Venice Beach University Men’s Powerlifting

2015 Media Guide

Table of ContentsGeneral InformationTable of Contents................................................University Information.......................................About VBU..........................................................Facilities..............................................................President.............................................................Athletic Director.................................................

Schedule2015 Men’s Powerlifting Schedule......................

Coaching StaffHead Coach John Rockson..................................Assistant Coach Robbie Lashwell........................Assistant Coach Toby Thompson........................

Player Information2015 Roster Information.....................................Senior Spotlight................................................Player Bios...................................................

Sponsors2015 VBU Powerlifting Sponsors......................

AlumniNotable Alumni................................................

Media InformationMedia Information............................................Media Roster Chart...........................................

112345

6

788

9

11-1210

13

14

1516

- 1 -

Location.....................................Venice Beaach, CAFounded..........................................................1960Enrollment.....................................................7,900Nickname...................................................MusselsColors.....................................Light Teal and BlackAffiliation...................................NCAA Division IIIConference..............................Southern California Intercollegiate AthleticHome Field/Capacity..........................Mike Booker Training FacilityPresident....................................Dr. Stephen SloanDirector of Athletics..........................Patrick HeinzAthletics Department Phone..........(310) 622-9999Ticket Office Phone........................(310) 622-9993

University Information

Men’s Powerlifting Coaching StaffHead Coach.......................................John RocksonAlma Mater............................................Florida ‘97Top 25 Finishes....................................................5Office Phone...................................(310) 622-9975Email.................................john.rockson@vbu.eduAssistant Coach............................Robbie LashwellAlma Mater............................................Florida ‘09Office Phone...................................(310) 622-9974Email..............................robert.lashwell@vbu.edu

Athletic Public RelationsSports Info Director...........................Kevin DoolinOffice Phone...................................(310) 223-5541Email..................................kevin.doolin@vbu.eduWebsite...............................www.vbuathletics.com

Mailing AddressVenice Beach University Sports Information Department100 University Dr.Ocean View Coliseum 200Venice, CA 90291

Venice Beach University Located in gorgeous Venice Beach, California is the surprisingly small Venice Beach University. Surrounded by sandy white beaches, resorts and marinas, this kinesiology mecca is Los Angles’ best kept secret. Founded in 1960, Venice Beach Uni-versity offers opportunities in the health industry that can’t be found elsewhere. VBU is home to world-renowned trainers and health activist. These trainers can be found just up the road in the gyms of Los Angles training today’s top celebrities. With a small student population and an 8:1 student-faculty ratio, Venice Beach University provides a personalized type of educa-tion, which tailors each student’s interest from the start. VBU offers an education in Kinesiology that cannot be matched at any other in-stitution. The institution has top-notch equipment and facilities. The recently finished recreation center has been nationally recognized by several fitness organizations. At just over 500,000 square feet it is one of the largest in the country. Aside from the rec center, VBU also has a high class varsity weight room. In addition to these top facili-ties, VBU features an outdoor weight room equipped with free weights and basketball courts. VBU has become one of the world’s premier beachfront colleges and leader in kinesiology.VBU is diverse, well-rounded and dedicated to provide a special experience

for all students. Venice Beach University is your small school atmosphere in a large city environment.

- 2 -

Facilities

The Michael Phelps Aquatics Center is a brand new Olympic standard pool,

measuring 50 meters x 25 meters and con-stituting of 10 lanes. This facility being the newest to campus in 2014. With this addition, VBU will be able to host the SCIAC chamip-ionships in men’s and women’s swimming. This site will also host Phelps and the US swimming team in 2017 as a summer camp. Athletic director, Patrick Heinz, led a 10 mil-lion dollar campaign to build this facility.

The Barry Bonds Academic Building has over 50 computers available to stu-dent-athletes. Also, there are 20 tutoring rooms, along with a large quiet study room. There are also many printers and school supplies available for student-ath-lete usage. VBU athletics have ranked in the top 3 within the SCIAC in academics the past 10 years, currently the longest streak in the conference.

The Mike Booker Training Facility has a spacious weight room, large locker rooms, high tech team meet-ing rooms, and a student-athlete lounge equipped with couches, TVs, and a game room. This facility is also home to the main athletic training office for VBU. New to the facility would be the indoor turf field to al-low multi-sport usage.

