Topic: News: Frank Eksten's Dennis Stora Dumps Football for WL

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Frank Eksten's Dennis Stora Dumps Football for Weightlifting Because It Is So Much Safer
By Steve T. Gorches

SCHERERVILLE — The newest member of Frank Eksten’s weightlifting program at Omni 41 had a tough choice to make a couple of years ago.

Football or weightlifting — which athletic profession does he pursue?

Dennis Stora of Kankakee, Ill., considered himself a pretty good fullback and middle linebacker at Olivet Nazarene College.

But he chose weightlifting, leading to the 21-year-old competing in the USA Weightlifting 2006 National Collegiate Championships, sponsored by the Post-Tribune, on Saturday and Sunday at Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza in Merrillville.

“It was probably the hardest decision of my life to give up football,” Stora said. “I’ve been playing since I was eight years old. But I saw where my football career was going. I was doing great at Olivet, but as far as my future goes, the NFL didn’t look too bright.”

So he took the path of least resistance and least injuries.

Yes, as unusual as it may seem, weightlifting is the safer sport. Just ask one of Stora’s new “teammates” at Omni 41 who also chose the sport over football and will be competing in this weekend’s event.

“With Frank it just seems safer, actually, believe it or not,” said Chris Spurlock, who has been training under Eksten since 2002.

Spurlock, 24, played football at Northern Illinois University before choosing weightlifting while taking classes at Purdue Calumet.

“Even though we’re throwing all this weight above our heads, it just seems like you can have a nice long career in this sport,” he said. “In football, one play and you could be done. That’s what I liked about (weightlifting). There’s not a lot of room for injury if you do things properly.”

And the consensus has been that the athletes learning under Eksten, a former Olympic coach, are not only safer, but have a better chance at winning in meets like the National Collegiate Championships.

Eksten has been running the Midwest Weightlifting program at Omni 41 since 1998, with this event the third prestigious tourney he has helped bring to Northwest Indiana. The previous two were the 2004 USAW National Championship Olympic qualifier and the 2005 National School-Age Championship for ages 17-and-under.

“They help increase exposure and build awareness in the area to get kids involved in the sport,” Eksten said. “The sport is great for strength, work ethic and character.”

The events also helps the local economy, which is always important to one of the sponsors of the events, the Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Next year will be tourney No. 4 coming to the region in the 2007 National Junior Championship for ages 20-and-under. It’s all leading up to one lofty goal for Eksten and his group of sponsors — hosting the 2008 Olympic Trials. The bid process for that lucrative event starts this year.

Besides Spurlock, a Crown Point resident, and Stora, the third pupil of Eksten’s vying for a national title is Vance Newgard.

The Homewood, Ill., native who attends Governor State University will compete in the 105-kilo class with one simple goal — just finish second.

“This meet, I’ll just have to lift 325 to 330 (kilos) of total weight to get second place to advance,” he said, explaining that the top two in each class move on to World University Games in Izmir, Turkey in June.

Out of the three, Newgard is the veteran when it comes to competing in events like this week’s. He finished first in his class three years ago in the same tournament, but didn’t meet the required percentage of the world total.

“This is probably the most confident I’ve been going into a meet,” he said. “It’s the most important since this is the first time I have a shot at the World Collegiate team, so there’s a little bit of pressure.”

Weight lifting facts

* Weightlifting was part of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and is the only Olympic sport where heavy weights are used.

* USA Weightlifting (USAW) is the national governing body for Olympic weightlifting in the United States. USAW is a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and a member of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

* The IWF and International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognize only two events, which must be done in all competitions in the following order: a) the two hands snatch and b) the two hands clean and jerk.

* The best lifters in the world in the lighter weight classes can lift as much as three times their body weight in the clean and jerk. The best superheavyweight lifters in history have lifted nearly 600 pounds in this lift.

* There are more than 200 events held throughout the country where weightlifters can compete in hopes of qualifying for nationals.

* USAW sanctions five national championships in all age groups, giving athletes a chance to see how they fare against competitors across the country.

Source: The Weightlifting Encyclopedia, www.usaweightlifting.org