Photo by: CrossFit HQ

TEAMS

Event 3

For time, each athlete moves through stations of:
Female Athlete 1:
0.5-mile run
50 wall-ball shots
Male Athlete 1:
0.5-mile run
50 wall-ball shots
Female Athlete 2:
0.4-mile run
40 wall-ball shots
Male Athlete 2:
0.4-mile run
40 wall-ball shots
Female Athlete 3:
0.3-mile run
30 wall-ball shots
Male Athlete 3:
0.3-mile run
30 wall-ball shots

M 20-lb. ball to 10 ft.
F 14-lb. ball to 10 ft.

Time cap: 20 minutes

Rich Froning’s team CrossFit Mayhem Freedom squandered a lead and CrossFit Kilo was there to take advantage. In fact they did more than that, smashing the event record by nearly half a minute. Team Rollins and CrossFit 417 continued to shine, finishing the event in second and third respectively.

Four teams completed the workout under the time cap in heat 1, with 8th Day Gym leading the way with a time of 19:10. Five teams in heat 2 managed to finish the workout. On Track established the new time to beat at 18:52. CrossFit Mayhem Freedom’s first female finished the wall ball shots first, but it was CrossFit Maximus’ first female who outsprinted her to the finish mat. Mayhem was the first team to get second team member to the finish mat, followed closely by CrossFit Grandview’s first male athlete. CrossFit Kilo assumed the lead but because Rich Froning went unbroken on the 40-set of wall ball shots he closed the gap to just a few seconds. Mayhem’s last female athlete, a masters competitor, struggled on the 30 wall ball shots, which hurt them considerably. CrossFit Kilo’s last two athletes were strong and fast on the True Form runner and the wall ball shots. Their last male athlete essentially sprinted on the wall ball shots and they took the heat, the event and the world record at 16:47, which was 25 seconds faster than the time set by Jason Khalipa and Nor Cal CrossFit the previous weekend. Mayhem’s struggles allowed the other top teams to overtake them. Team Rollins finished second at 17:40 with CrossFit 417 at 18 minute even and CrossFit Maximus in at 18:05. In the end, Froning’s team finished seventh in the event after looking as if they might win it.

Megan Leman of CrossFit Kilo said after the event, “The goal was to run hard and get through the wall balls without getting caught.”

Results

1. CrossFit Kilo (16:47)
2. Team Rollins - QCCF (17:40)
3. CrossFit 417 (18:00)
4. CrossFit Maximus (18:05)
5. CrossFit Grandview (18:14)

Event 4

1-rep-max snatch

Time cap: 6 minutes (1 minute for each athlete)*
Athlete order: Any

Event 5 begins 2 minutes after this event ends.

CrossFit 417’s males and females hit big lifts to take Event 4 while CrossFit Mayhem Freedom used big lifts from Rich Froning and James Hobart to lead their team to a second-place showing in the event.

In heat 1 CrossFit St. Louis’s men successfully lifted 245 lbs. and 250 lbs. They would eventually finish 4th in the event. Maven’s female athlete hit a 152 lbs. snatch. River North CrossFit’s female athlete lifted 147 lbs. In heat 2, Koda CrossFit’s male athlete landed his first attempt at 257 lbs. CrossFit Ofallon’s male athlete snatched 235 and their female 137. In general, there were a number of failed lifts in the heat. Two women from On Track were the stand-out female lifters. Both lifted 157 lbs., and one failed at 172 lbs. CrossFit Green Bay’s last female hit a 155 snatch. Most teams had females lifting around 135 lbs. or below until their final female athletes took the floor. Many snatched 145 lbs. Many of the men stayed around the 200 lbs. mark. Jekyllhyde Yellow’s male athlete landed a 250 lbs. snatch. In heat 3, Rich Froning was his team’s first athlete and he made 275 lbs. look like PVC pipe on his first lift. For an encore, he went for 300 lbs. but lost it as he stepped forward trying to stabilize. CrossFit 417’s first male athlete snatched 257 lbs. James Hobart from CrossFit Mayhem Freedom snatched 245 lbs. CrossFit 417’s second male athlete landed 247 and their last female athlete snatched 147 lbs. CrossFit Murfreesboro’s third female athlete snatched 157 lbs. Timberwolf CrossFit’s second to last female landed 150 lbs. snatch. CrossFit Kilo’s last male athlete landed 267 lbs. comfortably. The females from CrossFit Mayhem all snatched 135 lbs. Kilotrained’s last male athlete hit 257 lbs. right at the buzzer then punched the air to celebrate.

