David Marble

Dave currently hails from Cumberland VA where he lives with his wife Devonna who is also a Highland Games Athlete.  Originally from Washington DC, he is probably our most colorful athletes.  To qualify for the ECCs this year he took first place at Frederick Celtic Festival as part of a Pro/Am/Wounded Warrior competition.  While his favorite event is caber, his personal records are: Braemar  29’5”; Open Stone 36’11”;  HWFD 30’1”; LWFD 62’1.5”; Heavy Hammer 71’4.75”; Light Hammer 91’8”; 16# Sheaf 27’0”; WOB 13’0”.  He is into casual spelunking(caving), and growing hot peppers. Well, travelled, he has competed in 11 states(Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina).  Please cheer on one of our favorites in the Team USA kilt!

Travis Gardner

Matt Hand

Matt Hand is competing in his 8th year as a highland athlete out of Belmont, NY. Matt recently competed in the US team championships in Orlando, Florida and Men's Amateur World Championships in Minneapolis. Matt is the owner/operator of StrongandFar.com a website dedicated to advancing strength sports. Matt's favorite events are the Sheaf and Stones, and loves to take pictures with fans.

Ernie Beath

Ernie hails from Cambridge, MD.  He is of the Macdonald Clan, with family  from Fife, Scotland.  He comes from a strongman background, has been competing in Highland Games for 3 years, has pressed 470 overhead standing, have a goal of putting 500 over his head.  In 2007 Ernie I had a weightlifting accident where while pressing 765lbs from the rack, the rack collapsed and 765lbs landing of his face leaving him blind in his right eye.  We are fortunate to have him competing with us.  Steve Pulcinella, a former VSG competitor, ernieme involved in Highland games and helped him along the way.  Ernie won the Virginia Scottish Games, amateur class in 2013.

Jamie Baker

Jamie is originally from Dayton, Ohio, currently hails from Belpre, Ohio.  He is currently a Registered Nurse and is very recently engaged to Hannah McKibben.  His Favorite Heavy Athletic Event is Sheaf and hehas won the competitions in McHenry, MD in 2013 and 2014.  His personal records in heavy athletics are Braemar  34’0”; Open Stone 44’ 8.5”; HWFD 33’ 4.25”; LWFD 66’ 1”; Heavy Hammer 73’ 6”; Light Hammer 90’ 5.5”; 16# Sheaf 32’ 0”; WOB 13’ 0”.  Please for him, you can tell him in is Black Watch kilt.  He is also a current member of The G-Force Strength Unit and Church Youth Ministry team.  This is his 2nd full year of competing and has competed in Highland competitions in Ohio, West Virginia, New York, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.  An avid golfer who has played Rugby at The Ohio State University and is getting married on October 4th of this year!

Tim Propst

Thor Gylfason

Thor is currently from Greenville NC, but comes to us from Reykjavik Iceland by way of Pittsfield MA.  He is currently a Personal Trainer.  His favorite Heavy Athletic Event are the Hammers.  He has won 2013 Green Hill Highland Games, 2013 Scotland County Highland Games, 2013 and Central VA Highland Games.  His personalrecords in Heavy Athletics are Braemar 34’8”; Open Stone 41’11”; HWFD 33’7”; LWFD 68’0”; Heavy Hammer 88’7”; Light Hammer 115’1”; 16# Sheaf 33’0”; WOB 13’0”.  And being Icelandic, we won’t hold it against him, but he is "pretty sure" he wears a McKenzie kilt.

Justin Kaye

Originally from Barberton, Ohio, Justin Kaye now resides in Cleveland Heights, Ohio with his wife, Katie, who is also a Highland Games athlete.  He is a management analyst during the week, but comes out to throw heavy stuff on the weekends.  He favors the sheaf, but holds strong personal records at: Braemar  37-7 ; Open Stone 42-11.5 ; HWFD 31-11 ; LWFD65-10.5 ; Heavy Hammer 76-4 ; Light Hammer 94-2 ; 16# Sheaf  30 ; WOB 14.  You’ll know him in his Clan MacKay kilt.  When not playing on the athletics fields, he can be found playing at being a Rock Climber and Snowboarder.  Come cheer Justin on!

