Central Team Report: Day 3

May 31, 2015

Brittney Saline

CrossFit Mayhem Freedom wins the Central Regional. 

CrossFit Mayhem Freedom wins the Central Regional.

After three days and seven events, the team with a champion became the champion team. Never finishing outside of the top 10, CrossFit Mayhem Freedom took the top podium spot with four event finishes within the top-three, including one event record. 

“Everybody fought,” Rich Froning said. “I'm proud of everyone.”
 
In its third regional appearance, CrossFit 417 held onto second place overall for all three days of competition. With one event win and two second-place finishes, the Missourian team earned its debut in Carson.
 
Seth Connelly of CrossFit 417 said qualifying felt “amazing.” 
 
The final three qualifying spots went to returning Games teams CrossFit Maximus, CrossFit Kilo and CrossFit Grandview. The victory was sweet for Grandview, which hasn’t sent a team to the Games since 2012. 
 
“All this hard work finally paid off,” said Grandview’s Joey Tortora. “We came in here, we fought back. We knew we were going to get stronger going into these later workouts; we executed it like we were supposed to.”
 
The men shifted impatiently on the start mat, unable to begin until each of their female teammates had completed 50 GHD sit-ups, followed by a total of 50 muscle-ups and 50 cleans. 
 
In this event, CrossFit Mayhem Freedom earned all of the hype. The win-less team not only set the top time in the Central Regional, it set the top time of any team worldwide shaving 12.9 seconds off the event record set by NorCal CrossFit last weekend. 
 
“It was just great,” said Mayhem’s Lauren Neal. “It was much-needed and it really helped us a lot because ... yesterday was rough.”
 
While it was the best event of the weekend for Mayhem, it was the worst for Team Rollins - QCCF. Shortly after the buzzer released the final heat of teams onto the competition floor, QCCF’s Maddy Ruggeberg sustained a leg injury while running out to the GHD. As Ruggeberg was carried off on a stretcher, the second-ranked team at the regional suddenly dropped out of contention.
 
The unfortunate turn of events for QCCF, nonetheless opened up a spot for the teams like Timberwolf CrossFit, which started the day outside of the top 5 overall.
 
Timberwolf had already gotten off to an aggressive start, with its lead woman dismounting the GHD first and reaching the rings ahead of the rest. Though Timberwolf had the initial lead, it shifted once Grandview got to the rings. As Timberwolf took the muscle-ups down in sets of 2, Grandview churned through 3 or more. 
 
“Us girls wanted to … fuckin’ go, and they did, they tore it up,” said Grandview’s Kyri-Ann Gold. “It was nice to be in the middle of the pack; we've been on the outside the last few days.”
 
Grandview kept a 10-rep lead over Mayhem through the 135-lb. hang power cleans, but the tables turned once the teams’ men reached the rings. Froning caught up with and passed Grandview with his large sets of muscle-ups. 
 
By the time Mayhem’s men reached the 205-lb. barbell, they had a good 10-rep lead over Grandview. Both teams handled the weight well, keeping a narrow stance while rebounding the barbell straight from their thighs into the next rep, but Mayhem was faster. 
 
When Froning, James Hobart, and Matt Hewett reached the finish mat at 16:26.8, they immediately pulled their teammates into a celebratory huddle.
 
27.9 seconds later, Grandview reached their mat to claim second in the event, and fifth overall. 
 
“We’re not celebrating yet,” Gold of CrossFit Grandview said. “We are fighting for that last event.” 
 
Team Event 6 Results 
1. CrossFit Mayhem Freedom (16:26.8 -- event record)
2. CrossFit Grandview (16:54.7)
3. CrossFit Maximus (17:55.7)
4. On Track (18:17.2)
5. Timberwolf CrossFit (19:12.2)
 
Six-packs were on full display in the team finale, which required each of the six teammates to chip through a 30-calorie row (while their partner holds the top of a deadlift), 30 strict handstand-push-ups (while their partner holds a handstand), 30 toes-to-bars (while their partner hangs from the pull-up bar) and a 50-foot overhead weighted walking lunge. 
 
While teammates had to do the same amount of work, each athlete bore a different share of the responsibility. Since teammates depended on the athlete in front of them, and supported the athlete behind them, the dynamic was the same for the middle four teammates but different for the leader and the person bringing up the rear. The leader depended on no one when completing their reps, yet still had to support the second athlete. The final athlete depended on the fifth athlete, but supported no one. 
 
Consequently, teamwork and strategy were key, and the lead often changed as different athletes took the floor.  
 
At the beginning of the event, Koda CrossFit and CrossFit Kilo contested the lead, with the two teams sending their leading men to the 315-lb. barbells first. But once the leading teams reached the strict handstand push-ups, fortunes shifted and Mayhem briefly took over. 
 
Later, though, Mayhem’s female teammate would fall behind on the handstand push-ups allowing On Track to make its move. Though On Track trailed at the start of the event, its first and middle athletes moving through the handstand push-ups slowly, its final athletes picked up the pace. By the time Mayhem had its final athlete on the toes-to-bars, On Track’s final two athletes were ready to lunge. 
 
Froning tried to make up for lost time, lunging with no pause between reps, but On Track was already an athlete ahead. 
 
Like Individual Event 3, Team Event 7 was designed such that few teams anywhere in the world have finished it within the 20-minute time cap. For most teams, it’s a race to complete as many reps as possible.
 
Yet the fans at the Central Regional got to see how it’s done when On Track raced all six teammates through the event in 19:41.4. 
 
“It felt fantastic. It felt like the end of an amazing weekend,” On Track’s Brian Stites said of the event win. 
 
Eighteen seconds later, the buzzer rang out halting the final heat of teams. Mayhem had completed the most work out of any team remaining, with 20 reps left to go. 
 
On Track had been climbing up the leaderboard all weekend ever since its 30th-place finish on the partner deadlifts and synchronized chest-to-bar pull-ups of Team Event 1. Entering the final day in eighth place overall, there was room for hope but even an event win wasn’t enough to push them into the top five. Still, Stites said the team was happy with sixth.
 
“It feels like an honor to be where we’re at with these great athletes,” Stites said. “We were rooting for every other team and we love the people that are here; we love the other athletes and we’re just super happy for them.” 
 
Event 7 Results 
1. On Track (19:41.4)
2. CrossFit Mayhem Freedom (cap+20)
3. CrossFit NapTown (cap+101)
4. CrossFit Kilo (cap+106)
5. CrossFit Grandview (cap+108)
 
CrossFit Games Qualifiers
1. CrossFit Mayhem Freedom (600 points)
2. CrossFit 417 (585 points)
3. CrossFit Maximus (574 points)
4. CrossFit Kilo (559 points)
5. CrossFit Grandview (550 points)