Big battles, lots on the line and some thrilling performances at the 2018 Scotfest: 39th Annual Celtic Music Festival & Highland Games (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma), where Olivia Tyler captured the Women’s World Championships title and Cory Summers won the final leg of the IHGF All-American Qualifying Series.


Cory Summers won the 10th and final leg of the IHGF All-American Qualifiers. IronMind® | Photo courtesy of IHGF

2018 Scotfest: 39th Annual Celtic Music Festival & Highland Games: Two Big Competitions
by Francis Brebner
President, International Highland Games Federation (IHGF)
 
2018 Women’s Highland Games World Championships
 
Held in a fantastic setting in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, these games celebrated its 39th year by hosting this year’s Woman’s Highland Games World Championships. A solid lineup from  various sporting backgrounds included Amy Backel, Emily Adams, Denise Greene, Sultana Frizell, Adriane Wilson, Olivia Tyler, Jessica Bridenthal, Nikita Marzano, Meagan McKee, and Elissa Hapner.
 
The 16-lb. Braemar stone ended in a tie with Tyler and Bridenthal producing putts of 37’, with the win going to Jessica Bridenthal on countback. Frizell was third at 36’.
 
Wilson’s best in a series of crushing putts at 47’ 1” in the 9.2-lb. open stone set a new field record. Tyler claimed second with 43’ 9” and Marzano third at 43’ 3”.
 
The 14-lb. weight for distance was launched for some noteworthy distances, with Tyler taking her first victory at 86’ 1”. Marzano followed at 82’ 8”, with Hapner third at 79’ 8”.
 
The 28-lb. weight for distance was epic as the woman went all out. Wilson lobbed a best of 46’ 10” for the win. Tyler was close with a superb throw of 45’ 3”. Third-place Bridenthal did 43’ 4”.
 
In the 12-lb. light hammer, Tyler and McKee thrashed it out with Tyler marginally pulling off the win at 111’ 6” to McKee’s 111’ 2”. Hapner took third with 105’ 7”. 
 
McKee then took the reins in the 16-lb. heavy hammer with a winning distance of 97’ 10”, with Tyler now in second at 91’ 11”. Again, Hapner placed third at 87’ 1”.
 
The 28-lb. weight over bar was a slugfest, with Greene and Marzano tying at 19’ and the win going to Greene on countback. Frizell was third at 17’.
 
Tyler wowed the crowds in the 10-lb. sheaf toss, setting a new world record height of 35’ 3”, surpassing the old record of 35’. Bridenthal was second at 32’ and Hapner third at 29’.
 
Only four athletes could turn the mighty challenge caber, 17’ and 90 lb., with McKee and Wilson nailing a 12 o’clock tosses and the win going to McKee on countback. Third was Tyler with a toss of 12:15.
 
Overall placings
1. Olivia Tyler
2. Jessica Bridenthal
3. Nikita Marzano
4. Meagan McKee
5. Elissa Hapner
6. Adriane Wilson
7. Sultana Frizell
8. Denise Greene
9. Emily Adams
10. Amy Backel
 
Tyler was crowned the Women’s Highland Games world champion in a fantastic world championships from start to finish. The IHGF would like to thank the athletic director of the games, Sherrie Sweet, festival director Steve Campbell, and officials of HASA, Dave and Gunner Glasgow and Larry and Terri Ventress, and the judges for their hard work in making this such a memorable event.
 
IHGF All-American Amateur Highland Games Qualifying Series
 
The tenth and final leg of the IHGF All-American qualifying series took place in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma at the 2018 Scotfest: 39th Annual Celtic Music Festival & Highland Games. Heavy athletes included Cory Summers, Dan Williams, Bryan Funk, Shane Thomas, Ryan Huddleston, Bueffard Buckanoodle, Dan Murphy, Nick Myatt, and Royce Fontenot.
 
The opening event, the 22-lb. Braemar stone, was a close tussle between Williams and Summers, with Williams taking the win marginally with 36’ 11” to Summers’s 36’ 9”. Huddleston was third at 32’ 7”.
 
Summers showed great rotational form in the 16-lb. open stone with a best of 49’ 9”. Second place was a dingdong battle with Huddleston nipping Williams 41’ 3” to 41’1”.
 
Summers pulled off his second victory in the 28-lb. weight for distance with an enormous throw of 80’ 7”. Second-place Williams trailed at 65’, with Thomas in third at 64’ 1”.
 
In the 56-lb. weight for distance, Summers kept up his winning streak with throws all over 40’, his best being 42’ for the win. Williams took second at 33’ 5”, followed closely by Funk at 32’ 7”.
 
The 16-lb. hammer was another great victory—and a personal best—for Summers at a winning distance of 129’ 7”. Funk did 105’ 5” and Huddleston 102’ 8”.
 
In the 22-lb. hammer, Summers unleashed a barrage of throws over 100’ with a best of 111’. Second place was close, with Huddleston pulling it off at 85’ 5” to Funk’s third at 85’ 3”.
 
A highlight of the competition, the 56-lb. weight over the bar was won by Summers at a height of 17’. Thomas was impressive at 16” for second, with Williams third at 15’.
 
The 16-lb. sheaf was dominated by Williams with a winning height of 34’. Second was Buckanoodle at 33’, with Funk third at 29’.
 
The 19’, 125-lb. caber stymied all but two athletes. Williams slammed home three 12 o’clock tosses for the final win of the competition. Second was Summers with a 12:30 and third Buckanoodle with 75 degrees.
 
Overall placings
1. Cory Summers
2. Dan Williams
3. Bryan Funk
4. Shane Thomas
5. Ryan Huddleston
6. Bueffard Buckanoodle
7. Dan Murphy
8. Nick Myatt
9. Royce Fontenot

It was a sweet victory for Summers, who will advance to the finals of the IHGF All-American Highland Games Championships at the Great Plains Renaissance Festival, 29–30 September. The winner will then compete at the 2019 IHGF World Highland Games Championships in Bressuire, France and also the IHGF World Highland Games series staged in 2019.  
 

Cory Summers won the 10th and final leg of the IHGF All-American Qualifiers. IronMind® | Photo courtesy of IHGF

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