Sean Urquhart

Sean and his wife Lin currently hail from North Ridgeville, OH but he is a Cleveland native.  A teacher by profession, he and his wife have a beautiful son, Dylan.  His favorite events are the stones.  He won the Ohio Scottish Games in June to get his invitation here this year.  Sean’s personal records stand at: Braemar 40’ 5”; Open Stone 51’ 1”; HWFD 39’ 9”; LWFD 77’ 7”; Heavy Hammer 94’ 2”; Light Hammer 113’ 4”; 16# Sheaf 32’ 0”; WOB 15’ 6”.  Please cheer for him when you see the Hunting Sport Kilt.  He has been competing for 4 years and will compete/most recently competed in Minnesota at the Amateur Championships on August 16th.  He also competed in the snow at the Arnold this year!

Jason Thomas

A long time thrower, Jason hails from Perry, OH, though originally from Leavenworth, KS.  He spends his day as a College Chemistry Professor when not getting in the way of his wife, Kristen, and their two boysJames (11) & Charles (8).  He is a very good all around thrower, but prefers the sheaf.  His Personal Records in Heavy Athletics are Braemar 35’6”; Open Stone 42’5”; HWFD 40’4.5”; LWFD 73’2”; Heavy Hammer 102’2”; Light Hammer 119’6”; 16# Sheaf 35’6”; WOB 15’9”.  Did not realize it exists, but he will try to better these numbers while he wears the MacThomas tartan.

Eric Frasure

Hailing from Charlotte, NC with is wife, Megan, we have known Eric since he started competing as a teenager with his father and have watched him grow both in the sport and personally.  He is now a law enforcement agent.  He is a former college athlete who enjoys cooking when he is not hard at work.

Age: 26 
Height:  6'4"
Weight:  265 lbs
Years Competing in Heavy Athletics:  12
Sponsors:  www.cytosport.com, www.sportkilt.com

Kearney Smith

Hailing from Alabama, Kearney has been competing at the Virginia Scottish Games since he was an amateur and VSG was at Episcopal High School.  Kearney is well known for his Southern charm and hospitality, even when he is a guest.

Beau Fay

VSG were Beau's first games and the ones that got him hooked and we are proud to welcome him back as a professional.

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Sponsors:

Mike Dickens

John Collins

John and his wife Bria (a former Scottish Games athlete herself) and their son hail from Rockville, MD.  Those of you from the DC area will understand that he is a Business Development for a Government Contractor.  His current favorite event is the sheaf as he is darn good at it.  When last asked, his personal records in heavy athletics are:  Stone – 51’3", HWFD – 40’3”, LWFD – 76’, HH – 103’, LH – 127’, Sheaf – 34’, WOB – 15’6”, Caber – flipped it.  He is also famous for his kickball prowess and former kickball league champions.  He is a former University of MD Men’s Track and Field team captain and All-ACC athlete at ACC Championships for both indoor and outdoor track. (2004), All-East competitor at the IC4A indoor track championships in 2004 for the 35 lb Weight.   2nd all time at U of Maryland for the collegiate hammer throw.  5th all time for the 25 lb weight.  Probably the most fun of all is that John can eat 6 crackers in under a minute without assistance of water or any liquid.   Also has bested the cinnamon challenge of eating a whole tablespoon at once.  We’ll ask Bria, but he claims he is a seamstress, very proficient at sewing and mending clothes.   Regularly sews up and patches worn clothing rather than having to buy new attire.  His favorite athlete is BJ Ketchum because he is a little fighter and full of panache.  To round out his nuclear family, the Collins family also has two dogs, an Old English Bulldog named Ruby and a Miniature Pinscher named Miley. As for his cooking talents, his signature dish is homemade enchiladas.