Congrats to all of our Mountain South athletes that competed in the 2025 USAW National Week in Colorado Springs, CO, along with all the official and coaches that helped support the event!
We would like to highlight some of the outstanding performances, the Best Lifters from our WSO, and recognize our 10 National Champions and 22 National medalists from the event that finished with a combined 70 medals from all of the Mountain South athletes!
This year Mountain South had one Open National Champion, Xavier Borde (110kg Men, ALEE Athletics, AZ) – along with one Open National Bronze Medalist Rebecca Walker (86kg+ Women, Performance One Weightlifting, AZ). Xavier was coming of a PR Performance from the 2024 NAO Finals in Tucson, AZ where he also won Best Lifter, and in Colorado put up the second biggest total at Nationals Week of 359kg, which included a personal best 159kg Snatch! Rebecca made her 7th appearance at a National Championship, having competed previously in the 2021 & 2024 Senior Nationals, 2017 U25 Nationals, 2016 Junior Nationals, and 2015 & 2016 University Nationals.
Alden Chiu (79kg U23 Men, Zion Barbell, UT) was a National Champion in the U23 Division this year after taking third last year. The Mountain South had two U25 Medalists, Grace Le (58kg U25 Women, Praxis Weightlifting, UT) & Isaac Salas (110kg U25 Men, Unattached, NV), and three U23 Medalists, Caitlyn Ogami (58kg U23 Women, ALEE Athletics, AZ), Celina Ortega (86kg U23 Women, ALEE Athletics, AZ), and Zachary White (110kg U23 Men, Performance One Weightlifting, AZ).
In the Junior division the Mountain South had two repeat National Champions as Kaylee Landa (86kg Junior Women, Power & Grace Performance, AZ) and Malia Levy (86kg+ Junior Women, Praxis Weightlifting, UT) both defended their 2024 Nationals Titles by sweeping gold. Kaylee competed earlier this year as part of Team USA at Junior Pan-Ams (Havana, Cuba) and IWF Junior Worlds (Lima, Peru), and both Kaylee and Malia were teammates for Team USA at the 2022 IWF Youth World Championship (Leon, Mexico). Amelia Phillips (Power & Grace Performance, AZ), only age 16, was a Junior National Medalist sweeping silver in the Junior 48kg class, and was the youngest athlete in the Junior division, and youngest with a podium finish at Junior Nationals!
In the Youth Division, there were six Nationals Champions, including three repeat National Champions – 4-time Team USA member and 2024 Youth Pan-Am Champion Amelia Phillips (48kg Youth Women 16-17, Power & Grace Performance, AZ), Briana DiCosmo (44kg Youth Women 14-15, Power & Grace Performance, AZ), and Matthew Parento (48kg Youth Men U13, Calavera Barbell, NV) all defended their National Titles from 2024 Youth Nationals! The other National Champions were Lilly Mullenaux (40kg Youth Women 14-15, Power & Grace Performance, AZ), Brinlee Huber (53kg Youth Women 14-15, Power & Grace Performance, AZ), who was a 2023 National Medalist, and Lily Ontiveros (63kg+ Youth Women U13, Power & Grace Performance, AZ), the 2023 National Champion and a 2024 National Medalist.
Mountain South WSO Records were all reset to “zero” for all age groups for the new IWF bodyweight categories, so the new WSO Records are now populated with results from Nationals.
Current WSO Records are posted here: RECORDS
Record Certificates are posted here: RECORD CERTIFICATES
The Mountain South WSO also remains home to the top Youth Women’s Team in the nation, with Arizona-based Power & Grace Performance Youth Team repeating as National Team Champions in three divisions (Youth Women U13, U15, and Overall) for the sixth straight year, was this year’s Youth Women U17 Runner-up Team Champions, and earned the Glenn Middleton Award for Youth Development for the third time in a row by having the highest scoring and “Top Overall Youth Team” at Nationals!
BEST LIFTERS
Top Performances by Division based on “Best Athlete Total” formula from Mountain South athletes:
NOTE: Best Lifter Certificates available here: BEST LIFTER CERTIFICATES
WOMEN
OPEN WOMEN: Addie Anderson, Zion Barbell (UT) – 261.211
U25 WOMEN: Grace Le, Praxis Weightlifting (UT) – 222.060
U23 WOMEN: Caitlyn Ogami, ALEE Athletics (AZ) – 213.464
JUNIOR WOMEN: Kaylee Landa, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 253.974
YOUTH WOMEN 16-17: Amelia Phillips, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 253.209
YOUTH WOMEN 14-15: Kodi McBride, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 221.992
YOUTH WOMEN U13: Lily Ontiveros, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 212.644
YOUTH WOMEN U11: Gianna Palmer, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 184.787
MEN
OPEN MEN: Xavier Borde, ALEE Athletics (AZ) – 416.503
U25 MEN: Isaac Salas, Unattached (NV) – 336.985
U23 MEN: Alden Chiu, Zion Barbell (UT) – 354.342
JUNIOR MEN: Joshua Mullen, Unattached (UT) – 305.988
YOUTH MEN 16-17: Maddux Hernandez, Calavera Barbell (NV) – 330.308
YOUTH MEN 14-15: Ashton McAllister, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 367.776
YOUTH MEN U13: Matthew Parento, Calavera Barbell (NV) – 288.494
YOUTH MEN U11: Bode Dahle, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 266.430
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS:
Congrats to the our 10 National Champions from the Mountain South!
