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Who's the strongest of them all?

In 2003, the Warren County Strongest Man competition started at Eisenhower High School.

Since that time, the name has formally been changed to the Beast of the North East Strongman competition, but the idea is the same, to test not only strength but the will of the participants.

In prior years, the competition has primarily had high school participants - from all over, not just Eisenhower. This year, the event has evolved into the one of the area's most intense strongman competition, with adults also able to compete.

The Best of the North East Strongman competition will be held on Saturday, July 11, at Eisenhower High school, with the students starting at 10 a.m. and the adults starting at 1 p.m.

Over the years, an average of 30 students from the northwestern Pennsylvania and New York have come back for repeat performances. Students from multiple schools throughout the region have met at Eisenhower High school where they competed in rigorous events in order to obtain not only trophies, but respect, and the event benefits the Eisenhower High School Big Blue Football Club.

The competition is modeled after the famous World's Strongest Man. But, unlike the World's Strongest Man, there are seven events, not four, that test the participants' strength. The seven events that will be competed in this year are, the Niagara challenge, the tower of power, lumber jack, farmer carry, tire flip, truck pull, and bench press rep.

The Niagara Challenge consists of two five-gallon pales, with one gallon of water in them, held in an "iron cross" manner. The timed event is lost only when the participant drops away from parallel to the ground.

In the Tower of Power, the contestant, while being timed, take filled kegs and place them on a stairway tower. The kegs go from large to small, with the larger ones on the bottom and smaller ones on top.

The contestants play a role all-too-familiar to this region in the Lumber Jack competition. Participants carry an 80-pound log at chest level around Eisenhower's track. The furthest distance wins.

Another event of local cultural interest is the Farmer's Carry. Two 75-pound weights are hulled by the participants around the track as far as they can go. The furthest distance wins.

The Tire Flip is one of the most basic and famous of the events in all strongman competition. The contestant flips a large tractor tire for a distance while being timed. The best time wins.

Contestants will have to pull a truck 40 yards in the Truck Pull event, with the goal being to have the fastest time.

The Bench Press Rep, consists of the participant benching a set amount of weight for as many reps as they can. The most reps wins.

The adult competition will only contain six of the seven events, but will be in the same format.

Each division contains three weight classes. For high school, it is 160 pounds and under, 161-200 pounds, and 201 pounds and above. For the adults, it is 190 pounds and under, 191-240 pounds, and 241 pounds and above.

For information, e-mail penley75@verizon.net

High School (Student) Strongman Records

Light Weight

Niagara Challenge: L. Schwanke-EHS '08, 2 min 4 sec. Tower of Power: D. Huntoon-EHS '08, 28.13 sec. Farmer Carry: J. Spelling-EHS '07, 1,323 feet. Lumber Jack: M. Deivert-EHS '06, 3,120 feet. Bench Press:(165lbs) J. Spelling-EHS '07, 18 reps. Tire Flip: J. Spelling-EHS '07, 22.56 sec. Truck Pull: D. Huntoon-EHS '08, 29.25 sec. Total Points: M. Deivert-EHS '06, 33 points.

Middle Weight

Niagara Challenge: T. Fry-SHS '07, 2 min 9 sec. Tower of Power: Z. Zelehoski-JBHS '08, 27.53 sec. Farmer Carry: A. Blair-EHS '07, 1,609 feet. Lumber Jack: J. Tutmaher-EHS '06, 5,205 feet. Bench Press:(185lbs) Z. Zelehoski-JBHS '0817 reps. Tire Flip: D. Osbourne-EHS '07, 23.06 sec. Truck Pull: D. Osbourne-EHS '08, 23.06. Total Points: Z. Zelehoski-JBHS '08/A. Blair-EHS '07, 29 points.

Heavy Weight

Niagara Challenge: S. Kubeja-CVHS '08/ T. Knotts-SHS '07, 2 min 6 sec. Tower of Power: M. Myschisin-EHS '07, 28.6 sec. Farmer Carry: M. Geary-WAHS '07, 1,349 feet. Lumber Jack: D. Uber-FHS '08, 6,700 feet. Bench Press:(205lbs) J. Watson-WAHS '07, 21 reps. Tire Flip: N. Church-EHS '08, 22.75 sec. Truck Pull: J. Herzog-EHS '08, 22.43 sec. Total Points: M. Geary-WAHS '07, 27.