The Sierra–Cascade Logging Conference was the host and main sponsor of two major strength events held at the Shasta District Fairgrounds, in Anderson, California: the first qualifier in the IHGF Stones of Strength series on day one, followed the next day by the World’s Strongest Logger.


2019 IHGF Stones of Strength and World’s Strongest Logger: Two Tough Days
by Francis Brebner
President, International Highland Games Federation (IHGF)
 
 
This year’s lineup of athletes was one of the best to date: Josh Thigpen (USA), Dennis Kohlruss (Germany), Johan Langhorst (Netherlands), Dylan Bartz (USA), Sam Zylstra (USA), Joshua Eisele (USA), Easton Taylor (USA), Frank Quartucci (USA), Michael Congdon (USA), Michael Stroozas (USA), and Ulice Payne (USA).
 
Thigpen, of Houston, Texas, a four-times World’s Strongest Man competitor, was looking in great shape at a bodyweight of 300 lb., as were all of the other athletes that had been training diligently for this major event. Incredibly strong and fast, Thigpen was pushed all the way by his fellow rivals, but in the end, after hard-fought battles, he clinched the victories on both days.

Five challenges made up the IHGF Stones of Strength competition: overhead stone press, 55-lb. stone putt, stone carry, Dinnie stone walk, and stone to shoulder for reps. Judging the competition was pro strongman Travis Ortmayer, of Houston, Texas.
 
In the overhead stone press, athletes had 90 sec. to complete as many reps as possible with either a 260-lb. or 305-lb. stone; if they could not lift the heavier stone, they could move to the lighter, but 1 rep with the 305-lb. stone beat any reps done with the 260-lb. stone. The IHGF world record for the heaviest natural stone officially pressed overhead in competition was established at last year’s World Strongest Logger by Easton Taylor with a 300-lb. stone.
Most of the athletes took a gamble, going all out on the 305-lb. stone, which took the wind out of their sails a bit. Kohlruss came close to locking out the 305-lb. stone and then switched to the 260-lb. stone and managed only 1 press in the time he had left. With most of the athletes doing 1 rep with the 260-lb. stone, Bartz put up a good show with 3 reps and was later surpassed by Congdon, who strategically opted for the 260-lb. stone and pumped out 5 reps for the win. Thigpen did 3 reps in a tie for second place.
 
In the 55-lb. stone throw, any style could be used in the 3-m run up to the trig, with 3 attempts. Langhorst and Kohlruss had a ding-dong battle, with Langhorst blasting out a putt of 22’ 11” on his final attempt to surpass Kohlruss at 21’ 11” for the win; just inches behind in third was Zylstra at 21’ 3”.
 
The 405-lb. stone carry was done over a course for max distance with no time limit. Quartucci took the early lead at 159’ 2” but was overtaken by Congdon with 191’ 9”, which was looking like a possible win when Eisele, in an impressive effort, did 245’ 9” for first place.
 
The Dinnie stones walk was the highlight of the competition, with the combined weight of the stones at 635-lb., carried bare-handed (no lifting straps) for max distance with a max of 3 drops allowed. Payne stormed the course for the win in 19.96 sec. with only 1 drop. Thigpen took a cannier approach as he wanted to be the first to complete the course without dropping the stones and did just that in 34.60 sec. for second place, and also set a new IHGF record for completing the course without dropping the stones. Stroozas took third with 2 min. 35 sec.  
 
The stone to shoulder was the final event: athletes had a choice of three stones ranging in weight from 305 lb., 355 lb. and 405 lb., and any rep done with a heavier stone trumped any done with a lighter stone. Most athletes managed 3 reps with the 305-lb. stone, but Kohlruss dominated by shouldering the 405-lb. stone, doing 1 rep for the win. Stroozas put up a great showing with 4 reps with the 355-lb. stone for second place , and Langhorst took third with 1 rep with the 355-lb. stone.
 
