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TMCNet: Mule Creek youth strong-arms the competition

[August 01, 2009]

Mule Creek youth strong-arms the competition

MULE CREEK, Aug 01, 2009 (Silver City Sun-News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A local youth from Mule Creek has taken the sport of arm wrestling over the top. B.J. Hays was told by Clayton "Chip" Ellwanger, principal of Cliff High School, that everyone has a talent, and that Hays needed to find his and strengthen it to the best of his ability.

Hays has certainly done that, competing in the New Mexico State Arm Wrestling competition and winning gold in the Boys Youth 13-15 Right Hand Division in March. The victory qualified Hays for the United States Arm Wrestling Federation Unified National Arm Wrestling Championship, which was held in Little Rock, Ark., in late June.

This time Hays was backed up against the wall, as the brackets and format changes in national-level competition. Instead of competing by age, Hays had to arm wrestle in the Junior Boys Division (18 and under) and by weight. Hays didn't miss a beat, as he won a national crown in the 143-pound weight class in the Right Hand Division, and he took third in the 154-pound Right and Left Hand Divisions.

The win qualified Hays to join Team USA and compete in the XXXI WAF World Championships in Italy. Hays has been training with Mike Apodaca in Los Lunas for this competition for the past couple of weeks. Apodaca is providing Hays with some expertise in the sport of arm wrestling. Apodaca was a 2008 New Mexico Arm Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee.

Team New Mexico came home from the national competition with two national champions (Hays being one of them) and five individuals who had top five finishes. The team placed second overall, with Missouri taking the top honors and Pennsylvania taking third.

Hays is a sophomore at Cliff High School, and he has been a member of New Mexico Armsports for the past three years.

"We are so proud of B.J. and his accomplishments," Cliff athletic director Pete Shock said. "He has worked really hard in the sport of arm wrestling, and we know that he has a tremendous work ethic. We wish him the best of luck and are encouraged to see how far he can take this." Hays will compete in Rosolina Di Mare-Porto Viro, Italy on Sept. 6-13. He is representing the U.S. as one of the best arm wrestlers in the country. Hays also gets together with Ellwanger three times a week to strengthen for his competitions.

Danny Udero may be reached at dudero@scsun-news.com; (575) 538-5893 To see more of the Silver City Sun-News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.scsun-news.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Silver City Sun-News, N.M.

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