Atlantic Individual Report: Day 2

May 16, 2015

Brittany Ghiroli

Ohlsen and Tunnicliffe top the Atlantic leaderboard on Day 2.

 

No one was surprised to see Sam Briggs atop the Atlantic Regional leaderboard after Day 1. But 2013’s fittest woman on Earth, who finished in fourth place at last year’s Europe Regional, had some close competition from Games veteran Anna Tunnicliffe as the top two were separated by just 5 points.

Six-time Games competitor Christy Adkins stood in third after Day 1 while Lauren Brooks, who had a breakout season in 2014 and finished in seventh at the Games, found herself in 22nd and in desperate need of some big second-day numbers.

The men of the Atlantic Regional saw the potential for a shift in power after Day 1 as seven of the top 10 had never been to the CrossFit Games. While the 2014 South East Regional champ Noah Ohlsen stood in first place through the first two events, just 28 points came between the top five men, which included six-time Games competitor Ben Smith in fifth.

Event 3, a brutal chipper which starts with a mile on the TrueForm Runner, begged to help shake up the leaderboard. Roughly three hours later, individuals were tasked with back-to-back events—a timed 250-foot handstand walk (Event 4), followed two minutes later by two 20-second intervals to establish a 1-rep-max snatch (Event 5). 

WOmen


Event 3

As the teams before them, the individuals opened Saturday on a new piece of equipment, the TrueForm Runner treadmill, which made its regionals debut and was a punishing start to a brutal 26-minute-capped chipper that just two women finished.

In a thrilling race between Emily Bridgers and Tunnicliffe it was Bridgers—a hometown hero from CrossFit Terminus in Atlanta, Georgia—who came from behind to steal the show and send the crowd at the Georgia World Congress Center into a deafening roar with a first-place finish.

“I knew I wasn't going to be the first person off the treadmill so really my strategy was to gain some ground on the overhead squats,” said Bridgers, who did the 50 squats in three sets and was the fourth woman to reach the GHD. “I knew I was getting a little closer. Honestly I thought (100) GHD (sit-ups) were going to be a lot worse. I kind of surprised myself. I kept hearing the rep count and knew I was speeding up, speeding up.”

Bridgers passed Briggs on the core-crushing movement and was just seconds behind Tunnicliffe, who jumped out to an early lead as the pair moved into 150 double-unders.

"I heard the announcer say that she was getting off at the same time,” said Tunnicliffe who watched a six-second lead disappear. “On my first couple (of double-unders), I jumped backwards and hit the mat, so I tripped, which kind of got (me) a little behind on that. So again, silly mistakes cost seconds, and I'm disappointed with that, but overall I'm happy with second.”

Tunnicliffe finished in the top three in each of the first three events while Event 3 was Bridgers' first top-five finish in the Atlantic Regional. After getting through the 150 double-unders first, Bridgers methodically did singles to get through 50 sumo deadlift high pulls and advance to the final portion of the workout: 100 box jump overs.

“I knew I wanted the 100 points,” said Bridgers who finally cracked the top five for the first time as she sprinted to the finish line in 24:53, five seconds ahead of Tunnicliffe. “It’s like gymnastics when you are trying to go for the 10, being rewarded for what you do rather than being punished for what you do. I like (the new scoring system).”

Briggs, who entered the day in first, did not finish but took third overall as she got through 60 of the box jump overs. Adkins showed her typical consistency, placing fourth and turning in her third top-five finish.

Games competitor Lauren Brooks, who found herself in a precarious spot after placing 22nd through the first two events, did not make it through the sumo deadlift high pulls and finished in a tie for 24th in the event.

Event 3 Results
1. Emily Bridgers (24:53.5)
2. Anna Tunnicliffe (24:58.8)
3. Sam Briggs (CAP+40)
4. Christy Adkins (CAP+53)
5. Kim Cocce (CAP+54)

Events 4 and 5

A two-headed monster awaited the individuals following Event 3’s chipper, starting with Event 4’s timed 250-foot handstand walk. With a 3-minute time cap, average handstand walkers were forced to be aggressive while experienced gymnasts—given the 10-foot increments—knew a mistake wouldn’t cost them the event.

