My son Michael not impressed Harris won the middle weight toughman contest in WV on 2/26/11. I'm proud of you and grandma would be to :)
Toughman crowns four
February 27, 2011
MARTINSBURG - The 20th annual Toughman Competition now has four new champions that can claim the title of Toughman.
Justin Wenger, Mike Harris, John Nalewak and Justin Winfield took home the championship in their weight divisions as well as the prize money.
"It felt good," Harris said. "I just handled my business and did what I trained to do. I can't even stop smiling."
Harris took home the middleweight title and was one of the three champions that hailed from Chambersburg, Pa. The others included Nalewak and Wenger.
"Go Chambersburg, glad we all could bring it home." Nalewak said.
The third Chambersburg champion, Wenger, set the tone quickly in the championship round as he came out swinging and took an early advantage against Brandon Watson in the lightweight division. Wenger landed several devastating punches early in the fight and rode the momentum into the later rounds.
"(Watson) came out wildly, so I danced around for a bit and took my time landing my punches," Wenger said.
Wenger continued to land a series of devastating hooks in the second and third rounds and eventually took home the championship on points.
Harris came into the ring with a calm demeanor for the middleweight bout, but quickly became active as the opening bell sounded, forcing his opponent, Steve Miller, to duck and cover to avoid taking punishment.
Harris continued to land a series of powerful jabs that left Miller stumbling, but Miller shook them off and the fight went the distance before Harris was crowned champion of the middleweight division.
The heavyweight division had Nalewak face off against the crowd favorite David "The Human Punching Bag" Carter.
Carter lived up to his ring name in the final match. He used his power to knock around his previous opponents, but the 6-foot-3 Nalewak used his reach to land a series of brutal jabs, sending Carter to the mat in the first round.
Carter's corner kept him from going out in the second round as Nalewak took home the heavyweight title with a TKO.
The final match of the night was in the light heavyweight division and featured Martinsburg native Scott Meadows against Justin Winfield of Needmore, Pa.
Meadows took the early advantage with a series of punches seemingly coming from all directions, but Winfield made a late push in the first round to even the fight.
Meadows landed a higher number of punches in the second round, but Winfield answered with a number of punishing counters.
In the final round, Winfield used counters to do his damage, as well as a flurry of jabs and hooks at the end to take home the title.
Despite his previous wins in the tournament, as well as a title in a Pennsylvania Toughman Competition, Winfield approached the final match with a bit of caution.
"I'm never confident," he said. "I'm always scared to death before a fight."
While Winfield took a more conservative approach to his championship, Wenger just can't wait until his next chance to get back in the right.
"364 days until next year's," said a smiling Wenger of the annual event.
He and a number of other competitors will be counting the days until they can fight again for the Toughman crown.
Justin Wenger, Mike Harris, John Nalewak and Justin Winfield took home the championship in their weight divisions as well as the prize money.
"It felt good," Harris said. "I just handled my business and did what I trained to do. I can't even stop smiling."
Harris took home the middleweight title and was one of the three champions that hailed from Chambersburg, Pa. The others included Nalewak and Wenger.
"Go Chambersburg, glad we all could bring it home." Nalewak said.
The third Chambersburg champion, Wenger, set the tone quickly in the championship round as he came out swinging and took an early advantage against Brandon Watson in the lightweight division. Wenger landed several devastating punches early in the fight and rode the momentum into the later rounds.
"(Watson) came out wildly, so I danced around for a bit and took my time landing my punches," Wenger said.
Wenger continued to land a series of devastating hooks in the second and third rounds and eventually took home the championship on points.
Harris came into the ring with a calm demeanor for the middleweight bout, but quickly became active as the opening bell sounded, forcing his opponent, Steve Miller, to duck and cover to avoid taking punishment.
Harris continued to land a series of powerful jabs that left Miller stumbling, but Miller shook them off and the fight went the distance before Harris was crowned champion of the middleweight division.
The heavyweight division had Nalewak face off against the crowd favorite David "The Human Punching Bag" Carter.
Carter lived up to his ring name in the final match. He used his power to knock around his previous opponents, but the 6-foot-3 Nalewak used his reach to land a series of brutal jabs, sending Carter to the mat in the first round.
Carter's corner kept him from going out in the second round as Nalewak took home the heavyweight title with a TKO.
The final match of the night was in the light heavyweight division and featured Martinsburg native Scott Meadows against Justin Winfield of Needmore, Pa.
Meadows took the early advantage with a series of punches seemingly coming from all directions, but Winfield made a late push in the first round to even the fight.
Meadows landed a higher number of punches in the second round, but Winfield answered with a number of punishing counters.
In the final round, Winfield used counters to do his damage, as well as a flurry of jabs and hooks at the end to take home the title.
Despite his previous wins in the tournament, as well as a title in a Pennsylvania Toughman Competition, Winfield approached the final match with a bit of caution.
"I'm never confident," he said. "I'm always scared to death before a fight."
While Winfield took a more conservative approach to his championship, Wenger just can't wait until his next chance to get back in the right.
"364 days until next year's," said a smiling Wenger of the annual event.
He and a number of other competitors will be counting the days until they can fight again for the Toughman crown.
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