"Hard work pays off ... this is CrossFit."
~Felipe Aviles
After the morning’s grueling and extensive Event 4, the athletes were ready for the short and sweet Event 5.
An event with heavy deadlifts and high box jumps in a repetition scheme of 21-15-9, this would be a sprint for some athletes and a challenge for others.
Teams
As the male athletes started chipping away at the deadlifts and box jumps, no team was able to build a significant lead. Most female competitors switched the weight and started performing deadlifts at the same time.
But rapidly into the set of 21 deadlifts, two female athletes pulled away from the pack — Schmarrah McCarthy from CrossFit 7 Mile and Denisse Ortiz from CrossFit Santiago. McCarthy and Ortiz were even on the majority of reps throughout and started the last nine box jumps at the same time. With two jumps to go, McCarthy slipped and missed a jump, giving Ortiz an opportunity to finish the box jumps first and give CrossFit Santiago their first win of the weekend. In fact, this win broke CrossFit 7 Mile’s legendary winning streak.
“I realized we had won when I saw my teammates getting teary eyed from the stands. I thought we had finished second or third,” Ortiz said.
Felipe Aviles, CrossFit Santiago’s male competitor for this event, was ecstatic about the win. “We have been training during the last two years for this,” he said. “We put in a lot of work and have sacrificed a lot to give priority to our training. And to be able to beat the best team in the region in this workout is the best reward we could ever hope for. Hard work pays off … this is CrossFit.”
CrossFit 7 Mile finished the event with a time of 9:40 and CrossFit Jundiaí took third with a time of 11:01. CrossFit Santiago’s amazing performances from today have propelled them up to third place in the overall standings.
The first two spots remain unchanged.
Event 5
1. CrossFit Santiago (9:25)
2. CrossFit 7 Mile (9:40)
3. CrossFit Jundiaí (11:01)
Overall
1. CrossFit 7 Mile (6)
2. CrossFit SP (25)
3. CrossFit Santiago (33)
Women
The 205-lb. loaded on the barbells seemed light weight for the top female athletes, who picked up the barbells for big sets of deadlifts.
Tarasa Barnett was the first on the set of 21 box jumps, but was followed closely behind by the rest of the female competitors of the last heat. Into the set of 15 deadlifts, Barnett fell behind and Courtney Modecki, Ana C. Caldas and Itzel Cadena pulled in front of her.
Breaking her set of nine deadlifts into singles, Modecki pulled ahead and finished the box jumps to secure herself yet another win. Caldas finished second and said she felt confident walking into the event.
“I felt good. I knew none of the movements in this workout would affect my injury, so I had one less thing to be worried about,” she said.
Caldas injured her elbow during Event 2 as she missed one of the overhead squats.
“My goal for the weekend was to finish all 7 Events and I intend to do that. I will finish the required work unless I’m taken out of the area by an ambulance,” she said. “This weekend has been great.”
The first three spots in the overall standings remain the same at the end of Day 2.
Event 5
1. Courtney Modecki (4:12)
2. Ana C. Caldas (4:24)
3. Itzel Cadena (4:27)
Overall
1. Courtney Modecki (6)
2. Tarasa Barnett (12)
3. Solange Jean-Francois Mon (24)
Men
As the sun went down and the Coliseum lights were turned on, the men took over the arena to complete Event 5. The win of the event would be the third heat from Joaquin Jadue, with a time of 5:47.
In second place was Keith Kandetzke, finishing it with a time of 6:09.
"After this event, I feel great,” Kandetzke said. “My strategy was to dominate the bar and I feel like I succeeded at it.”
Joel Bran, former Olympic weightlifter finished third with a time of 6:13. Bran has proven to be the revelation at this year’s Regionals as a first time competitor. He is currently sitting in third place overall at the end of Day 2.
Orlando Trejo was seven box jumps shy of completing the total repetitions and finished tied for 16th in Event 5. He remains first in the overall standings.
Event 5
1. Joaquin Jadue (5:47)
2. Keith Kandetzke (6:09)
3. Joel Bran (6:13)
Overall
1. Orlando Trejo (24)
2. Conor Murphy (39)
3. Joel Bran (48)
