Week Two in Review: Canada West

March 18, 2013

Chris Cooper

After two weeks, very little has been settled among Canada West Teams, and the Individual classes are far from decided.

Box jumps knocked giants from their perches in Canada West this week.

Individual leaders in the Men’s and the Women’s competition fell several places. Casey Inglis, whose 191 reps earned him first overall on 13.1, dropped to 39th in the region with a score of 290 on 13.2.

Emily Beers took over the top spot when Janine Walinski's 300 reps earned her 79th place on 13.2. Beers' 376 won the event, and she leads a very consistent Angie Pye by three points after the second week.

For the Masters Men, Murray Howes (45-49), Gord MacKinnon (50-54), Ian MacLeod (55-59) and Derek Briton (60+) all won for the second week in a row. Who will dominate their category the longest? While MacKinnon is long familiar with the limelight, Briton is a newcomer to the dominant position.

"I was very surprised to find myself in first spot," Briton says. "My 60th birthday is coming up next month, so it was a nice birthday present — took the sting out of hitting the big six-0!"

The Masters Women look to be very tight. The new 40-44 Division features Jennifer Dober with just six points, and three others — Nancy McKeage, Jenn Swagar and Jolaine Bloom — with seven points each.

Laurie Meschishnick, of CrossFit Saskatoon, has risen to the top of the 45-49 Division through consistent high finishes — second and third — through the first two events.

Last week's first-place finisher, Leslie Miletich took seventh on 13.2. Conversely, last week's seventh-place finisher, Sarah Robbins, won the region for her Masters category with 313 reps. The two are now tied for second overall in Canada West.

The Team competition in Canada West continues to be a thriller. Though the Centaurs are still on top thanks to huge performances in 13.2 by Delaina Snider (332) and Mark Cassibo (339), CrossFit 306 made a huge leap.

Nate Beveridge, of the Fraser Valley Centaurs, and Jason Cain, of CrossFit 306, are always at the forefront of their respective teams, but both finished as third-best on 13.2.

"My goal for our box has always been to have my athletes believe that they could all become much better CrossFitters than myself," Cain says. "This (workout) was a humbling experience as an athlete, as I was beaten by no less than six of our members. It's an incredible feat as a coach to begin to build athletes that are starting to beat me on a regular basis.”

CrossFit 306 had the best score of any team in Canada.

Both teams clearly have depth far beyond their respective captains. Which will carry the diversity, power and consistency to take the region? After two weeks, very little has been settled among Canada West Teams, and the Individual classes are far from decided.