Results

1. CrossFit 417 (1,172 lbs.)
2. CrossFit Mayhem Freedom (1,170 lbs.)
3. On Track (1,155 lbs.)
4. CrossFit St. Louis (1,152 lbs.)
5. CrossFit Ofallon (1,150 lbs.)
5. CrossFit Maximus (1,150 lbs.)

Event 5

Relay for time of:
6 x 100-ft. handstand walk

Time cap: 7 minutes
Athlete order: any

CrossFit Grandview set a world record while the rest of the top teams, including Rich Froning’s CrossFit Mayhem Freedom, finished in the top 10 to strengthen their hold on the transfer positions to the CrossFit Games.

You were only as good as your worst handstand walker in this event. Teams put their fastest people first and then hoped that their weakest athletes, on the tail end, would step up.

In heat 1, CrossFit North Peoria were the first team to get three athletes to the finish mat. NewCov CrossFit took advantage of a mishap from North Peoria. Their fourth athlete sneaked home and put them ahead. Badger CrossFit and CrossFit St. Louis were able to take the lead with their final two athletes. In the end, CrossFit St. Louis took the heat in 6:17 with Mad Apple CrossFit coming in 10 seconds later. They were the only two teams to complete the workout. In heat 2, CrossFit Green Bay took the early lead. CrossFit Ofallon was the first team to get four athletes to the finish mat. Green Bay re-took the lead with one athlete to go. Athletes started to fall all over the place and had difficulty re-establishing their stability in that inverted position. On Track’s last athlete, a male, was a mess as he threw himself across the floor but he did the job for his team, which finished first in 4:50. Koda CrossFit was the second done at 5:08 and CrossFit Omaha took third in 5:13. In heat 3, Rich Froning went first again, after leading his team in the snatch, and he was the first athlete to the finish mat. James Hobart added to their lead as the second athlete for CrossFit Mayhem Freedom. CrossFit Maximus, however, made up ground with their third athlete and took the lead. None of their athletes came down from the handstand until their final athlete, a female. She came down several times and her struggles allowed CrossFit Grandview to take advantage and take the heat and the event in 4:14. They also set a new event record in the process, besting the previous best time, set in the Meridian region, by two seconds. CrossFit Maximum ended up second in 4:31. Team Rollins came in third at five minutes even while CrossFit Mayhem Freedom’s women again squandered a good lead, coming in 10th on the event.

Kyri-Ann Gold from Grandview CrossFit said, “We have made it a goal of ours to improve on this specific movement. None of us has a gymnastics background and so we made this our thing. Every day after practice we’d go 100 feet and if we messed up, we’d go back and start again. I’m super proud of us.”

Results

1. CrossFit Grandview (4:14)
2. CrossFit Maximus (4:31)
3. On Track (4:50)
4. Team Rollins – OCCF (5:00)
5. Koda CrossFit (5:09)

Overall Standings

1. CrossFit 417 (453 pts)
2. Team Rollins - QCCF (415 pts)
3. CrossFit Maximus (411 pts)
4. CrossFit Mayhem (405 pts)
5. CrossFit Kilo (401 pts)

INDIVIDUAL MEN

Event 3

For time:
1-mile run
50 overhead squats (135 / 95 lb.)
100 GHD sit-ups
150 double-unders
50 sumo deadlift high pulls (135 / 95 lb.)
100 box jump overs (24 / 18 in.)

Time cap: 26 minutes

It’s rare that a heat 1 athlete takes an event win and even rarer this regionals season that an athlete finishes the grueling Event 3, male or female. Andrew Kuechler accomplished both those things in Minneapolis, and he wasn’t the only one to complete the workout. Jacob Keppner took over the top spot on the leaderboard after finishing Event 3 just two seconds slower than Kuechler.

