West Individual Report: Day 1

May 30, 2015

Hilary Achauer

Canadians lead the way after two events at the West Regional.

Canadians lead the way after two events at the West Regional.

 

 


 

Lucas Parker started the day outside the final heat, but two second-place finishes put him in first place overall and secured his spot in the final heat on Day 2.

"I'm really happy to see that,” Parker said of his first-place position.

“I was a little bit scared when they announced this new format—it's all out there,” Parker said. “As a region, we could send zero or five Canada West athletes to the Games.”

So far, it looks good for the Canadian men, who occupy the top three spots. The only American in the top five is Cole Sager, in fourth place.

The week before the West Regional began, one of the top female athletes, Emily Carothers, withdrew from competition to spend time with her family. Carothers won the North West Regional in 2014 and placed 13th at the Games that year.

In her absence, a different Emily has risen to the top: Emily Abbott. She finished the day in first place with 200 points, which puts another Canadian at the top of the leaderboard.

Abbott said she’s enjoyed the mix of regions this year.

“It has been so great meeting these girls,” Abbott said. “I have gotten to know more Yankees, and it’s is great to compete with them, they are such an amazing group of athletes.”

Looking forward to Day 2, Abbott knows anything can change.

“I cannot back off for even a minute,” Abbot said.  “It’s is pedal to the metal.”

MEN


Event 1: Randy

Mitch Barnard won the Canada West Region in the Open and continued that streak by winning Event 1—Randy.

Barnard finished the 75 snatches in 2:24, well ahead of the second-place finisher in the last heat, Brent Fikowski, who completed the event in 2:38.

After he finished, Barnard cheered on his friend Fikowski, who with Joe Scali was part of a trio of Canada West men with a friendly Instagram competition during the Open, complete with “punishment” bets for the loser of each event.

Barnard took the lead early on, the first athlete to the second set of 25 snatches. Kevin Simons stayed with him in the beginning, but then began catching the bar into a deeper power snatch and fell behind, finishing sixth overall.

“Anything with a barbell in it is in my wheelhouse,” Barnard said. “Everything feels good right now. I’m hoping to do as well with Tommy V—that event will test me,” he said, referencing his finish at Legless at the 2014 Canada West Regional.

It was Barnard’s finish on Legless—which, like Tommy V, includes rope climbs—that prevented him from qualifying for the Games last year.

Lucas Parker competed in the second-to-last heat, but turned in the second-place time overall for the event.

Parker completed almost all 75 snatches unbroken, keeping his legs straight and feet flat on the floor until the last few reps.

"My strategy was don't go 110 percent in the first 25 and from there, to go as fast as I could. You saw my form break down late. But man, (Barnard) took like five breaks and beat me by almost 10 seconds. That's demoralizing,” Parker said.

After his finish, Parker said he used his placement in Heat 3 to his advantage.

“I knew I had to sort of come out really strong … otherwise the guys in the top heat were going to take me down,” he said.

“It’s a long weekend,” Parker said of the work ahead. “If I do what I need to do, I’ll be the top heat tomorrow.”

Event 1 Results
1. Mitch Barnard (2:24.6)
2. Lucas Parker (2:31.7)
3. Brent Fikowski (2:38.9)
4. Joe Scali (2:40.3)
5. Jonathan Gibson (2:40.6)

Event 2: Tommy V

When Cole Sager finished his last rope climb in Event 2—Tommy V—he jogged slowly toward the finish mat, slowing down as he got close to the end.

Even with this casual finish, Sager not only won Event 2, but also set an event record that was about 17 seconds faster than the previous record.

“I (had) complete awareness of what was going on. I had hopes for an event record,” Sager said.

He said he knew how long it would take him to run from the rig to the finish mat, and he knew he didn’t need to run to set the event record.

“I was just kinda soaking in the moment, feeling the crowd and everything around me, taking a second to just smile and enjoy what God has given me," Sager said.

Sager took the lead during the first set of rope climbs, which he increased steadily throughout the event. He completed his rope climbs one at a time, taking three steps back from the rope between ascents.

By the time Sager got to the last round—9 thrusters and 6 rope climbs—he was so far ahead of the pack he reached the rope for his 6 ropes climbs before anyone else had finished their set of 9 rope climbs.

The win put Sager in fourth place overall. Now that Day 1 is finished, Sager said he wants to relax.

“Tonight I will hang out with family and friends and enjoy the environment I get to live in every day,” he said.

Second place again went to Lucas Parker, competing in Heat 3.

