Like a Family

July 10, 2014

Lauryn Lax

The original six teammates from CrossFit Adrenaline will make their third appearance at the CrossFit Games this July. 

"We work way better together than any one of us by ourselves."
 

Not many teams have qualified for the CrossFit Games three years in a row with the same roster.

But South East Regional champs CrossFit Adrenaline did.

Despite having teammates who finished high in the Open, none felt the draw of individual competition.

“We are like a family,” Allie Bourdon said. “We work way better together than any one of us by ourselves.”

“Like a family” is literal. Lindsay Bourdon and Allie are sisters, and Lindsay and TJ Menerey, another member, recently got married. While blood and marriage tie half the team together, the other half are extremely close friends.

The team trains four to five days per week, with marathon sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

And there’s a lot of bad pop music involved.

“We listen to whatever person’s phone is charged the most, usually mine, which means Backstreet Boys, Kesha and Spice Girls,” Allie said. “The boys have gotten used to it. Austin (Medford) has even started to request Backstreet Boys on occasion.”

The team formed in 2011 when Lindsay opened the affiliate, and within months, CrossFit Adrenaline qualified for the Games as the second-ranked team at the 2012 South East Regional. At the team’s first appearance in Carson, California, it finished midway through the pack in 22nd place.

Last year, the team finished second at the regional and third at the Games, and then followed with a 2014 South East Regional win.

This year, the regional programming required all six teammates to compete in every event. The teammates said this is the same reason they did so well at last year’s Games.

“What we loved most about this year’s (regional events) was that they incorporated all six team members in every workout,” Allie said. “That was a game changer. That was our favorite thing about the Games last year—all six did every single workout.”

When it comes to working as a team, CrossFit Adrenaline is exceptionally good.

“We’ve learned not to underestimate ourselves,” Chelsea Lowery said.

Each member brings something different to the table.

“We all have very different personalities. That is why this team works,” Allie said.

TJ Menerey

“TJ is always keeping us on time and in line. Sometimes we compare him to a drill sergeant but not quite as strict,” Allie said of her new brother-in-law. “He has a dry sense of humor.”

Menerey is also considered to be the most consistent male athlete on the team.

“I am not really good at anything but not really bad at anything—a generalist,” Menerey said.

“He often surprises all of us with his own abilities, doing things that we look at him afterward saying, ‘You really didn’t look like you could do that,’” Allie added.

Menerey is also the verbal one on the competition floor, telling his teammates what movement is next or who is doing what when they are in the thick of an event.

“I am kind of loud—the communicator for our workouts,” Menerey said.

Austin Medford

The former baseball, basketball and football player started CrossFit four years ago after getting burnt out on spending time at the globo gym. Medford said he was hungry for a new challenge.

Medford enjoys spending extra time working on skills and strength, which has enabled him to become the well-rounded CrossFit competitor he is today. Medford set a PR on the handstand walk event at this year’s regional walking the full 120 feet.

“When I first started, handstand walks were impossible for me, and I would talk about how dumb they were,” Medford recounted. “But secretly I wanted to do them, so I would do a little work on them on the side each time at the box. Then one day I just decided ‘I can do this now.’ Since then, its a favorite of mine.”

Meford is also known for his lightening speed on the team. He averages approximately a 55- to 60-second 400-m run split and a sub-6-minute mile.

“At the 2012 Games, we had a 400-m relay straight into pushing Big Bob. We had not been running much and we got off to a terrible start,” Allie said. “Austin was the last leg and ran a 56-second 415-m lap around the track. He flew! Austin is one of our best under-pressure athletes … not to mention, pretty good at making us all laugh with his strange hobbies. Boomerang throwing is his latest.”

Stacey Adams

At 39 years old, Adams may be the oldest member on the team, but he is more limber and mobile than most of the Adrenaline crew.

“My strengths I bring to the team include my efficient gymnastics movements, fast transitions and intensity,” Adams said.  

While Adams does not have a gymnastics background, he has become known as the body-weight ninja on the team.

“At the 2012 Games, our most notable finish was the clean and jerk/rope climb workout, when we tied for second,” Allie said. “The ropes were 20-feet high that year, and Stacey would climb it two to three times when it was his turn because he was more efficient than any of us.”

Adams juggles team training with raising two kids with a supportive wife and working as an electrical engineer. He said he would not be the competitor he is today if it wasn’t for the bond he has formed with his teammates over the past three years.

“What I love about my team is that we truly treat each other as family inside and outside of the gym,” he said.

Lindsay Bourdon-Menerey

Lindsay owns the gym, programs for and coaches the team, and manages all the small details from making reservations at the hotels to arranging flights and carpools. Although she’s only 28, some joke that she’s the team mom.

“We always tease her that we wouldn't have a team if it wasn't for her,” her sister said.

Lindsay brings her experience as a collegiate gymnast to the team, both in training and competition.

“She did her set of 15 muscle-ups (in Event 1) and all of her pull-ups (in Event 8) unbroken at regionals this year to give those of us behind her a little more time,” Allie said.

With impressive performances in the past three Open competitions, including a third-place worldwide finish in 2013, many wonder why Lindsay opts to compete on a team, rather than going the individual route.

“I love this team and the gym. CrossFit is fun, especially with my team,” Lindsay said.

Chelsea Lowery

Lowery is reminiscent of Wonder Woman with her muscular build and long dark hair.

She didn’t have any gymnastics experience before CrossFit, but she brought plenty of strength.

When Adrenaline qualified for the regional in 2012, Lowery was the one who carried the rookie team through Event 3—the heavy dumbbell snatch and sprint.

“She was the only girl who could do it,” Allie said, referring to the 3 rounds of 10 70-lb. dumbbell snatches. “Lindsay and I at the time could only get the dumbbell up once, maybe twice, so we were lucky.”

While she’s naturally drawn to anything heavy, and can be found sharing the squat rack with the guys most days, Lowery has also put in a lot of work to improve her skill at gymnastics movements. Prior to CrossFit, Lowery had never kicked into a handstand before. At this year’s regional, she did strict handstand push-ups.

“I feel like you could ask any one of us at any given time, and we would feel like we are never good enough or improving,” Lowery said. “I definitely have my weaknesses, but I think where I am weak, the others are strong, and we all make up for different areas we lack.”

Allie Bourdon

Allie does most of the talking for the team.

“There is never more than two to three minutes of quiet time in the gym if I am there, and if there is, then something is seriously wrong. I laugh at pretty much everything,” Allie said. “Lindsay and I are often caught silent laughing in the gym together—laughter that is so much, it makes no noise and only your shoulders move up and down. CrossFit is truly my happy place.”  

As far as her specialty, Allie said she doesn’t have any.  

“Like TJ, I am across the board average at most things,” she said. “I like endurance workouts with running or rowing. My gymnastics has gotten better, but I still have a lot of work to do. My teammates like to joke, though, and say I am most improved. From 31st place in the 2013 Open to fourth this year in South East. I have come a long way.”