North East Regional Report: Dead Heat

May 19, 2013

Keka Schermerhorn

After facing the competition's longest event in the morning, athletes got ready for an all-out sprint.

"When it comes to competing, whoever I'm with pushes me. In this case, it was Amanda (Goodman)."
~Kaleena Ladeairous

Athletes and spectators welcomed the cloud cover and cool breeze that came with the afternoon. After a punishing morning, competitors returned for a quick and dirty couplet, a repeat of the 2011 21-15-9 Deadlift/Box Jump Event.

North East leader, Austin Malleolo, set a World Record of 2:56 for the event two years ago, but that wasn’t after a 400-rep chipper featuring 100 chest-to-bar pull-ups.

Men

Although Malleolo correctly predicted he would not break his own world record, he still won Event 5 and maintained first place overall.

“It’s a retest, but not exactly,” Malleolo says. “It’s different events and different placement in the weekend. But … with any test, you study and you take the test. It’s never over until it’s over, and right now I’m pretty lit up. But I need to recover, eat well, sleep well, and then do it again tomorrow.”

As if there wasn’t enough blood on the bars during this morning’s chipper, Event 5 claimed some of its own victims. Daniel Tyminski and David Callahan’s shins were soaked in blood after time was called for their respective heats.

Callahan, who jumped 14 spots after his performances today, has a good handle on his own strengths and weaknesses.

“The deadlifts felt good. The snatch (in Event 4) was kiddie weight for me,” Callahan says. “Being big is at least good for something. For a guy like me, it's hard to break through to that top five. These guys are amazing.”

Kurt Garceau, who dropped out of the top heat after Event 4, put up the third best time on the afternoon couplet.

"My hand ripped on the last (event), so I went out there and hoped for the best,” Garceau says. “Glory to God. I love all deadlifts no matter the weight."

Event 5
1. Austin Malleolo 3:19
2. Spencer Hendel 3:31
3. Kurt Garceau 3:51

Overall
1. Austin Malleolo (15)
2. Daniel Tyminski (19)
3. Eric Magee (31)

Women

The North East’s best women's time didn't come from the top heat, with Erin Clancy finishing in 3:07. Kaleena Ladeairous and Amanda Goodman came in at second and third, respectively, separated by the single second it took to jump down from the box after the last rep. Unlike Clancy, Ladeairous and Goodman were able to complete all 400 reps of the punishing Event 4 earlier in the day.

Racing Goodman for the finish for the second time today, Ladeairous thrived.

“I shaved nine seconds off my practice time,” Ladeairous says. “When it comes to competing, whoever I’m with pushes me, in this case it was Amanda. It all comes down to who I’m competing against, and I knew she was right there with me, so I had to push.”

Even though the weights were heavy, Ladeairous chose not to wear a weightlifting belt.

“I can’t breathe with a belt. I know my back rounds on deadlifts,” Ladeairous says. “I know my deadlifts can get ugly, but it doesn’t hurt me, knock on wood.”

Despite an excruciating morning, Goodman was in good spirits.

“I was definitely ready for this,” Goodman says. “It was so fast. I tripped up on one (box jump). This was one of the workouts I was excited about, and I exceeded my expectations. But I wanted that first place.” 

Even after being edged out by Ladeairous in Events 4 and 5, Goodman’s performance was still enough to push her into the top spot overall at the end of Day 2.

Danielle Horan came into the day alone in first, but finished Saturday tied with Goodman at 14 points apiece. She says she was happy with her performance.

“I felt good. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do, but I felt good,” Horan says. “I was excited. I was a little fatigued after the end of yesterday, but good."

Event 5
1. Erin Clancy 3:07
2. Kaleena Ladeairous 3:19
3. Amanda Goodman 3:20

Overall
1. Amanda Goodman (14)
2. Danielle Horan (14)
3. Stacey Kroon (27)

Team

While a lot of teams have a decidedly family feel, CrossFit 5th Avenue features sibling pair Jay and Elizabeth Adams. The Adams siblings won Event 5, moving the team up three spots to fourth. Elizabeth’s twin, Katie Adams, is an alternate for the team and was one of the loudest spectators during the heat.

Elizabeth and Michelle Kercado of CrossFit Dynamix got back to the bar for their set of nine deadlifts at the same time, but Elizabeth pulled away and finished her last set of box jumps 10 seconds ahead of Kercado.  

“We did 42 seconds better today than in practice,” Jay says. “I couldn’t even hear the judge over the crowd.”

Elizabeth says having her family alongside her fueled the winning performance.

“All I heard was Jay telling me to dig,” she says. “It’s awesome competing with your siblings, and you also know how to interact with them. When we know it’s time to go, we can hit it hard without even needing to talk.” 

Dynamix’s second place tie with Reebok CrossFit One was enough to propel them into first place overall.

“The way we train at home is strenuous,” says Joel Willis, Kercado’s partner for this workout. “And it paid off. We just came here and implemented.”

Event 5
1. CrossFit 5th Ave Ninja Team 7:18
2. Reebok CrossFit ONE Team A 7:29
2. Team Dynamix 7:29

Overall
1. Team Dynamix (12)
2. CFNE Team A (18)
3. CrossFit King of Island Park (26)