Muscular Development, Vol 9, No 11, Page 18, November 1972

Teen-Age Mr. America

IN JULY 15 and 16 a fine group of teen-age lifters and physique contestants assembled at the Marriott Twin Bridges Motel in Arlington, Virginia to vie for the various championships that were at stake. The committee responsible for this event did a fine job and the whole event looked successful. Some fine lifting took place, and a number of National Teen-age records were made. Many of the physique entries looked great and showed great promise for future competition.

Of course the one man who literally "cleaned up" the trophies was Sammie Willis of Indianapolis. He not only won the Teen-age Mr. America title, but also took the Most Muscular trophy along with the Best Arms, Best Back, Best Chest, Best Abdominals. Only one other entry, young Jack Farneti of New York whose dad is a former barbell man, took the Best Legs award.

However, such fellows as Joe Ugolik and Ron Economus appeared mighty impressive and will do much better in future competition, especially if they continue to train and make added gains.

Listed here are some pertinent facts about each of the fellows who competed. They are listed in the order of their appearance and not as they placed...

Ron Economus, Garfield Heights, Ohio is 19 and student at Cleveland State University and majoring in Business Administration. Has trained for five years and trained only six weeks for this contest.

Steven Van Son, Attica, N.Y. is 19 and a construction worker with his father's company. Plans to finish school later. he's been training three years and trained one year for this contest.

Joseph J. Pavalonis, Buffalo, N.Y. is 15 and a student at McKinley High School and interested in advertising. Been training for two years.

Rudolph D. Vidi, New Carrolton, Md. He's 18 and a student at Prince Georges Community College. Has trained for nine years and trained a year and a half for this contest.

Mark C. Walker, Atlanta, Georgia is 19 and a student at West Georgia College and majoring in Medical Technology. Has trained for two and a half years and trained for this contest one year.

George R. Clark, McKeesport, Pa. is 19 and attends the University of Pittsburgh and majoring in Phys. Ed. Has trained for four years and trained two months for this contest.

Michael J. Stevens, Baltimore, Md. is 18 and a student at Essex Community college. Started training three years ago and trained two months for this event.

Michael A. Beitler, Baltimore, Md. is 18 and a student at University of Baltimore and majoring in law. Has trained three and a half years and trained three months for this contest.

Jerry W. Wecht, Youngstown, Ohio is 18 and is assistant game warden at Hamilton Lake. Has been training for two years and trained one month for this contest.

Michael A. Rich of Hampstead, Md. is 19 and a student at Catonsville Community College and studying law enforcement. Started training one and a half years ago, and trained three months for this contest.

Gary Cruk, South Bend, Indiana is 18 and manager of Dave's Gym. Trained for three years and had three months to prepare for this contest.

Michael A. D'Amico of Buffalo, N.Y. is 16 years old and a student at McKinley High. Interested in commercial art and advertising. Has been training for only four and a half months.

Edward Schock, Lebanon, Pa, is 19 and a student at Vassar College. Training now for seven years and took a year to get in shape for this contest.

Steve J. Tharrett, Summit, N.J. is 19 and is a mason and college student. Started training two and a half years ago and trained three months for this contest.

Jack Farneti, New York, N.Y. is 19 and student at a Long Island university where he is majoring in physiotherapy. Started training at the age of 10 and has made good progress. Trained four hears for this contest, and won the Best Legs award.

Joseph A. Ugolik, New Haven, Conn. is 16 and a student at Lee High, a college prep school. Showed terrific gains for the two and a half years he's been training, although took only six weeks to get in shape for this contest.

William R. Bellew, Fairborn, Ohio is 16 and a student at Parkhills High School. Benn training for four years, and spent a year getting in shape for this event.

Tim G. Weidman, Cortland, N.Y. is 19 and the only married contestant. Been married for a month. He's a student at the State University of New York. Been training for three and a half years, and spent one year preparing for this contest.

Nick Ugolik, New Haven, Conn. is 18 and attending Paier Art School for commercial art. Training for one and a half years, but trained six weeks for this contest.

Sammie L. Willis, Indianapolis, Indiana is 18 and a welder at American Medical Mgmt. Has been in training for one year and trained only three months for this contest but won the title and most of the subdivisions.

Joseph E. Goldbas, Utica, N.Y. is 17 and a student at the Utica Free Academy. He's been training for two and a half years and trained six months for this contest.

PHOTO CAPTIONS

- The five finalists, left to right: Rudy Vidi 5th; Jack Farneti 3rd, and winner of best legs, Sammie Willis, Teen-age Mr. America and winner of most subdivision, Joseph Ugolik 2nd, and George Clark 4th;

- Sammie Willis, the overall winner!

- Ron Enonomus; Ed Schock.

- Joe Ugolik, 2nd; Jack Farneti, 3rd; George Clark 4th;

- Waiting to be called for their interview.

- Tim Weidman; Rudy Vidi, 5th;

- Michael Stevens, Mark Walker, Michael Rich.

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