Competitors who could hang clean climbed the Leaderboard after Event 2.
The heavy hang cleans separated the good from the Games-ready during Regional Event 2.
First up, the teams faced a gauntlet with four teammates passing through a 1,000 meter row, 30 pistols and 15 hang cleans. The event started calmly enough, with several minutes of rowing, but that was the calm before the storm as the pistols and then the hang cleans separated the teams. In the end, ten teams finished outside of the 25-minute mark.
The event shook the Leaderboard, with several teams climbing the Leaderboard after a rough start on "Team Diane" this morning. Jet City finished 10th in Event 1 but moved up to 3rd on Event 2. Oregon CrossFit moved from 21st to 9th. CFLO moved from 13th to 6th and the Salem WOD Crushers moved up from 16th to 8th.
Team Event Two
1.CrossFit Fort Vancouver 16:57
2. Jet City 17:11
3. CrossFit Intensify 17:34
Team Overall Standings
1. CrossFit Fort Vancouver (2 points)
2. CrossFit Intensify (5 points)
3. Cascade CrossFit (8 points)
After the teams left the arena, the individual competitors were up. They faced a longer, higher rep version: a 2,000 meter row, 50 pistols, and 30 hang cleans (225 for men and 135 for women).
It was a test of strength and stamina for the North West’s top competitors. They stepped up to the rowers knowing the world record performances. To challenge's the world's best, the women needed to match Annie Thorisdottir's 11:47 and the men faced Jason Khalipa's 11:24. But those targets earn bragging points, not Games berths. First and foremost, the competitors faced each other in the arena.
In the women’s first heat, Samantha Fonoti of CrossFit Fairbanks paced herself through the rigorous row, beating the other ladies to the pistol station. Corey Salois of Big Mountain CrossFit followed her to the mat, followed by Carleen Lessard of CrossFit X-Factor. Fonoti kept a steady pace through the pistols and beat out the competitors again as she raced to the barbells. Erin Moore of Rogue Valley CrossFit followed, immediately grabbing the bar and jumping under it several times before dipping into the chalk bucket. In the end, Roselle Fryberg of CrossFit Marysville made up time on the cleans and landed in first place in Heat 1 with a time of 14:19, ending in 10th place after today’s events. Moore landed second with a time of 14:27, ending 24th overall; while Event 1 leader Becky Clark of Narrows CrossFit ended third with a time of 15:32, ending 6th overall.
Performing at an intense and steady pace, the 10 competitors in Heat 2 ramped up their rowing speed. The ones who pulled long and strong held strong sub-2:00/500m paces – including Briana Sands of CrossFit Billings. She dialed her dampener to 10 and almost laid horizontally as executed her stroke. That technique proved wise as she pulled to a quick second place off the Concept 2s, following Genevieve Girdner of CrossFit Finish First. Sands was followed by Alexandra Seal. After the ladies completed their pistols, they headed to the hang power cleans. As with all the competitors today, multiples mattered when it came to completing the cleans. In the end, Sands won Heat 2 with a time of 13:52, ending in 18th place overall. Seal landed in second place with a time of 14:28, 7th place overall and Jenna Gracey of CrossFit Industrious ended third with a time of 15:01, 9th place overall.
The much-anticipated Heat 3 brought the top women out again – and the top three Event winners. Melissa Dixon of CrossFit Whidbey Island started rowing at breakneck speed, keeping a sub-2:00 pace for the first 750 meters. Despite her power burst, Allison King of Kirkland CrossFit dashed to the pistol station first, followed by Samantha Petersen of CrossFit Whidbey Island. King finished her one-legged squats first, followed by Cheryl Brost of Eugene CrossFit. The ladies powered through the HPCs, with Petersen ending in first place with a time of 12:39, Samantha Snyder finishing in second with a time of 13:01, and King and Brost finishing in a third-place tie with a time of 13:36.
After the women cleared the floor, 2011 CrossFit Games competitor Samantha Petersen described the event as “rough.”
“In the row, I definitely took my time,” she said. “I didn’t focus on the display screen so I could complete it. I took my focus off how many meters I rowed so not to pay attention.”
The pistols proved challenging, thanks to the extra-soft mat on the floor. “It made my ankles wobbly,” she said. And during the cleans, “I was going for 10-10-10, but it wound up being 10-9-5-3 and 2 or something,” she said. “Hook grip was important because your form was smoked after the row.”
Women Event Two
1. Samantha Petersen 12:39
2. Samantha Snyder 13:01
3T. Cheryl Brost and Allison King (tied) 13:36
Women's Overall Standings
1. Cheryl Brost (5 points)
2. Samantha Petersen (8 points)
3. Melissa Dixon (16 points)
“Give them hell!” a fan yelled like a battle cry as the men started the row.
Heat one proved that the first off the rower isn’t necessarily going to win. Those who have the skill and stamina to rep out 50 pistols followed by 30 hang power cleans finished on top. Joshua Rempel was the first off the rower in Heat One, followed by Thomas Liston. As Stephen Hitt made his way to the pistols, his fans yelled, “Here comes the Hitt locomotive.” He smoothly repped out his pistols. Liston was first to the hang power cleans, followed by Mark Buskas. But it was Bill Pappas from Lane 5 CrossFit who won the heat at 13:37, followed closely by Tom Liston at 13:50. Joshua Rempel finished third at 14:43.
In Heat two, Robert Allaire was the first off the rower, followed closely by Joseph Byers. Jordan Holland stole the show, repping through pistols and doing larger sets of hang power cleans. Holland won the heat and the event at 13:29. Dave Powell finished second in the heat at 15:41 and Joseph Byers finished third at 16:10.
In the last heat of the day, the ability to grind through the hang power cleans moved new names to the top. Austin Stack finished first at 13:32. Kevin Simons finished second at 14:03 with Yurii Hanson close behind at 14:06. The first place finish in Event Two moved Jordan Holland from 11th to 4th overall. Kevin Simons and Austin Stack end day one tied for first place with 6 points each.
Men Event Two
1. Jordan Holland 13:29
2. Austin Stack 13:32
3. Bill Pappas 13:37
Men's Overall Standings
1. Kevin Simons (6 points)
2. Austin Stack (6 points)
3. Yurii Hanson (11 points)
With two days and four events remaining, plenty can change.