“Our goal for Carson this year is to podium. We feel we have all the tools to stay up with the best teams out there.” ~Mike Abgarian
Seven points out of first place, CrossFit King of Island Park was second at this year’s North East Regional. The team placed third at the 2013 regional and went on to finish 32nd at the Games.
Teammate Molly Abgarian remembered the doubt that ensued in 2013 when the teammates realized they were headed to Carson, California.
“Last year was a feeling of, ‘OK, we took third, far behind first and second—are we really good enough to be here?’” Abgarian recalled. “This year, we are a dominating squad that has all the tools, and our mental approach is much more confident. We made rookie mistakes last year. We learned a lot and are ready for Carson again.”
Returning team member Rob Santoro said the team has spent the past year focusing on individual weaknesses.
“We are all very strong, but we are not the biggest team in size,” Santoro said. “So moving heavy weight for multiple reps posed a challenge for us last year. This year, we all worked extremely hard on our weaknesses and focused a lot of time on building strength.”
With high-skill body-weight movements—such as strict handstand push-ups and handstand walks—showing up at regionals, Abgarian’s husband, teammate, co-owner and head trainer at CrossFit King of Island Park, Mike, was optimistic about his team’s chances of winning the region.
“When the regional workouts were announced, we were very excited,” Mike said. “We feel we are a pretty high-skilled team. We also loved the fact that all three girls had to do all the movements, so there was nowhere to hide.”
Last year, Event 3—7-minute AMRAP of burpee muscle-ups—fell on Keri Ann Koegel’s birthday.
“In 2013, I wasn't able to complete a muscle-up before or at regionals,” Koegel said. “This year, it just felt great being able to complete all of them. They made me do (muscle-ups) every week.”
Koegel’s performance helped the team to a first-place finish in Event 1, a great way to start the weekend.
The team’s performance on Event 2 surprised everyone.
“Finishing in second was a shock to us,” Mike recounted. “We had numerous team meetings where we discussed our goals for the snatch. We all decided that we were not going to come close to a 1-rep-max and we were just going to hit conservative weights. We knew we weren't gonna be able to beat the bigger, stronger teams, but we are all able to consistently hit good weight.”
Molly said the technical aspect of the lift played to their favor.
“This event was won by big lifts, but also by being consistent," Molly said. “Both lifts were decided during the first week and we just kept hitting those numbers in every scenario during training. It also helped having (Kaitlyn Fitzgerald) hit the highest snatch of the weekend with only 10 seconds left!”
Fitzgerald’s 165-lb. snatch was the highest for a female team athlete in the North East, and tied for highest lift by an individual in Canton with Dani Horan and Megin Oczkowski.
“Our game plan was to hit weights we were 100 percent confident in,” Fitzgerald said. “By the time regionals came around, I could have hit my opening weight in my sleep. Having that kind of confidence going into the workout was definitely helpful. It is a great feeling to know that my strength can be depended on by my teammates.”
A fifth-place finish on Event 3 put them right where they wanted to be at the end of Day 1—first place.
Newcomer Corey Berger had his eyes on the top spot on the podium in the North East. The former Division 1 track and field athlete started CrossFit 11 months ago, and has quickly proved himself an indispensable addition to the team.
“The kid has all the tools,” Mike said. “He has made our team much more well rounded. He brings size and much needed strength to the team as well as some youth. He is really talented in the areas Rob and myself lack in, such as rowing, wall balls and deadlift. Lastly, he brings this everlasting positive attitude and a work ethic that you can't match.”
The team performed consistently throughout the weekend, only finishing outside of the top five once, on Event 5 with an eighth-place finish. They quickly followed it up with a win on Event 6—the strict handstand push-up, clean, burpee triplet.
“We knew the guys would fall behind,” Mike said. “We just had to stay close enough to leave our girls with enough time to catch up. They all went unbroken. That’s been our plan all weekend, really: let the girls do all the work.”
The team ended Day 2 in second, 3 points out of first.
On Day 3, the team tied for third on Event 7, while Team Dynamix Strength, who came into the day in first place, won the event. Dynamix went on to a second-place finish on the last event of the weekend, claiming the top spot on the podium.
CrossFit King of Island Park finished the last event in fourth place—enough for second place overall.
“What really hurt us all weekend was the amount of no-reps we got,” Fitzgerald said. “So we know now what we need to do is concentrate on each movement and focus on the standards.”
Despite missing the goal for the weekend, Berger was impressed with the way the team performed under pressure.
“Our intention was to go in and win the North East,” Berger said. “Sometimes things can happen on the competition floor that you can't account for in practice. Everyone on the team stayed calm, stayed focused, we adjusted game plans when necessary, and dealt with adversity with swift, decisive action. We are proud of how we finished.”
“This year we didn't go to (regionals to) qualify for the Games,” Mike added. “We went and we wanted to win. After practicing the events, we felt that we had a great shot at some event records and really just dominating. We gave an all-out effort and took second behind a great Dynamix team.”
As the team prepares for its second trip to California, the members have been taking much of their training outside.
“We are taking two team trips,” Mike said. “One to (Fitzgerald’s) hometown to do some open water swimming in Long Island, and to Molly's hometown in Old Forge, New York. Its an outdoorsy lake town, so we are gonna raft, kayak, camp, hike, climb some mountains and rely on nature for our workouts.”
Unlike last year, team members feel they belong at the Games—and more specifically, on the podium.
“Our goal for Carson this year is to podium,” Mike said. “We feel we have all the tools to stay up with the best teams out there. Adding some size and everyone really crushing their weaknesses gives us a lot more confidence.”
Mike is confident that the team—especially the women—has what it takes to get it to the top.
“Everyone's skills feed off of each other's,” Mike said. “For our guys, I would be our body-weight specialist. Corey would be our strength, and Rob is that consistent great-at-everything guy. With Rob, no matter what the movement or workout, we all know he will be able to crush it.”
He continued: “The girls are the same. Molly would be our body-weight specialist, Kait is our gymnast and best Olympic lifter, and Keri is all around an absolute animal. She has some unreal raw strength and can crank through movements faster than most. The girls are the strength of this team and we always joke around about it. But seriously, they are tougher than the guys.”
After last year’s performance, Molly said the team is ready to prove its worth.
“The goal for Carson this year is to prove we belong and can hang with the top,” Molly said. “I don't have a place I expect us to be in, but know we will be near the top.”
