Eglin muscle flexed at Strongman event

  • Published
  • By Kevin Gaddie
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Eglin's first Strongman Competition Oct. 29 featured 20 participants who showcased their strength, skills and wills in four grueling physical tests.

The events included a tire flip, a timed event in which a tractor tire was flipped end over end for 40 yards; a kettle toss, in which 35 and 25-pound kettle bells were thrown underhanded down a lane and the distances were measured; a farmer's carry, a timed event where two dumbbells ranging from 75 to 130 pounds were carried for a total of 40 yards; and a "gator" pull, which involved pulling a 1,500-pound all-terrain vehicle 80 yards for the men and 40 yards for the women.

Staff Sgt. Angelo Lowrie, Eglin Fitness Center program director, said anticipation and nervous energy before the competition were high. He saw many of the competitors practicing their squat, lift and push techniques for the tire flip. Others fine-tuned their grips for the dumbbells they lugged in the farmer's carry.

The first, second and third place lightweight division winners, respectively, were Corey Villalobos, Anthony Overton and Jeff Archer. The middleweight winners were John Vickery, Joshua Friend and Jake Stewart. The heavyweight division winners were Andrew Opel, Anthony Hemphill and Alex Breeland.

Opel said his strong showings in the gator pull and farmer's carry helped him pull away from his competitors.

"I trained for the Strongman Competition for about a month," said Opel, 96th Force Support Squadron. "I attached a tow rope to my Mustang and pulled it up and down my street, and I lifted a lot of weights every day. I also took a long nap before I came here, to get rested up. This was my first Strongman competition, so I'm very excited."

The middleweight women's title was taken by Jeana Quintana. Alexandra Palmer won the women's heavyweight title.

"I really enjoyed the competition," said Quintana, 96th Logistics Readiness Squadron. "It's always nice to come out and show your skills off. I train regularly at a local cross-training facility, which helped me prepare."

Sergeant Lowrie, who experienced the competition firsthand by demonstrating the events, was impressed with all of the Strongman entrants.

"There were some great competitors here," he said. "They had a lot of diverse training methods, which helped them during the recent base-wide Physical Fitness Test, and they were here to show what they've got. They did a tremendous job of showing their strength and stamina. We look forward to hosting more Strongman Competitions in the future."