Masters and Teens Are Crowned

Teenagers

It’s been two years since Angelo DiCicco’s seen the view from the top of the podium, and he says it still feels just as sweet.

“It’s kind of an old and new feeling,” said DiCicco, the winner of the Boys 16-17 Division, who returns to the podium after winning the 14-15 Division in 2015 and taking third in the older age group last year.

“But you don’t remember it … it feels kind of cool and after that it’s back to normal,” he continued, after sealing the top spot with an event win in Final Couplet, his fourth win of the week.

Guilherme Malheiros, Angelo DiCicco and Cole Greashaber

In a fitting display of dominance—he trains at CrossFit Mayhem, home of four-time CrossFit Games champion, Rich Froning—DiCicco earned the gold with four event wins and eight top-three finishes, ending the competition with a 106-point lead over Guilherme Malheiros, who took second.

He gave a nod to the Mayhem crew for teaching him the focus of a champion; little did he know he was a similar source of inspiration for Dallin Pepper, the rookie champion of the Boys 14-15 Division.

“I saw the Games in 2015; saw Angelo DiCicco and Nick Paladino (the 2015 and 2016 Boys 16-17 champion) and I’m like, ‘Man that's cool,’” Pepper recalled.

The competitive baseball player—Pepper plays catcher—started CrossFit in January of 2016, and now, just a year and a half later, he matched DiCicco’s event win tally of four to win the 14-15 Division. Pepper earned his first CrossFit Games championship with 68 points more than Amir Fahmy, who took silver.

“It's a dream come true, and just knowing that hard work will always pay off is super cool,” Pepper said.

While the Girls 14-15 Division saw three new podium names—Chloe Smith, Devyn Kim and Ellie Kerstetter each took home medals—the 16-17 Division sported a familiar look: Its top two finishers—Kaela Stephano and Haley Adams—finished in the exact same positions last year in the 14-15 Division.

“It feels amazing. I just can’t believe it,” Stephano said after clinching gold.

Haley Adams, Kaela Stephano and Filippa Ferm

Nothing was sure until after the final. The pair had flip-flopped the lead for the previous five events, entering Final Couplet with just 8 points between them, Adams in first.

Back-to-back wins in the two couplets that comprised the finale tipped the scales toward Stephano, who finished on top.

“I told myself, ‘Listen, this is where you need to be because you need to push yourself—you need to earn that first-place spot,” she said.

FINAL RESULTS

Girls 14-15

Chloe Smith
Devyn Kim
Ellie Kerstetter

Boys 14-15

Dallin Pepper
Amir Fahmy
Reece Mitchell

Girls 16-17

Kaela Stephano
Haley Adams
Filippa Ferm

Boys 16-17

Angelo Dicicco
Guilherme Malheiros
Cole Greashaber

MASTERS

In its inaugural year, the Masters 35-39 Leaderboard read like an old favorite, with past CrossFit Games individual veterans Kyle Kasperbauer, Neal Maddox, Chris Spealler and Rebecca Voigt all taking podium spots.

Kasperbauer, a four-time individual CrossFit Games athlete, won his gold with authority, holding a podium spot all week and finishing with 86 points more than six-time individual athlete Maddox in second.

Spealler, a seven-time individual CrossFit Games veteran, seemed to earn the bronze almost accidentally, having entered the week with no intention other than to have fun.

Neal Maddox, Kyle Kasperbauer and Chris Spealler

Voigt—whose nine individual CrossFit Games appearances are matched only by Ben Smith, who makes his ninth appearance this year—finished her first CrossFit Games masters appearance in third.

“It was definitely a roller coaster of emotion,” she said moments after finishing the final event. “I didn't realize the level of competition that I was going up against, and I definitely was impressed and surprised.”

Voigt said she enjoyed the opportunity to make new friends among a new field of competitors, adding that she plans on continuing to train and compete with the same zeal as ever.

“I’m definitely not done,” she said as she walked off the floor. “I’m gonna go into the (2018) Open full force and see how everything kind of plays out.”

Joey Kimdon, Stephanie Roy and Rebecca Voigt

Fans heard several more familiar names read out at the Masters Awards Ceremony on Sunday afternoon, with repeat champions from five divisions: Helen Harding (Women 40-44), Shawn Ramirez (Men 40-44), Cheryl Brost (Women 45-49) and David Hippensteel (Men 60+) reprised their 2016 championship roles with 2017 gold, and Susan Clarke (Women 55-59) reclaimed her 2015 top spot after a year off in 2016.

For Ramirez, the victory—his fourth consecutive—was also a record for the most masters CrossFit Games championships. It’s a record that almost wasn’t, as Ramirez entered the final two events, two couplets spaced 2 minutes apart, in second place, 52 points behind the leader, Robbie Perovich.

The positioning forced Ramirez to abandon his usual strategy.

“A lot of times I try to game things and look at other people and try to see what I can do to attack the guys that are gonna be strong in some events,” he said. “This time I was like, ‘Just do you.’”

Back-to-back wins in the two couplets put Ramirez on top for the first time all week.

“This year was the biggest fight I've ever had,” he said. “I've always finished every day in first place, so this was me just crawling and fighting and inching my way back, and it feels better than any other victory.”

Kevin Koester (Men 50-54), Josée Sarda (Women 50-54) and Shannon Aiken (Men 55-59) earned championships in their rookie CrossFit Games masters years.