"This year ... everyone performed in every event and it was just beautiful."
Going into the South Central Regional, team CrossFit Dallas Central was prepared to fight for a third-place finish. With CrossFit Central lining their roster with Games veterans like Jeremy Thiel and Carey Kepler, and Bayou City arriving with an equally strong lineup, Dallas Central and its coaches expected the fight of the weekend to be between themselves and others vying to round out the podium.
All three teams, however, and a crowd full of spectators would be stunned as CrossFit Dallas Central would dominate the competition and turn the tables on everyone.
“Over the last two years, our team has had such great potential, but never really lived up to it,” team coach Chase Ingraham says. “Last year, we had trouble in two workouts and then had to fight our way back just to get third place. This year though, everyone performed in every event and it was just beautiful. The way they came together in such a short amount of time was the most amazing part of it all. It was really just unbelievable. I couldn’t have expected that honestly. Not to shortcut what they did, or how well we thought they would do, but it was fun to watch and we couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Among the impressive moments over the weekend for the team was their performance in the Snatch Ladder event. Following the Olympic lifting workout, Dallas Central held strong in first and CrossFit Central and Bayou City CrossFit found themselves vying for second. “Going into the Snatch Ladder, we had won two events – the second and third,” Ingraham says. “What was most surprising was just how well every individual came through. Everyone met or matched their PR, and every guy PR’d that day. Going into that fifth workout, we were just kind of unsure. We still felt like anything could happen, but the girls killed it. It was PRs across the board. It was so amazing to see them as a group, to see them as a real team cheering each other on at every station. To watch them do that on their own was incredible.”
Since the impressive first-place finish at Regionals, the team has been focused and committed to going all the way at the Games. Their training has become more individually focused as the coaches prepare to select a team whose strengths will help propel the team to winning in Carson.
“Winning the Games has always been a goal ever since we started a team three years ago,” Ingraham explains. “If you’re not going there to win, why are you going? It’s really no longer buddy team competition - this is the sport. The real deal. We’re going to the world championships. This is an opportunity to do something spectacular.”
Ingrham says the team will be ready for anything the programming has to offer. “I’m really curious to see what happens and I just can’t stress how excited I am to compete against the best teams out there. Such a great opportunity that not many people ever get. This team is so great and they are going to do great things. I couldn’t make this team. I’ll tell you straight up right now. That’s the craziest part. We don’t have a single coach that could. That’s a pretty good sign of how far they’ve come in the last four weeks. I can’t wait for the Games. I hope Castro does something insane, because we will be prepared.”