Kuechler charged ahead early in the workout and was far ahead of the pack by the time he reached the jump rope at just past the 15-minute mark. He finished his double unders in two unbroken set of 75. Then he walked over and did a set of 10 unbroken sumo deadlift high pulls. He kept up this aggressive pace and, spurred on by the crowd, finished the workout with just nine seconds to spare. In heat 2, Bobby Noyce put in an impressive performance as well. His 74 box jumps overs gave him 4th place in the event when the dust had settled. In heat 3, Nick Fory and Dre Strohm led the pack going in to the double unders. Fory pulled away starting on the sumo deadlift high pulls. His 87 box jump overs were good enough for 3rd place in the event. In heat 4, Alex Anderson was out to an early lead after an efficient showing on the overhead squats. Heppner took over the lead going in to the double unders and widened the gap as the others completed their sit ups. After a big first set of sumo deadlift high pulls Heppner moved to singles. Sam Dancer was second to the high pulls and given his overall strength you expected big sets from the man. He did quick sets of five before going down to his knees to rest his legs. He kept to this strategy the whole way. Dancer was only a handful of reps behind as he and Heppner began tackling the box jump overs. Dancer was more gassed than Heppner, and the latter athlete pulled ahead and managed to finish the event—an extraordinary feat—with only seven seconds left till the horn. Elsewhere, Day 1 leader Graham Holmberg fell behind early and finished 25th in the event, which dropped him down a couple of spots on the overall leaderboard. Scott Panchik’s 9th place performance kept him in the 5th qualifying spot, and Jacob Heppner took over the overall lead with his stellar showing.

Heppner said, “It was fun. It was good. I’ve done it a couple of times with my good buddy Jack Long so I’ve done it multiple times, in difficult variations. Sam Dancer and I talked before about his sumo deadlift high pull capabilities and I knew I had to get ahead of him. But I just have to say that two North Central guys won this and they think we’re a weak region.”

Results

1. Andrew Kuechler (25:51)
2. Jacob Heppner (25:53)
3. Nick Fory (CAP + 13)
4. Bobby Noyce (CAP + 26)
5. Landon Walker (CAP + 31)

Event 4

For time:
Handstand walk 250 ft.

Time cap: 3 minutes

Event 5 begins 1 minute and 40 seconds after this event ends.

Matt Rattay set a world record in Event 4, and the overall leader Jacob Heppner raced Scott Panchik to stay on top of the leaderboard. For Panchik, the performance was absolutely vital after, by his standards, a disappointing first three events.

Roderick Holloway was very fast in heat 1. His 1:38 would turn out to be the third fastest time of the day. In heat 2, it was all about Matt Rattay. Clad in red tights, he sprinted down the competition floor and in spite of coming down once on the second leg he was able to collect himself, cross the finish line and sprint to the finish mat to set a new world record time of 1:11, smashing the old record by 13 seconds. Kevin Scholtz would take the third heat in 1:43, which gave him the 5th best time on the day. In heat 4, Jacob Heppner lost his balance early and had to come down, losing precious seconds. Scott Panchik was first to the turnaround point but Heppner caught him. They both came down under the rig and had to go back. It was a two-horse race from this point forward, with both athletes coming down once more before sprinting on their hands to the finish line. Heppner just edged Panchik by a second to take first in the heat and second overall. Panchik’s time was good enough for fourth and delivered a much needed number of points for the favorite.

Results

1. Matt Rattay (1:11)
2. Jacob Heppner (1:38)
3. Roderick Holloway (1:38)
4. Scott Panchik (1:38)
5. Kevin Scholtz (1:43)

Event 5

1-rep-max snatch

Each athlete will have two 20-second windows to attempt the lift with 80 seconds rest between windows.

Two athletes, Nick Urankar and Arlen Castenada, lifted 290 lbs. to tie the event record. Scott Panchik and Sam Dancer had strong showings, each lifting 275 lbs., and the two men at the close of Day 2 sit in second and third respectively overall. Despite a 20th place showing in the event, Jacob Heppner sits comfortably atop the leaderboard and looks a good bet for Carson.

