The Georgia IronDawgs powerlifting and bench press teams got the 2012 season off to a successful start as they successfully defended their Georgia state championships at the 11th annual American Powerlifting Committee Georgia Open Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships on Saturday in Athens. The IronDawgs, who last week were honored with a resolution for the Georgia State Senate in recognition of their 2011 achievements, racked up five Best Lifter awards on their way to again winning team trophies in the Full Power and Bench-Only categories. In the bench-only division, Dahlonega’s Eric Head won the Open Best Lifter Award with his bench of 187.5 kilograms/413.36 pounds to take first place in the 165.35 pound raw (unequipped) classification.