2024 North American Open Finals Results (PDF)
TUCSON, Ariz. – Six Bulldogs from the Concordia University, Nebraska Weightlifting program earned the right to compete at the prestigious North American Open Finals hosted by USA Weightlifting in Tucson, Ariz., Dec. 5-8. Michael Davidge, Gracy Johnson and Marcus Sweet each posted personal best totals in action that featured approximately 800 total lifters at the Tucson Convention Center. Weightlifting is made up of two lifts: snatch and clean & jerk.
The competition marked the second official event of the 2024-25 season for Head Coach Freddie Myles’ squad. In order to qualify for the North American Open Finals, lifters had to previously meet specific minimums. Said Myles, “I thought our six athletes lifted well. I’m excited to get back to practices as they start the final push towards University Nationals.”
As collegiate competitors, Concordia’s six athletes each lifted as part of the Junior Division. Performance summaries are included below. In the men’s 81kg class, the freshman Sweet placed third with a snatch of 110kg and clean & jerk of 145kg for a total of 255kg. Meanwhile, the sophomore Johnson placed fourth in the women’s 71kg class with a snatch of 80kg and clean & jerk of 95kg for a total of 175kg.
The other four Bulldogs to make the trip to Tucson were Michael Davidge (89kg) and Kendrick Pardieu (73kg) on the men’s side and Taylor Hedke (64kg) and Nina Pollack (71kg) on the women’s side. Davidge’s personal best total at the event weighed in at 287kg. In addition, Hedke turned in a new PR in clean & jerk and Pollack improved her personal best in snatch by 2kg.
Performance Summary
Men
· Michael Davidge, 89kg (Grapevine, Texas) – Went 6-for-6 on his lifts and improved his personal best total by 9kg at 287kg (fifth place in weight class).
· Kendrick Pardieu, 73kg (Coconut Creek, Fla.) – Posted a snatch of 96kg.
· Marcus Sweet, 81kg (Navarre, Fla.) – Placed third, went 5-for-6 on his lifts and produced a personal best total of 255kg.
Women
· Taylor Hedke, 64kg (Marysville, Kan.) – Improved her clean & jerk personal best by 3kg with a 90kg lift and totaled 153kg.
· Gracy Johnson, 71kg (Coon Rapids, Iowa) – Placed third in snatch, went 6-for-6 on her lifts and produced a personal best total of 175kg.
· Nina Pollack, 71kg (Monument, Colo.) – Improved her snatch personal best by 2kg with a 71kg lift and totaled 154kg.
The North American Open Finals marked the last event on the fall semester for the Bulldogs. The next outing will be the 2025 University Weightlifting National Championships in Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 27 – March 2.