After crushing the handstand walk in heat 1, Roderick Holloway then walked over and crushed the snatch. His 275 lbs. snatch was duplicated by Stephen Wallace in the same heat. The two men would end up sharing third place with Sam Dancer. Dylan Kelly and Chris Shimley landed 265 and 267 respectively. But it was Arlen Castenada who tied Nick Urankar for the biggest lift of the day. Though he was well down in the overall standings, he seized the moment with a snatch of 290 lbs. to set an event record. In heat 2, Matt Rattay snatched 251 after just setting the event record on the handstand walk. Bobby Noyce missed 262 lbs. Alex Nettey successfully lifted the amount that Noyce missed. In heat 3, Jack Long lifted 268 lbs. during his second window. Will Moorad landed 250 lbs. Nick Urankar, on his second lift, went and tied Casteneda for a share of the event record with a lift of 290 lbs., holding the weight overhead and just nodding as the crowd applauded. In heat 4, wearing pink shorts, Sam Dancer’s first lift at 245 lbs. went up easily. Scott Panchik landed 250 on his first lift and then during the second window looked solid with 275 lbs. Dancer’s knees wobbled on his second window lift of 275 lbs., but in the end he was successful. It was well below his reported max, but given his recent knee injury he looked happy with the lift. Graham Holmberg hit 265 on his second window lift while the overall leader Jacob Heppner snatched 247.

Urankar’s head was full of positive, motivational talk before he lifted the 290 lbs. “I thought about going 291 but it’s the same amount of points,” he said. “I’m going for the points. I needed to get some. I’m behind.”

Results

1. Nick Urankar (290 lbs.)
1. Arlen Castenada (290 lbs.)
3. Scott Panchik (275 lbs.)
3. Sam Dancer (275 lbs.)
3. Stephen Wallace (275 lbs.)

Overall Standings

1. Jacob Heppner (422 pts)
2. Scott Panchik (393 pts)
3. Sam Dancer (342 pts)
4. Alex Anderson (336 pts)
5. Graham Holmberg (326 pts)


INDIVIDUAL WOMEN

Event 3

For time:
1-mile run
50 overhead squats (135 / 95 lb.)
100 GHD sit-ups
150 double-unders
50 sumo deadlift high pulls (135 / 95 lb.)
100 box jump overs (24 / 18 in.)

Time cap: 26 minutes

Athletes in the early heats took top honors in Event 3, with Games veteran Sheila Barden getting the furthest in this workout with 53 box jump overs. In the last heat, Julie Foucher was chased down by Brooke Wells after Foucher twisted her ankle on the box jump overs. Foucher still finished 5th in the event to maintain her position at the top of the leaderboard, but her twisted ankle looked like it might affect her performance for the rest of her weekend.

In heat 1, Brittany Kopp made it the furthest with 17 box jump overs. In heat 2, Michele Fumagalli finished with 43 box jump overs, which in the end would earn her third place in the event. Heat 3 was the fastest heat of the day. Sheila Barden was the first to the GHD sit ups after completing 50 overhead squats. She maintained that lead as she moved forward to the double unders. Kristi Eramo and Kristin Miller soon joined her. Barden had no problems on the rope and was the first to the sumo deadlift high pulls, which were a slog for all those concerned. Miller made a move here, going ahead of Eramo, but she couldn’t keep up with Barden. Both Barden and Miller picked up the pace with just half a minute remaining. Barden ended up with 53 box jump overs. Miller was five reps behind her. In heat 4, Grace Dresher and Brooke Wells were the first to the GHD machine. Julie Foucher was one of the last athletes off the True Form, but she made up loads of time on the sit ups. In fact, she was the first to the double unders. Wells and Dresher joined her. Foucher was well ahead of the pack on the sumo deadlift high pulls. Wells made up time by doing doubles and triples while Foucher was all about the singles. Foucher was on her way to an event win when she twisted her ankle on the box jumps. She had to stop for a long period and eventually continued but was clearly hampered by the ankle, which she would only touch gingerly to the ground.

Barden said, “You know it’ll be over soon, so the faster I get one part of the chipper done, I don’t have to see it again. So it’s just work through that movement. For me with the sumo deadlift high pulls, I had to get through them. I knew I was going to lose some time there. Then just maintain. Don’t go out too hard. Don’t come in to home too slow.”

Results

1. Sheila Barden (CAP + 47)
2. Kristin Miller (CAP + 52)
3. Michele Fumagalli (CAP + 57)
4. Brooke Wells (CAP + 62)
5. Julie Foucher (CAP + 64)

Event 4

For time:
Handstand walk 250 ft.

Time cap: 3 minutes

Event 5 begins 1 minute and 40 seconds after this event ends.

