noel - :45.56
Men’s HW Open 265+: 755/285
1st. Sean Cox - :22.78
2nd. Jake McGaha - :23.07
3rd. Jake Dankert - :28.93
Men’s Masters LW: 615/245
1st. John Roeder - :32.04
2nd. Chris MIller - :38.26
Men’s Masters HW: 665/265
1st. Davey McCann - :28.58
2nd. John Corson - :30.47
3rd. Matt Pflederer - 83ft
Max Mammoth Bar Deadlift
The third event of the competition was the Mammoth Bar Deadlift for max weight. This bar is a strongman special. The bar is 10ft long compared to a normal 7ft barbell and has extended loading sleeves. The extra length causes the bar to bend much more than usual when the athlete starts to lift. The heavier the weight, the more the bend. This can allow the athlete to pull more weight because they don’t have to pick up the entire weight right off the floor, but it will wobble once it breaks the ground, throwing off balance and speed.
There were many personal records set, but the most notable performances were from Natalie Whittsett and Megan Miller of the women’s lightweight novice division, pulling 345 and 325 to take first and second in the group. Kailynn McComas had the heaviest deadlift of all the women’s classes with a massive pull of 455 lbs! In the men’s division, there were many 600lbs+ deadlifts coming from Brandon Beebe, Hunter Mayo, John Dyer, Santiago Vasquez, Jonathan Hiles, Robert Tedford, Adam Conti, Davey McCann, and Jon Corson. The open heavyweight men fought hard for the highest deadlift with all men pulling over 700lbs! Jake Dankert came away with the heaviest pull on the day at 752lbs, and made it look easy! Here are the final results.
Women’s Novice LW:
1st. Natalie Whitsett - 345
2nd. Megan Miller - 325
T-3rd. Paige Kowarsch, Ashley Smith - 275
Women’s Novice HW:
1st. Cheyenne Morris - 295
2nd. Landra Tedrick - 275
Women’s LW Open:
1st. Morgan Thayer - 315
2nd. Nina Baily - 295
3rd. Rachel Webster - 255
Women’s Middleweight Open:
1st. Laura Anderson - 325
Women’s Heavyweight Open:
1st. Kailynn McComas: 455
Women’s Masters: 115lbs
1st. Georgeanne Crabtree - 315
Men’s Novice LW:
T-1st. Joel Justice, Nick Nolan - 552
T-2nd. Max Dubree, Kevin Steigl - 532
3rd. Todd Fisher - 512
Men’s Novice HW:
1st. Brandon Beebe - 672
2nd. Santiago Vasquez - 662
T-3rd. Hunter Mayo, John Dyer - 622
Men’s LW Open:
1st. Carson Aquino - 482
Men’s MW Open 200:
T-1st. Jackson Mahorney, Casey Atkinson - 512
Men’s MW Open 231:
1st. Jonathan Hiles - 642
2nd. Robert Tedford - 602
3rd. Corey Frank - 552
Men’s HW Open 265:
1st. Adam Conti - 602
2nd. Jimmy Noel - 572
Men’s HW Open 265+:
1st. Jake Dankert - 752
2nd. Sean Cox - 742
3rd. Jake McGaha - 702
Men’s Masters LW:
1st. John Roeder - 482
2nd. Chris Miller - 452
Men’s Masters HW:
1st. John Corson - 662
2nd. Davey McCann - 642
3rd. Matt Pflederer - 442
Pony Keg Toss
The most exciting event of the day was the keg toss. The athletes were attempting to toss 4 small kegs over a bar, 10ft for the women and 15ft for the men, in :60 or less. The kegs got progressively heavier with each throw. The athletes were given scores for the number of kegs they threw and also the split times of each keg to separate any ties. Not only does this event require a lot of power from the posterior chain muscles, but it also requires good aim and timing to get the keg to fly just right and make it over the bar. Many athletes had the height or distance but had trouble finding the right angle of toss.
