As it turns out, Sara Sigmundsdottir is just as fit this side of the Atlantic.
The two-time CrossFit Games bronze medalist won the 2015 and 2016 Meridian Regionals, and she settled for no less in the Central. Her win came courtesy of three event wins—including an event record in Event 6—and no finish below fourth.
“It’s awesome. All the girls are so amazing,” she said of her new fellow Regional competitors. “Feel(s) like home.”
While she dominated all weekend, leaving little doubt as to her qualification, the rest of the spots weren’t so locked down. With eight previous Games athletes and just five Games spots, everything hinged on the final event. Before Event 6, just eight points separated two-time CrossFit Games athletes Brooke Wells and Sheila Barden, in fifth and sixth, respectively.
“I just need to have fun and stick to my game plan,” Barden said before the event. “If I’m not having fun, I’m not going to finish well. I’m going to push my body to that pain cave.”
Push though she did, Wells had finished a handful of sandbag cleans before Barden even touched hers. Barden could not close the gap, and left the Music City Center in eighth overall.
Though Sigmundsdottir awed the crowd with a smoldering Event 6 pace—her time of 3:26.92 was almost 31 seconds faster than the previous record set by Katrin Davidsdottir in the East— and her overall dominance, Kristi Eramo proved she’d leveled up over the past year.
Eramo earned her first trip to the Games last year with a fifth-place Regional finish. This year, consistent top finishes—including a win in Event 5—boosted her to second overall, a true podium spot.
“I worked a lot on my mental game,” she said after the qualifiers were announced, noting that she’s spent the past year practicing visualization techniques.
Still, there were more Games veterans at the Central Regional than Games spots available. Fans will have to endure the CrossFit Games without veterans Kelley Jackson (7th), Barden (8th) and Jennifer Smith (11th).
MEN
R. Paul Castillo won Event 1—and then we forgot about him. This was only his second Regional, and the Leaderboard tends to move on Day 2. Besides, Central fans had other things to worry about.
On Saturday morning five-time Games veteran Dan Bailey—returned to the Central after three years in California—withdrew from competition due to injury.
For most of Day 2, less familiar names occupied the Leaderboard’s top spots. Scott Panchik, a five-time CrossFit Games veteran who has won the Central Regional for the past two years, was strangely absent from his usual place on top until after Event 5.
That’s when Castillo made his move as well.
Though the winning Event 6 time went to Sam Dancer out of Heat 2—after taking 18th this weekend, Dancer is another beloved fan favorite who won’t return to the Games in 2017—Castillo’s second-place finish rocketed him straight back to where he started the weekend: first.
“I’m fucking—er, sorry—I’m so pumped,” Castillo said after the final event. “I’m so happy right now. It’s been a goal for the past couple years, and I’m just happy I made it.”
His second-place event finish was a heat win, stolen from the grasp of Alex Anderson, who was sitting on the bubble in 6th, tied for points with Luke Schafer in 5th.
Anderson took the early lead, drawing shrieks from the crowd as he sprinted from the bike to the boxes after just 26 seconds.
“I knew I had to go as hard as I could,” Anderson said after the event.
Though he could not maintain the pace he began with, his fourth-place finish was good enough to bump him into fourth overall, a qualifying spot with room to spare. This year will mark his third straight trip to the CrossFit Games.
TEAMS
CrossFit Mayhem won both the Central Regional and the CrossFit Games for the past two years. After winning its third consecutive Regional this morning, you might wonder if victory ever gets stale.
“Never,” said Rich Froning, the four-time CrossFit Games individual champion turned champion team leader. “We enjoy it.”
The team opened the weekend with back-to-back event wins and an event record in Event 1, finishing the male/female-paired relay of running, strict handstand push-ups and dumbbell snatches in 14:33.51, almost 33 seconds faster than Salt Lake City CrossFit had done it last week in the South.
Second- and third-place finishes in the next two events kept CrossFit Mayhem in the overall lead on Day 2, and after its worst finish in Event 5—worst is a relative term here—a 15-point berth divided the team from CrossFit 417, in second.
With little doubt CrossFit Mayhem would qualify if not win outright, the question before the final event was twofold: Would CrossFit Mayhem suffer an upset, and with the second through sixth spots separated by just 73 points, who would take the rest of the spots?
CrossFit 417, OC3 Black, Timberwolf CrossFit and Maximus had played musical chairs all weekend, all staying within grasp of qualification but swapping the color of their medals with each event.
The Worms hit the floor with a smack like wet mud. Though Timberwolf CrossFit took the early lead with fast touch-and-go reps, it was OC3 Black and CrossFit Mayhem that chose a pace they could maintain. OC3 Black took the win to lock up third overall; CrossFit Mayhem’s second-place finish kept its overall lead in tact.
When the points were tallied, the final Leaderboard bore a remarkable resemblance to its 2016 iteration, with the same top four teams finishing in exactly the same order.
MEN
- R. Paul Castillo (473)
- Streat Hoerner (473)
- Scott Panchik (462)
- Alex Anderson (461)
- Zak Carchedi (459)
WOMEN
- Sara Sigmundsdottir (565)
- Kristi Eramo (510)
- Stacie Tovar (480)
- Brooke Wells (472)
- Jessica Griffith (451)
TEAMS
- CrossFit Mayhem (565)
- CrossFit 417 (545)
- OC3 Black (535)
- Timberwolf CrossFit (502)
- Maximus (491)
For complete details, visit the Leaderboard.