Alyssa Ritchey won the event with a pace that saw her come close to setting an event record, and Julie Foucher completed the event wearing a walking boot to safeguard a suspected Achilles heel injury.

In heat 1, Brittany Kopp covered the two lengths in a blistering 1:35. Her time would be good enough for third fastest in the event. Alyssa Ritchey in heat 2 came out sprinting, her legs bent over scorpion style. She slowed down considerably on the second leg and fell down with just 10 feet remaining. But she was still so fast overall that she beat Kopp’s time by eight seconds. In heat 3, Marcella Morrill was far ahead of the other competitors with her 1:55. In heat 4, Julie Foucher came out wearing a walking boot, believing that she had partially torn her Achilles tendon in Event 3. Despite the injury, she still wanted to compete. With the boot, she started well behind the others as she could only walk to the starting line while the others ran. Still, she managed to overtake most of those competitors, covering the 250 feet in 2:17, good enough for 4th in the heat and 11th overall in the event, a remarkable feat. Winning heat 4 was Games veteran Elisabeth Akinwale whose 1:29 gave her second place in the event. Brooke Wells came in after her at 1:48, which saw her in the 4th position in this event.

Foucher said, “I was happy it was the next event, something I could easily do without a foot. It was fun to be out there and do it.”

About her injury Foucher said, “You can sit and pout about it and be angry about what happened but at the end of the day you can’t change anything. I wouldn’t have done anything differently and I just want to make the most of the situation and have as much fun as I can the rest of the weekend.”

Results

1. Alyssa Ritchey (1:27)
2. Elisabeth Akinwale (1:29)
3. Brittany Kopp (1:35)
4. Brooke Wells (1:48)
5. Marcella Morrill (1:55)

Event 5

1-rep-max snatch

Each athlete will have two 20-second windows to attempt the lift with 80 seconds rest between windows.

Julianne Broadbent’s 205 lbs. snatch was only five pounds away from tying the event record. She was followed in the standings by Elisabeth Akinwale and her 196 lbs. lift. After Day 2, 19-year-old Brooke Wells sits atop the overall standings after two top-five finishes on Saturday. Julie Foucher, after suffering an Achilles injury in Event 3, was forced to snatch in a walking boot. Her competition season, reportedly her last, appears to be over, but she refused to stop competing in spite of the injury.

Heat 1 was full of big lifts. Julianne Broadbent was the star of the show. With her first lift, she hit 185 lbs. smoothly and with a smile. In the second window, she then went 20 pounds better. With her 205 lbs. lift, her right knee collapsed a bit but overhead she was extremely solid. She stood up the weight then celebrated. Jenny Borda snatched 176 lbs. to give her 5th place in the event. In heat 2, a number of athletes snatched 145 lbs. and 155 lbs. Mary Cargill landed 165 lbs. Then M'Kelle Tomberlin stepped up and with her second lift power snatched 175 lbs. In heat 3, Sheila Barden landed her first lift at 152 lbs. Then she landed 162 lbs. on her second. Jessica Schulz snatched 155 lbs. on her second attempt in the first window then landed 162 lbs. in the second window. In heat 4, clad in a walking boot, Julie Foucher was only able to snatch 85 lbs. because of her injured Achilles. Grace Dresher hit 165 on her first lift and that was the best she would be able to do. Lindy Barber landed 165 as well and like Dresher would get no further. Nicole Holcomb hit 176 and looked shaky but she followed that up with a lift of 181 lbs., good enough for 4th in the event. Elisabeth Akinwale looked solid at 186 lbs. for her first lift. For an encore, she landed 196 lbs. Brooke Wells power snatched 166 then put 20 more pounds on the barbell and lifted that with aplomb. Stacie Tovar snatched 163 lbs.

Results

1. Julianne Broadbent (205 lbs.)
1. Elisabeth Akinwale (196 lbs.)
3. Brooke Wells (186 lbs.)
4. Nicole Holcomb (181 lbs.)
5. Jenny Borda (176 lbs.)

Overall Standings

1. Brooke Wells (395 pts)
2. Elisabeth Akinwale (377 pts)
3. Nicole Holcomb (357 pts)
4. Julie Foucher (347 pts)
5. Stacie Tovar (338 pts)

Related articles:
2015 Central Regional Recap: Day 1