“I wanted to go a little faster than I was comfortable,” Parker said about his performance on Event 2. “As a CrossFit Games athlete, I have that extra experience with pushing through comfortable. My plan was to go before I was ready.”

Parker said he wanted to come out steady on the first day, knowing it’s a long weekend.

“But by the end of the weekend, everyone is dog tired,” Parker said, “so I want to get as many points as possible and try to bring any cushion I can have into the final day and event."

Event 2 Results
1. Cole Sager (7:10.6)
2. Lucas Parker (7:25.4)
3. Brent Fikowski (7:51.7)
4. Tyson Takasaki (8:15.8)
5. Cody Anderson (8:16.4)

Overall Standings
1. Lucas Parker (190)
2. Brent Fikowski (180)
3. Mitch Barnard (169)
4. Cole Sager (165)
5. Tyson Takasaki (156)
6. Joe Scali (148)
7. Apollo Lewis (148)
8. Jonathan Gibson (141)
9. Jeremy Meredith (134)
10. Cole Bernier (134)

WOMEN


Event 1: Randy

Emily Abbott competed in her first regional competition last year, winning the Canada West Region. This year she looked like a seasoned veteran on Event 1, winning Randy with a time of 2:47.

"I am expecting nothing. My goal coming in to the weekend is to not expect anything and fight for every rep and position," Abbott said.

Abbott was joined in the final heat by a fellow 2014 Games competitor Regan Huckaby, who placed second at the 2014 North West Regional.

The beginning of the final heat started with Carleen Mathews and Jessica Core in the lead, putting the bar over their heads in unison during the first 25 reps.

Then as some of the women started to slow down, Abbott took the lead, muscle-snatching the bar while Core began to bend her knees, catching the bar in a power snatch.

Abbott, a former college basketball player, was well ahead of her competition when she paused with the bar on the ground before completing her final snatch and sprinting to the finish mat.

"I only tested Randy once,” Abbott said about preparing for this event. “I didn't PR (today). My grip went a lot faster than it did when I tested it."

Jenn Webber, who won Heat 3 and came in sixth overall, said Randy was a great way to start the first day.

“It was a great event because you cannot really look at anyone else, you focus on what you have to do,” Webber said. “It gets your adrenaline going and really sets the pace for rolling into Tommy V.”

Event 1 Results
1. Emily Abbott (2:47.2)
2. Jolaine Undershute (2:52.9)
3. Caitlin Ritchey (2:55.9)
4. Regan Huckaby (2:57.4)
5. Samantha Tolbert (2:58.2)

Event 2: Tommy V

Emily Abbott had a very good first day.

With two first-place finishes, she is 41 points ahead of second-place Alex Parker.

The rope climbs on Tommy V can be a potential minefield for athletes, but Abbott handled them with ease.

Although Abbott wasn’t the first to the rope after the initial 21 thrusters, she overtook Samantha Tolbert, Jessica Core and Carleen Mathews on the 12 rope climbs and was the first athlete to the barbell for the 15 thrusters.

From there, Abbott held her lead. She finished her set of 9 rope climbs in just under 7 minutes, and completed the last 9 thrusters and 6 rope climbs with apparent ease.

“I actually didn't think I was going to come out and go that hard in the first 12 rope climbs,” Abbott said after the event. “I thought I blew my workout capacity a little bit early, but I was able to carry on. Those last 6 ropes climbs were pretty slow, but I just got through it. I am super pumped.”

The second-place finish went to a woman who dominated the second-to-last heat, Whitney Darchuk-Parenteau of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

Mathews took fourth in the event, but finished the day in third overall.

"My strategy was to not blow myself out,” Mathews said, “(and) I felt like I did that.”

“I didn't want to fail any rope climbs, and I knew the thrusters wouldn't be an issue," Mathews said.

She said Abbott’s pace helped push her through this event, but she’s not disappointed finishing fourth.

“She can have a rope climb workout—she's got a little height on me,” said the 5-foot-2 Mathews.

Event 2 Results
1. Emily Abbott (9:22.6)
2. Whitney Darchuk-Parenteau (9:27.9)
3. Alex Parker (9:37.6)
4. Carleen Mathews (10:47.9)
5. Crystal Shoff (10:51.9)

Overall Standings
1. Emily Abbott (200)
2. Alex Parker (159)
3. Carleen Mathews (158)
4. Caitlin Ritchey (153)
5. Jenn Webber (150)
6. Crystal Shoff (143)
7. Salem Giampietro (138)
8. Regan Huckaby (143)
9. Erica Livett (126)
10. Whitney Darchuk-Parenteau (122)