Former gymnast Bridgers set a blistering pace out of the gate and didn’t slow up, taking her second consecutive first-place finish with a picturesque handstand in 1:47.9. Bridgers, stated her case on Day 2. And she was hardly alone. Cassidy Lance, who passed several competitors in the top heat on the final length of the floor, finished behind Bridgers—good enough for third in the event— with 2:02.8.

Briggs, whose poor handstand walking skills were highlighted when she missed outside of the podium at least year’s Europe Regional, showed some serious improvement. She fell just shy of finishing under the cap and tied for 14th in event. Nicole Corey bicycle-kicked her legs and propelled herself to a Heat 3 win and took fifth in 2:05.5.

Corey was also one of the standouts in Event 5’s snatch, hitting 176 lb. and finishing in a first-place tie with Lance, who won Heat 4. Athletes had just 1 minute and 40 seconds following their handstand walks to attempt to find a max lift in two 20-second windows. The format involved a lot of strategy: Should they start small? Should they go for it on their second attempt? The event saw a mix of frustration and excitement as each heat tried to outdo the last.

Whitney Gelin—who started the day in fourth place—continued to emerge as a dark horse, taking third in the snatch with 175 lb. Competing for the first time as an individual, Gelin made both of her attempts to keep her spot in the top five.  

"We knew handstand walking wasn't going to be my forte, so I was going to have to hit my snatch weights that we had planned out,” Gelin said. “It was fun to be in that atmosphere with those awesome athletes.”

Bridgers tied for fourth with a 172-lb. snatch and the pint-size athlete jumped up in elation after landing the successful lift. Tunnicliffe hit 165 lb. on her second window and Briggs, who worked through a back injury during the Open, opened with 145 lb. and worked up to 160 lb.

"Last day, you go out there and give it everything you've got,” Gelin said. “That's what the whole field is going to try to go out there and do."

Event 4 Results
1. Emily Bridgers (1:47.9)
2. Jessica Carillon (1:58.5)
3. Cassidy Lance (2:02.8)
4. Hannah Richards (2:03.2)
5. Nicole Corey (2:05.5)

Event 5 Results
1T. Nicole Corey (176 lb.)
1T. Cassidy Lance (176 lb.)
3. Whitney Gelin (175 lb.)
4T. Emily Bridgers (172 lb.)
4T. Gretchen Kittelberger (172 lb.)

Overall Standings
1. Anna Tunnicliffe (429 points)
2. Emily Bridgers (417 points)
3. Samantha Briggs (409 points)
4. Cassidy Lance (385 points)
5. Whitney Gelin (363 points)
6. Alea Helmick (333 points)
7. Christy Adkins (313 points)
8. Nicole Corey (309 points)
9. Jessica Carillon (291 points)
10. Caroline Dardini (291 points)

Tunnicliffe has been the epitome of consistency with her worst finish being eighth place, and she did enough on Day 2 to take the top spot from Briggs. But Saturday belonged to Bridgers, who moved from sixth to second with a pair of first-place finishes.

Lance and Gelin rounded out a women’s top five that figures to see some new faces advance to the Games. Gone is Brooks, who withdrew after Event 3. Last year’s Mid Atlantic champ Gretchen Kittelberger is in a tough spot in 14th place while Adkins, who is vying to make her seventh trip to the Games, will need a strong Day 3 to crack the top five. 

men


Event 3

Ben Smith got quite the birthday present. The 25-year-old, vying for his seventh consecutive Games appearance, pulled out an exhilarating come-from-behind finish in the men’s chipper event, edging out top seed Noah Ohlsen in the final 70 seconds.

Smith, outside of the top three after the 1-mile run on the TrueForm and 50 overhead squats, kept a relentless pace on the 100 GHD sit-ups and fell 5 box jump overs shy of completing the menacing event in the 26-minute cap.

“I would have liked to finish it, but I'm glad it's over,” said Smith, who was serenaded by the crowd with “Happy Birthday” when it was through. “That was a nasty birthday present."