- 3 -

Stephen Sloan became the third President of Venice Beach University on August 15, 2005. Sloan came to VBU with a very diverse background, both educationally and professionally. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration from Venice Beach University, a Master’s of Arts degree in University Studies from UCLA, and an Ed. D degree in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies from UCLA.

Upon graduating from UCLA at age 27, Sloan accepted a teaching position at the University of Southern California. From USC, Sloan moved on Arizona State University where he served as a professor in the Education department. During his time at Arizona St. Sloan also served on the board of regents, the president’s council, and was eventually named Vice President of Student Affairs. After five years at Arizona St. Sloan was hired to

be the University President at Occidental College. Three years later Dr. Sloan received the call to come home and jumped at the opportunity to become the third President of his Alma Matter, Venice Beach University.

During his time at VBU, Sloan has had a tremendous impact on the University and the surrounding community. The university’s enrolment has steadily climbed to an all time high during Dr. Sloan’s tenure, and the university’s retention rate has steadily grown over the past five years. Thanks to the fundraising efforts of Dr. Sloan, the Johnson memorial Library was completed in 2012. Last year the University also added a new Doctoral program in University Studies.

Collegiate athletics are also very important to Dr. Sloan. During his tenure, Dr. Sloan has helped to facilitate the addition of a new Women’s Sand-Volleyball program, and the construction of the new outdoor powerlifting facility. Dr. Sloan also helped to secure the rights to host the 2016 SCIAC Powerlifting Championship meet.

President Sloan is married to Caiti Sloan, a professor in the physical education department at VBU. Together they have three children. Their son Richard is a senior in high school where he excels on the basketball court. Their daughter Stacie is a senior at VBU studying public relations, and their oldest daughter Stephanie recently gave birth to the Sloan’s first grandchild, Chase Cunningham.

President Dr. Stephen Sloan

- 4 -

Athletic Director Patrick Heinz

interim director of athletics for 10 months and assistant director of athletics for de-velopment from 2005-12. Before his career at CSU he was the director of strength and wellness at the University of Florida, while also being an associate in the development department from 1998-05. SincehisarrivaltoVBU,Heinzhashadahugeinfluenceonfacilitiesandcom-peting at the highest level. Heinz led the campaign to add a high quality outdoor training facility for all athletic programs to utilize. Since the addition of the facility the weight lifting program has hosted many events outdoors and indoors, giving VBU a great reputation. In 2012, VBU’s weight lifting program was ranked 50th nationwide and at the end of 2014, it has grown into a top 20 program. Heinz is also taking the ini-tiative to update all sports facilities by 2020. This will include a multi-sport arena for men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball. Heinz holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree in strength and conditioning and athletic adminis-tration from the University of Florida. He is also still an active member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), which he has been a part of for almost 20 years. He is married to Lena Heinz. They have two children (Lenard and Patricia), both in high school.

Patrick Heinz was named Director of Athlet-ics at Venice Beach University in December 2013. During Heinz’s well-experienced career he has be-come a leader and mentor within collegiate ath-letics. With a great reputation in the strength and conditioningfield,HeinzhasbeenabletohelpVBUsucceedalreadyinhisfirstfullyear.HecametoVBUfrom Colorado State University serving as the

