Latin America Regional Report: The Final Chapter

June 10, 2013

Manuela Echeverri

"We're still on a high from the (event) and very happy with our achievement."
~Wanda Brenton, CrossFit 7 Mile

With one event left to go, the 2013 Latin America Regional was coming to an end, but not without a significant dose of excitement. 

The Coliseum was packed with fans on their feet and drums were pounding to the sound of the loud cheers. Event 7 brought a demanding combination of rope climbs and heavy squat cleans. These would be the movements that would ultimately determine which athletes would be standing on the podium at the end of the day.
 
Teams 
 
As the buzzer went off and the first male competitors on each team started climbing the rope, it became evident why CrossFit 7 Mile was on top of the Leaderboard all weekend. All six members of the team moved efficiently through the rope climbs and showed great technique on the squat cleans. 
 
With a time of 18:02, CrossFit 7 Mile won Event 7 and sealed their ticket to the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games once again. They were the only team who finished Event 7 while competitors from the remaining five teams struggled with the movements. 
 
Team CrossFit 7 Mile went into a big group hug as they celebrated the win. 
 
"We're still on a high from the (event) and very happy with our achievement. We felt confident throughout the competition and it resulted in a good ending," said Wanda Brenton of CrossFit 7 Mile. 
 
Chris Spigner, teammate and coach added: "We trained really hard to get here and now we plan on unifying the team even further so we can do our best at the Games." And union is exactly what the team from the Cayman Islands showed during the weekend. A cohesive team that worked great together with no evidential weaknesses. Once again they will be the team representing Latin America in the CrossFit Games. 
 
Event 7 
1. CrossFit 7 Mile (18:02)
2. Reebok CrossFit PTY (20:32)
3. Tuluka El Templo (20:44)
 
Games Qualifer
1. CrossFit 7 Mile (8) 
 
Women 
 
Before Event 7, it was clear that for Barnett to defend her title she would have to beat Modecki by two or more places in this final event. Barnett has won the Latin America Regional for two years in a row. 
 
The final heat of women took the arena as the announcer introduced each athlete. Modecki showed fast rope climbs and Barnett followed close behind. By the end of the first set of squat cleans, the top two athletes were neck-and-neck. 
 
During the second set of rope climbs, Modecki was more efficient and pulled in front of Barnett. With each rep the lead kept growing. Modecki finished her last set of squat cleans and walked through the finish line with a time of 4:57. This was Modecki’s fifth event win of the weekend. She’ll be making her first trip to Carson, California as an individual competitor.
 
"It was an awesome weekend and I feel great for having had the chance of being here and meeting some great people and athletes from around Latin America,” Modeki said. “I felt for a second that I wouldn't take the lead, but thankfully in the end it all turned out OK, and I get my chance to make it to Games.” 
 
Barnett finished second in the event and overall with 16 points. Solange Jean-Francois Mon from Panama closes out the podium with 33 total points.  
 
Event 7 
1. Courtney Modecki (4:57)
2. Tarasa Barnett (5:38)
3. Itzel Cadena (6:29)
 
Games Qualifier
1. Courtney Modecki (14)  
 
Men 
 
With the last heat of men came the final 10 minutes of Regional competition in Latin America. The crowd also had their 10 final minutes to show the athletes some support. 
 
And that is exactly what the crowd did. Every single athlete on the floor was cheered on like they were rock stars, especially Giancarlo Vera. Vera is originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador — the pride of Ecuador. 
 
Vera handled the rope climbs and squat cleans with ease, and with every rep he completed came an even louder cheer from the audience. Vera would win Event 7 with a time of 5:40, followed closely behind by Mario Barone and Rodrigo Valenzuela with respective times of 5:48 and 5:51. 
 
Orlando Trejo’s fourth place finish on the event was enough to build and even larger lead over Conor Murphy and Joel Bran. This will be Trejo’s second time going to the CrossFit Games. 
 
Event 7
1. Giancarlo Vera Ochoa    (5:40)
2. Mario Barone        (5:48)
3. Rodrigo Valenzuela         (5:51) 
 
Games Qualifier
1. Orlando Trejo (27)