While Ohlsen, who led immediately, got off the GHD several times to shake out his legs, Smith rarely even stopped. Known for his consistency, Smith stayed steady and focused while Ohlsen paused after a rep to wave to his cheering section and started to visibly tire.

Smith later passed Ohlsen as he was chalking up and putting on a weight belt, getting a crack at the 50 sumo deadlift high pulls first in his first lead of the event. Travis Mayer took a temporary lead through the first 25 and passed the pair of top athletes, but his box jumps were lateral and too slow allowing Smith—who bounded down on each rep—to surge through to a first-place finish.

"I feel good and I'm ready to go. Nothing in my plan has changed,” said Smith. “You're more tired than this when you're training, so nothing changes."

Ohlsen finished second, 17 reps shy of completing while Mayer helped his cause with a third-place finish. Muhammad, who entered the day in second, pulled ahead of several competitors by doing touch-and-go reps of the sumo deadlift high pulls and finished the event in fifth.

Event 3 Results
1. Ben Smith (CAP+5)
2. Noah Ohlsen (CAP+17)
3. Travis Mayer (CAP+36)
4. Nathan Bramblett (CAP+50)
5. Elijah Muhammad (CAP+55)

Events 4 and 5 

With Garret Fisher’s 276 lb. the snatch to beat, Muhammad ripped off his T-shirt down to a singlet and loaded 280 lb. on the bar. Following a 14th-place finish in the handstand walk, Muhammad decided to go all-in.

“One of the guys in the back was like, ‘Man, hit 300 for me,’ so I was like you know what, I’m gonna go for it,” said Muhammad. “I said I wasn’t at first, but I was like you know what, I’m gonna go for it, and I was thinking if I’m gonna go for it I need to open up big enough to where that 300 lb. doesn’t feel as heavy.”

But with fatigued shoulders from the handstand sprint, Muhammad couldn’t lock it out overhead. He stripped off 5 lb. and with the crowd on its feet easily landed 275 lb. in one of the most electrifying lifts of the evening. The performance ensured Muhammad—who tied for second place in the event—would stay in the top three on the leaderboard and keep his Games dream very much alive heading into the final day.

Aaron Hanna also helped his bid, taking sixth in the snatch (266 lb.) and edging out Ohlsen to win his heat in the handstand race. Hanna was neck-and-neck with Ohlsen in the final 50 feet, but he was able to take larger strides to ensure he was first to the finish line.

“A lot of these guys they've been here since (I started) and you kind of look up to them, they’ve paved the way in a sense. And now you are right here competing with them, so it’s awesome,” said Hanna, who is tied with Ben Smith for third place overall and is trying to make his first Games. “I consider myself on this level now. It took some time to get there, but now I just got to keep having fun.”

Hanna was beat only by Alec Smith in the handstand. The former gymnast effortlessly cruised in 1:32.1. Hanna was a second behind him and Ohlsen finished in 1:38.3.

Event 4 Results
1. Alec Smith (1:32.1)
2. Aaron Hanna (1:33.2)
3. Vinny Casey (1:36.9)
4. Noah Ohlsen (1:38.3)
5. Nathan Bramblett (1:42.8)

Event 5 Results
1. Garret Fisher (276 lb.)
2T. Casey Haines (275 lb.)
2T. Elijah Muhammad (275 lb.)
4T. Gerald Sasser (271 lb.)
4T. Adam Vinson (271 lb.)

Overall Standings
1. Noah Ohlsen (420 points)
2. Elijah Muhammad (399 points)
3. Aaron Hanna (384 points)
4. Ben Smith (382 points)
5. Nathan Bramblett (364 points)
6. Joe Kearney (339 points)
7. Gerald Sasser (331 points)
8. Travis Mayer (330 points)
9. Nathan Keil (298 points)
10. Stephen Pinkerton (297 points)

The top three names in the men’s field remained the same as Ohlsen stayed atop the field in Day 2 and Muhammad and Hanna flipped. Despite winning Event 5, Fisher remained out of the top 10, leaving his Games destiny in serious jeopardy.