- 5 -

DateAug. 21

Aug. 28

Sept. 4

Sept. 18

Sept. 25

Oct.2

Oct. 9

Oct. 23

Oct. 30

Nov.6

Nov. 20

Dec.4

Dec.11-12

Dec. 18-19

Dec. 29-31

Opponentvs. Occidental College*

@Pacific University

vs. U of California, Santa Cruz

@Pacific Lutheran University

@California Lutheran University*

vs. Chapman University*

vs. Colorado College

@Claremont-Mudd-Scripps*

@Arizona Christion University

@University of Nevada, Reno

vs. University of La Verne*

vs. Trinity University**

SCIAC Conference Championships

Regional Championships

National Championships

LocationVenice Beach, CA

Forest Grove, OR

Venice Beach, CA

Tacoma, WA

Thousand Oaks, CA

Venice Beach, CA

Venice Beach, CA

Claremont, CA

Phoenix, AZ

Reno, NV

Venice Beach, CA

Venice Beach, CA

Los Angeles, CA

San Diego, CA

Santa Barbara, CA

Time10:00 am

3:00 pm

10:00 am

12:00 pm

4:00 pm

10:00 am

11:00 am

2:00 pm

2:00 pm

6:00 pm

10:00 am

10:00 am

TBA

TBA

TBA

2015 VENICE BEACH MUSSELS MEN’S POWERLIFTING SCHEDULE

*Denotes Conference Match**Denotes Senior Night

- 6 -

Head Coach John Rockson John Rockson was named head coach of the men’s power lifting team at Venice Beach University in August of 2010. A 12 year veteran in the field of coaching power lifters, he also has an athletic background in both colligate football and power lifting. Coach Rockson came to VBU in 2008 as an assistant coach from the Univer-sity of Florida, where he served as an assistant coach from 2002 until 2008. He also served as a graduate assistant coach at Ohio State Universi-ty from 1998 until 2002. Coach Rockson has been around weights his whole life, which makes him a great leader

for the program here at VBU. Going into his fifth year as head coach, John looks to add another conference and NCAA championship to his belt. Coach Rockson is confident in his seniors, even his younger guys, to bring home some trophies. One of the best attributes about the coach is his ability to form a family like atmosphere amongst him-self and his players. Many former players can tell you its a great experience to work with John. Rockson holds a Master of Science in Kinesiology from Ohio State University. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology from the University of Florida in 1997. He is married to Diana Rockson. They have two daughters together, Lauren and Amanda.

- 7 -

Robbie Lashwell is in his fourth season as assistant coach at VBU. Originally from Junction City, KS, Lashwell began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, the University of Florida. When John Rockson was hired as the head coach at VBU in 2010 Lashwell was the first assistant added to his coaching staff. “Robbie is one of the best young recruiters in the country, and a crucial component to the success of our team. He is also an extremely hard worker, and a great role model for our young student athletes.” During his time at the University of Florida Lashwell competed and

excelled in both wrestling and powerlifting. Lashwell is married to Ronda Lashwell and together they have two sons, Daniel and Marcus.

Robbie LashwellAssistant Coach

Toby Thompson is in his second year as a graduate assistant coach at Venice Beach University. Originally from Gainesville FL, Thompson competed as a power lifter at VBU from 2010-2012. When a serious knee injury cut Thompson’s career short during his junior season, he immediately joined Coach John Rockson’s staff as a graduate assistant. In just one season, Thompson has already made significant contributions to VBU’s powerlifters. According to Rockson, Thompson is a great communicator. “Toby is very good at relating to our student athletes. He connects with the athletes in a way that

us old guys just can’t. I’m excited to get to work with Toby again this coming season.” Thompson was named newcomer of the year by his coaches in 2010, and was an academic All-American all three seasons he competed at VBU.