Many women struggled to get even one implement over, but 6 were able to toss all 4 kegs! Those athletes were Natalie Whittsett, Landra Tedrick, Morgan Thayer, Laura Anderson, Kailynn McComas, and Georgeanne Crabtree. Like the women, many men struggled to get more than 1 keg over the bar and only 3 athletes, Max Dubree, John Dyer, and Jake Dankert, were able to throw all the kegs over the bar. Here are the final scores.
Women’s Novice LW: 20/22/25/27
1st. Natalie Whitsett - 4 kegs
2nd. Ashley Smith - 2 in :17
3rd. Megan Miller - 2 in :22
Women’s Novice HW: 20/22/25/27
1st. Landra Tedrick - 4 kegs
2nd. Cheyenne Morris - 1 keg
Women’s LW Open: 20/22/25/27
1st. Morgan Thayer - 4 kegs
2nd. Nina Baily - 2 kegs
3rd. Rachel Webster - 1 keg
Women’s Middleweight Open: 22/25/27/30
1st. Laura Anderson - 4 kegs
Women’s Heavyweight Open: 22/25/27/30
1st. Kailynn McComas: 4 kegs
Women’s Masters: 20/22/25/27
1st. Georgeanne Crabtree - 4 kegs
Men’s Novice LW: 27/30/35/40
1st - Max Dubree - 4 kegs
2nd - Steve Glick - 3 kegs
3rd. Brandon Shoemaker - 2 in :12
Men’s Novice HW: 30/35/40/45
1st. John Dyer - 4 kegs
2nd. Jacob Wessler - 2 in :09
3rd. Bradon Beebe - 2 in :12
Men’s LW Open: 30/35/40/45
1st. Carson Aquino - 1 keg
Men’s MW Open 200: 30/35/40/45
1st. Casey Atkinson - 2 kegs
Men’s MW Open 231: 35/40/45/50
1st. Jonathan Hiles - 3 kegs
2nd. Corey Frank - 2 kegs
3rd. Taylor Schmitt - 1 in :06
Men’s HW Open 265: 35/40/45/50
1st. Jimmy Noel - 2 in :13
2nd. Adam Conti - 2 in :14
Men’s HW Open 265+: 35/40/45/50
1st. Jake Dankert - 4 kegs
2nd. Jake McGaha - 3 in :12
3rd. Sean Cox - 3 in :13
Men’s Masters LW: 30/35/40/45
1st. Chris MIller - 1 keg
Men’s Masters HW: 35/40/45/50
1st. Matt Pflederer - 1 in :11
2nd. John Corson - 1 in :19
Atlas Stone Load Over Bar
The final event of the day is the most iconic strongman event, Atlas Stones! The athletes were attempting to load a concrete atlas stone over a bar for max reps in :60. Atlas stones are already very challenging on the arms, back, and hips, but the hot weather was causing a lot of problems with the tacky and the grip on the stones. The event by ordered the overall standings with the lowest placing going first to the highest placing going last. This sets up a fun challenge for the athletes to see their order and try to improve their placement with one last event.
The men’s and women’s novice divisions had very tight placing, so the atlas stones had huge implications. A very tight race was coming to an end in the men’s heavyweight and masters heavyweight divisions, with atlas stones being the deciding factor. Here were the final placings for the atlas stones.