Overall points
1. Josh Thigpen 42.5
2. Mike Stroozas 39
3. Mike Congdon 37
4. Dennis Kohlruss 32
5. Frank Quartucci 32
6. Josh Eisele 32
7. Johan Langhorst 31
8. Dylan Bartz 27
9. Ulice Payne 25
10. Easton Taylor 20.5
11. Sam Zylstra 20
 
Held on day two, the World’s Strongest Logger competition was a herculean test of overall strength and conditioning, with five exhausting events.
 
In the log press overhead, athletes had to choose between a 315-lb. log and a 350-lb. log, 1 rep with the 350-lb. log beating any reps done with the 315-lb. log. Bartz showed pure shoulder power by pumping out 3 reps with the 350-lb. log for the win; second place was Zylstra with 1 rep, and third was a tie at 2 reps on the 315-lb. log between Congdon, Taylor, Quartucci and Stroozas.

In the logger’s medley, athletes walked with a 320-lb. log attached to handles in each hand over a course of 30’, then flipped a 1,000-lb. tire 3 times, then carried a 300-lb. log on their shoulder over the 30’-course, with 2 minutes to complete the medley in the fastest time possible. Just one athlete was able to finish the course, Thigpen in a time of 1 min. 21.93 sec. Zylstra was second with 3 flips of the tire in 1 min. 59.03 sec., and Stroozas third with 2 flips in a time of 1 min. 33.64 sec. 
 
Athletes then pulled a 40,000-lb. truck hand-over-hand over a course of 30’ with a slight incline in 75 sec., which proved a very hard task for everyone. Most athletes could only manage a few meters for all of their painstaking efforts, but Kohlruss pulled it that much further with a winning distance of 11’ 9”, to second-place Payne at 7’ 8” and third-place Thigpen at 7’ 6-1/2”.
 
In the demanding Fingal’s Fingers, athletes had to lift from the ground and push over a series of 14’ logs ranging from 320 lb. to 470 lb. Stroozas took the early lead doing four fingers in 54.48 sec., which was pipped by Zylstra doing four in 44.85 sec. Kohlruss stole the show as the only athlete to complete all five fingers, doing this in 56.02 sec.

The climax was the Atlas stones, where five stones ranging from 250 lb. to 450 lb. were lifted onto plinths at the same heights used at World’s Strongest Man. Thigpen took the win with a time of 29.84 sec. Second place was tight between Stroozas and Kohlruss, with Stroozas pulling off 39.43 sec. to Kohlruss’s 41.42 sec.
 
Overall points
1. Josh Thigpen 83.5
2. Dennis Kohlruss 78
3. Mike Stroozas 77.5
4. Johan Langhorst 63.5
5. Sam Zylstra 63
6. Mike Congdon 60.5
7. Frank Quartucci 55.5
8. Dylan Bartz 53
9. Ulice Payne 49
10. Joshua Eisele 41
11, Easton Taylor 33

The competition was one of the heaviest two-day formats at this venue to date, and from start to finish the events ran smoothly despite the cold weather. For Thigpen it was a sweet dual victory, winning the IHGF Stones of Strength and the World’s Strongest Logger titles.
Thigpen will go forward to compete in the Fefor Power Week in Norway at the IHGF Stones of Strength World Challenge in August 2019 and hopefully clinch another world title for USA.
 
IHGF vice-president Adam Darazs of Hungary noted how very tough but fantastic the competition was, with a great lineup of athletes and events. The IHGF and the athletes would like to thank Ted James, the former president of the Sierra–Cascade Logging Conference, and all the sponsors for making this event happen. The IHGF would also like to thank the USA representative for the IHGF, Casey Garrison, for all his hard work in setting up the competition and Dennis and Russell Garrison and their team for all their efforts in making the new equipment for both the IHGF Stones of Strength and World’s Strongest Logger; with a very special thank you to Dennis Garrison for the support in personally bringing in the European athletes and the film crew and making this event even bigger and better.



                                                          ###

You can also follow IronMind on Twitter, Instagram and on Facebook.                        



Want to talk grip, strongman, weightlifting . . . everything strength? Visit the IronMind Forum.