Toby ThompsonGraduate Assistant Coach

Assistant Coaches

- 8 -

2015 Roster Name Class Ht. Wt. Hometown Major

Cody Bosworth R-Sr. 6’2” 235 Nashville, TN Kinesiology

Ben Fiji R-Fr. 6’4” 240 Colorado Springs, CO Psychology

T.J. Juckson Sr. 6’2” 205 Detroit, MI Communications

Hingle McCringleberry Jr. 6’4” 290 Pilot Mountain, NC Kinesiology

Dan Smith Fr. 5’10” 180 Oakland, CA Kinesiology

Allen Smoochie-Wallace Sr. 6’4” 240 Macon, GA Kinesiology

- 9 -

Senior Spotlight Cody BosworthBonding with Bosworth He found the sport by accident, but now, nine years later, Venice Beach University powerlifter Cody Bosworth couldn’t imagine his life without it. Bosworth said it was his neighbor who first introduced him to the sport of powerlifting. “He asked me to go to the gym with him after school and I never looked back,” said Bosworth. At 16, Bo-sworth set the state deadlift record for his weight class, only a year after he began lifting. His high school and college coaches have both made a tremendous impact on Bosworth during his athletic career. “The coaching staff here made the difference,” said Bosworth. “I felt like family at VBU.” Bosworth attributes much of his personal growth and athletic success to Coach Rockson, VBU powerlifting coach. “I try to be like a sponge when I am with him, soaking in every possible thing I can,” said Bosworth. “He has improved me as an athlete, but more importantly as a person.” Aside from being an elite powerlifter, Bosworth is just your average college student. He enjoys listening to music, lounging by the pool with friends, and eating his go to pre-lifting meal: sushi and green apple pre-workout. “I feel like the karate kid and the Hulk when I eat this combo,” said Bo-sworth. The summer before his junior year changed Bosworth’s life forever. Being a dedicated ath-lete, he stayed at VBU that summer to train for the upcoming season. One afternoon after training, Bosworth went surfing with his some of his teammates, unaware that he had a small cut on his foot. After a short time of surfing, a shark suddenly attacked Bosworth. “I was lucky enough to only lose a toe,” said Bosworth. Unfortunately, the injury was severe enough to cause Bosworth to be redshirted for that season. “Initially after the incident, I never thought I would be able to get back to an elite level,” said Bosworth. Some of the most simple tasks became difficult for Bosworth, and it took a toll on him. Go-ing to rehab and therapy 5 days a week ensured that Bosworth could one day rejoin his team. Though the therapy was tough and grueling, Bosworth never lost his motivation to get back to the racks. During his redshirt season his teammates helped him through all of his struggles, including push-ing him in his therapy sessions. With this help and the help from the rest of the staff, he made a full recovery to return. Now entering his senior season, Bosworth is excited for the upcoming competitions and the chance to prove that he still has what it takes to be an elite level powerlifter. Through his time at VBU, Bosworth has learned to train hard and never take a day for granted. “It is a privilege to be able to do what I love,” said Bosworth. “You never know if it will be your last chance to write your legacy.”

- 10 -

Players Cody Bosworth Nashville, TN 6’2” - 235lbs - R-Senior

T.J. Juckson Detroit, MI 6’2” - 205lbs - Senior

Allen Smoochie-Wallace Macon, GA 6’4” - 240lbs - Senior

- 11 -

Cody Bosworth is a senior from Nashville, TN. He has been a key part of the VBU powerlifting team since his arrival. He is a perennial powerhouse and national leader when it comes to squats. His favorite lifts are squats and loves any leg based lift. His meal of choice is Mexican food. When he isn’t lifting he can be found on the beach surfing or reading. When he isn’t at the beach or the gym he is watching his favorite TV shows: South Park, Futurama, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. One thing people don’t know about Cody is that his favorite sport is baseball. His father Brian is a former college football player and a key to Cody’s success. Cody is major-ing in kinesiology during his time here at VBU.

T.J. Juckson is in his fourth year at VBU. He is originally from Detroit, Michigan. Prior to VBU, T.J. was an All-State running back in Michigan with offers to play D-I football but ultimately chose to come to Venice Beach to be a Mussel. In 2013 and 2014 T.J. was selected as an All-Amer-ican power lifter. His favorite lift is the snatch and loves to power clean. His meal of choice is anything with shrimp. When he isn’t lifting he can be found singing or acting. When he isn’t singing or lifting or he is watch-ing his favorite TV shows Family Guy. One thing people don’t know about T.J is that his lifelong goal is to act on Broadway. T.J. is majoring in Com-munication studies at VBU.

Allen Smoochie-Wallace is in his fourth year at VBU. He is from Macon, Georgia. Prior to VBU he played football and threw for the track and field team. He has served as a consistent performer; he loves deadlifting but is equally good at every lift he is faced with. Allen loves to eat French fries and believes that they are a key to his success. Allen loves video games but his hidden talent is fashion. He loves to sow and knit his own clothing. In his spare time he is an avid fan of the TV show The Walking Dead. Allen one day wants to own his own clothing line. Allen is majoring in Kinesiol-ogy at VBU.

Players Hingle McCringleberry Pilot Mountain, NC 6’4” - 290lbs - Junior

Ben Fiji Colorado Springs, CO 6’4” - 240lbs - R-Freshman

Dan Smith Oakland, CA 5’10” - 180lbs - Freshman

- 12 -

Hingle McCringleberry is a junior from Pilot Mountain, North Carolina. McCringleberry is also a cornerstone for VBU as he followed his father’s footsteps to be a Mussel. McCringleberry holds the team best for bench press and loves to work chest. The bench press is his favorite lift. Hingle’s favorite food is tacos. In his spare time he likes to watch South Park and play video games. McCringleberry is majoring in Kinesiology at VBU.