Women’s Novice LW: 115
1st. Natalie Whitsett - 13 reps
2nd. Megan Miller - 10 reps
3rd. Paige Kowarsch - 8 reps
Women’s Novice HW: 145
T-1st. Cheyenne Morris, Landra Tedrick -5 reps
Women’s LW Open: 145
1st. Morgan Thayer - 8 reps
2nd. Rachel Webster - 2 reps
Women’s Middleweight Open: 175
1st. Laura Anderson - 7 reps
Women’s Heavyweight Open: 175
1st. Kailynn McComas: 8 reps
Women’s Masters: 145
1st. Georgeanne Crabtree - 7 reps
Men’s Novice LW: 230
1st. Max Dubree - 10 reps
T-2nd. Joel Justice, Joel Krenz, Brandon Shoemaker - 9 reps
3rd. Steve Glick - 8 reps
Men’s Novice HW: 250
1st. Santiago Vasquez - 6 reps
2nd. Hunter Mayo - 5 reps
3rd. Joshua Bibee - 4 reps
Men’s LW Open: 230
1st. Carson Aquino - 3 reps
Men’s MW Open 200: 250
1st. Casey Atkinson - 8 reps
2nd. Jackson Mahorney - 7 reps
Men’s MW Open 231: 275
1st. Corey Frank - 9 reps
T-2nd. Jonathan Hiles, Robert Tedford - 7 reps
3rd. Taylor Schmitt - 6 reps
Men’s HW Open 265: 300
1st. Adam Conti - 4 reps
2nd. Jimmy Noel - 1 rep
Men’s HW Open 265+: 400 (was supposed to be 350)
1st. Jake Dankert - 2 reps
2nd. Sean Cox - 1 rep
Men’s Masters LW: 250
1st. John Roeder - 4 reps
2nd. Chris Miller - 3 reps
Men’s Masters HW: 275
T-1st. John Corson, Davey McCann - 6 reps
The atlas stones had major implications on the final placings and provided plenty of excitement for all the spectators. There were multiple ties throughout the classes that were decided by countbacks, but 2 divisions, Women’s Novice HW and Men’s Open 200, were still tied and required a tiebreaker event: Max time front hold face to face. Landra Tedrick and Jackson Mahorney came out on top to win their divisions.
Here are the final placings:
Women’s Novice LW:
1st. Natalie Whitsett - 30 points
2nd. Megan Miller - 23 points
3rd. Paige Kowarsch - 17.5 points
Women’s Novice HW:
1st. Landra Tedrick - 12.5 points (won tie-breaker)
2nd. Cheyenne Morris - 12.5 points
Women’s LW Open:
1st. Morgan Thayer - 15 points
2nd. Nina Baily - 7.5 points (won on countback)
3rd. Rachel Webster - 7.5 points
Women’s Middleweight Open:
1st. Laura Anderson - 5 points
Women’s Heavyweight Open:
1st. Kailynn McComas: 5 points
Women’s Masters: 115lbs
1st. Georgeanne Crabtree - 5 points
Men’s Novice LW:
1st. Joel Justice - 54 points
2nd. Max Dubree - 53 points
3rd. Todd Fisher - 46.5 points
Men’s Novice HW:
1st. Brandon Beebe - 54 points
2nd. Hunter Mayo - 48 points
3rd. John Dyer - 43 points
Men’s LW Open:
1st. Carson Aquino - 5 points
Men’s MW Open 200:
1st. Jackson Mahorney - 6.5 points (won tie-breaker)
2nd. Casey Atkinson - 6.5 points
Men’s MW Open 231:
1st. Jonathan Hiles - 26.5 points
2nd. Robert Tedford - 20.5 points
3rd. Corey Frank - 20 points
Men’s HW Open 265:
1st. Adam Conti - 9 points
2nd. Jimmy Noel - 6 points
Men’s HW Open 265+:
1st. Jake Dankert - 12 points
2nd. Sean Cox - 9 points
3rd. Jake McGaha - 8 points
Men’s Masters LW:
1st. John Roeder - 8 points
2nd. Chris Miller - 6 points
Men’s Masters HW:
1st. John Corson - 11.5 points
2nd. Davey McCann - 10.5 points
3rd. Matt Pflederer - 5 points
Congratulations to all the competitors, especially the class winners that can now claim to be “Cincinnati’s Strongest!” A special congrats to the only two athletes to win every event in a multi-person class, Natalie Whittsett and Morgan Thayer. Winners of the novice divisions will move up and must now compete in the open division going forward. All open-class winners received an invite to Strongman Corporation Regional Championships and the following athletes received invites to the National Championship: Morgan Thayer, Jackson Mahorney, Jonathan Hiles, Robert Tedford, Adam Conti, Jake Dankert, John Roeder, and Jon Corson.
Thank you to everyone that competed, spectated, or supported in any way. We will be back next year! Special thank you to Madewell Strength Equipment for providing the farmer’s bars, Mammoth bar attachments, and stone over bar racks. Their equipment is top-notch!