WOMEN
Kaylee Landa, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 86kg Junior Women: GOLD Snatch, GOLD CJ, GOLD Total
Malia Levy, Praxis Weightlifting (UT) – +86kg Junior Women: GOLD Snatch, GOLD CJ, GOLD Total
Amelia Phillips, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 48kg Youth Women 16-17: GOLD Snatch, GOLD CJ, GOLD Total
Briana DiCosmo, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 44kg Youth Women 14-15: GOLD Snatch, SILVER CJ, GOLD Total
Lilly Mullenaux, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 40kg Youth Women 14-15: GOLD Snatch, GOLD CJ, GOLD Total
Brinlee Huber, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 53kg Youth Women U14-15: GOLD Snatch, SILVER CJ, GOLD Total
Lily Ontiveros, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – +63kg Youth Women U13: SILVER Snatch, GOLD CJ, GOLD Total
MEN
Xavier Borde, ALEE Athletics (AZ) – 110kg Open Men: SILVER Snatch, GOLD CJ, GOLD Total
Alden Chiu, Zion Barbell (UT) – 79kg U23 Men: GOLD Snatch, GOLD CJ, GOLD Total
Matthew Parento, Calavera Barbell (NV) – 48kg Youth Men U13: GOLD Snatch, BRONZE CJ, GOLD Total
NATIONAL MEDALISTS:
Congrats to the our 20 National Medalists from the Mountain South!
WOMEN
Rebecca Walker, Performance One Weightlifting (AZ) – 86kg+ Open Women: BRONZE CJ, BRONZE Total
Celina Ortega, ALEE Athletics (AZ) – 86kg U23 Women: SILVER Snatch, SILVER CJ, SILVER Total
Grace Le, Praxis Weightlifting (UT) – 58kg U25 Women: BRONZE Snatch, BRONZE CJ, BRONZE Total
Caitlyn Ogami, ALEE Athletics (AZ) – 58kg U23 Women: BRONZE Snatch, BRONZE CJ, BRONZE Total
Amelia Phillips, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 48kg Junior Women: SILVER Snatch, SILVER CJ, SILVER Total
Alexandra Hibbs, Sanctuary Barbell (AZ) – 58kg Junior Women: SILVER Snatch, SILVER Total
Lexi Jenson, Praxis Weightlifting (UT) – 69kg Junior Women: BRONZE CJ
Tierany Lally, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 40kg Youth Women 16-17: SILVER Snatch, BRONZE CJ, SILVER Total
Maya Litt, Sanctuary Barbell (AZ) – 53kg Youth Women 16-17: SILVER CJ
Kaiya Blackhurst, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 53kg Youth Women 14-15: BRONZE CJ, BRONZE Total
Kodi McBride, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 76kg Youth Women 14-15: BRONZE Snatch, BRONZE Total
Juliette Phillips, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 44kg Youth Women U13: SILVER Snatch, SILVER CJ, SILVER Total
Audrina Olsen, Praxis Weightlifting (UT) – 58kg Youth Women U13: BRONZE Snatch
Gianna Palmer, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 36kg Youth Women U11: BRONZE Snatch, BRONZE Total
MEN
Isaac Salas, Unattached (NV) – 110kg U25 Men: BRONZE CJ
Zachary White, Performance One Weightlifting (AZ) – 110kg U23 Men: BRONZE Snatch, SILVER Total
Maddux Hernandez, Calavera Barbell (NV) – 65kg Youth Men 16-17: BRONZE CJ
Jonathan Zinger, ALEE Athletics (AZ) – 71kg Youth Men 16-17: BRONZE Snatch
Ashton McAllister, Power & Grace Performance (AZ) – 60kg Youth Men 14-15: SILVER Snatch, GOLD Clean & Jerk, SILVER Total
Keegan McHale, Kilo Barbell Club (AZ) – 79kg Youth Men 14-15: SILVER CJ
NATIONAL MEDALS BY TEAM:
Mountain South WSO Athletes earned a combined 70 Total Medals!
36 – Power & Grace Performance (AZ): GOLD = 16, SILVER = 13, BRONZE = 7
10 – ALEE Athletics (AZ): GOLD = 2, SILVER = 4, BRONZE = 4
8 – Praxis Weightlifting (UT): GOLD = 3, SILVER = 0, BRONZE = 5
4 – Calavera Barbell (NV): GOLD = 2, SILVER = 0, BRONZE = 2
4 – Performance One Weightlifting (AZ): GOLD = 0, SILVER = 1, BRONZE = 3
3 – Zion Barbell (UT): GOLD = 3, SILVER = 0, BRONZE = 0
3 – Sanctuary Barbell (AZ): GOLD = 0, SILVER = 3, BRONZE = 0
1 – Kilo Barbell Club (AZ): GOLD = 0, SILVER = 1, BRONZE = 0
1 – Unattached: GOLD = 0, SILVER = 0, BRONZE = 1
TEAM AWARDS:
Glen Middleton Award – USAW Top Youth Overall Team: Power & Grace Performance (AZ)
Youth Women Overall Team: NATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONS – Power & Grace Performance (AZ)
Youth Women 16-17 Team: NATIONAL TEAM RUNNER-UP – Power & Grace Performance (AZ)
Youth Women 14-15 Team: NATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONS – Power & Grace Performance (AZ)
Youth Women U13 Team: NATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONS – Power & Grace Performance (AZ)