Ben Fiji is a redshirt freshman from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Fiji, just like his name, loves apples as he grew up on an apple farm. He was an All-State baseball player and was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. He accred-its his arm strength from throwing apples as a child. Ben loves to work legs and has been given the nickname of “Quadzilla”. Ben’s favorite food is pizza and skittles, when Ben isn’t in the weight room he can be found watching American Pickers as he has a passion for antiques. Furthermore, Ben loves to hunt, fish and ride dirt bikes. Ben is majoring in Psychology here at VBU.

Dan Smith is a freshman from Oakland, California. Prior to VBU Dan was a standout athlete and excelled in football, basketball and golf. Dan had scholarship offers to play college baseball but chose to follow his passion of powerlifting. The VBU coaches have a bright outlook for Dan and wel-come him to the historical program. Smith is majoring in Kinesiology at VBU.

Venice Beach University would like to thank our corporate sponsors for the 2015 Powerlifting season!

- 13 -

Notable Alumni

America and SCIAC Player of the Year honors as a senior, and also led the Mussels in scoring three straight years. He is VBU’s career leader in bench press, while ranking second in career squats and fifth in split-jerks. Thomas was also a 2012 Olympic team qualifier, and the 2013 world champion in snatches.

Rashaud Scott (2000-03)- is arguably the greatest power lifter in college powerlifting history after setting seven NCAA records, 11 VBU records and 14 conference records. Scott was named a first-team All-America as a freshman, second-team All-America as a junior and a four-year first-team All-SCIAC performer, becoming only the fourth player in school history to accomplish such awards. The talented star was the first player in NCAA history to deadlift 850lbs, 625lb bench press and 700lbs back squat. After competing for four years with Team USA, winning the 2005 and 2006 world championships in deadlift, and placing third in deadlift at the 2007 world championships, Scott retired.

Keith Hayes (1993-97)- USA National Athlete of the Year after averaging 600lb bench press per competi-tion. A consensus first-team All-American, Hayes was also a three time first team

All-SCIAC after leading the Mussels to be four time SCIAC Championship winners. A member of the USA powerlifting Hall of Fame, Hayes graduated as valedictorian and went on to compete in the 2000 Olympic Games, where he brought home the gold in the all around competition.

Michael Thomas (2007-11)- was the named the Most Outstand-ing Athlete of the 2008 NCAA West Coast Region-al Powerlifting competition and led VBU to the national champi-onship. He earned first- team All-

Alumni Association- 14 -

VBU ON THE WEBStay up to date on all of the latest news from VBU men’s powerlifting, as well as other VBU athletic teams at www.VBUathletics.com. Check stats and schedules, stay up to date on all the latest recruiting news, and follow all of your favorite VBU athletic teams.

A NOTE TO THE MEDIA, FANS AND OPPONENTS Venice Beach University sports information director Lewis Sims can assist you with any requests you may have about VBU’s powerlifting program, our coaches, or our facilities. Please do not hesitate to contact the VBU Sports Information department if we can further assist you in any way.

PLAYER & COACH INTERVIEWS All player and coach interviews should be set up by contacting Kevin Doolin in the sports information department. He can be reached by phone at (310)-223-5541, or by email at Kevin.doolin@VBU.EDU. All individual interviews must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance. Student’s personal information will not be released for any reason. Members of the media may not directly contact any student athlete through the use of social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instegram, or any other forum.

FOLLOW VBU POWERLIFTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA Be sure to follow the men’s powerlifting team on all of their official social media accounts.

Venice Beach University Sports Information Department100 University DR.

Ocean View Coliseum 200Venice, CA 90291

@VBUMPower @VBUMPowerVBU Men’s Powerlifting

VBU Powerlifting

- 15 -

Cody Bosworth6’2” - 235R-Senior

Nashville, Tennessee

Hingle McCringleberry6’4” - 290

JuniorPilot Mountain, North Carolina

Ben Fiji6’4” - 240

R-FreshmanColorado Springs,

Colorado

Dan Smith5’10” - 180Freshman

Oakland, California

Allen Smoochie-Wallace6’4” - 240

SeniorMacon, Georgia

T.J. Juckson6’2” - 205

SeniorDetroit, Michigan

- 16 -