Regional Report: Canada East Tackles The Snatch Ladder

May 13, 2012

Kate Rose

Snatch ladder causes several changes in the overall Leaderboard.


The morning of the final day of the Canada East Regional was slightly quieter than Day 2, on account of an early start and Mother’s Day. But the spirit of the day was not absent – Dylan Weller proudly displayed a bare painted chest, “Love U Mom”, for the crowd to see. The crowd that was on hand witnessed a fantastic Event 5, which caused several changes to the overall Leaderboard.

The event was a slower pace than that of the craziness of yesterday’s CrossFit playground, but the activity kept everyone in the International Center on the edge of their seats. On the women’s side of the team event, Rachel Leblanc-Bazinet put on a show. Her teammates were with her until the 130lb. snatch, and she even had company at 135lb. She would take three more steps on her own. So close to her two attempts at 150lb, she was able to lock out at 145, a 15lb PR. She was the only female to move beyond 140lb. successfully. Other notable performances were by CrossFit Connections Laura Muddiman who hit a PR at 135, as did Raquel Rodriguez. Stephanic Gowonlot, with only three months of CrossFit experience, managed to make it to the 115lb. step.

On the men’s side, there were amazing efforts from Chad Hill of CrossFit Cambridge, who successfully reached the 235lb. snatch. Everett Sloan of CrossFit O-town hit a PR by 40lb; his artificial knee holding up just fine. Tyler Belanger upped his PR by 10lb., getting 215lb. Pascal Ballargeon of CrossFit Brossard got the furthest along the ladder, reaching 145lb. The men’s team event was topped by a CrossFit Canadian Team record. Paul Tremblay of Team Lusine Ottawa, encouraged by the crowd, successfully completed a 255lb. snatch.

After the results of the two heats were tallied, CrossFit Brossard came out on top, with a final score of 1005lbs. lifted. Lusine CrossFit placed second, 10lbs. back. Reebok CrossFit FirePower totaled in at 945lbs. CrossFit Select came 4th, and with that result, overtook Usine CrossFit Ottawa for the leader position in the overall standings.

For the individual heats, the double-unders buy in added the pressure of time to the ladder. Lacy Van Der Marel would make it to 145lb., as would a satisfied Kendra Johnson. But the big show, once again, was between Camille Leblanc-Bazinet and Michele Letendre. Both ladies moved down the floor, reaching the 165lb. marker. Each dropped the 165lb. bar, but ending on the 160 marker was far from a disappointment for Letendre, who PR’d by 5lbs. Starting with squat snatches, Letendre loved the design of the workout. “The WOD was fun – I loved it!” she says.

She prepped with lots of skill work, and it paid off for her.  Deciding to hit the double-unders before her second attempt at 165lb., Letendre drove up her score. Leblanc-Bazinet, after failing on her first attempt, went back to the bar for the win. A risky strategy, and in the end, Letendre, satisfied with her PR, won the event. .

At the end of Event 4, Michele Letendre leads the overall standings, and Leblanc-Bazinet is in 2nd. Kendra Johnsen now sits in 3rd.

The men’s heat had some surprises. Jonathan Reid, of CrossFit Islander, was one of the few men to make it to the 225lb. step, and chose to hammer out double- unders after he failed on the 235lb. snatch. Tommy Snarr and Matthew Lefave also reached the 225lb. marker. Kyle Charbonneau won the event with a 235lb. snatch. While some athletes grew tired from the double-unders, Charbonneau liked their inclusion. “They were a good warm up for the snatch,” he said.

Charbonneau won the event, with Reid in 2nd. Matthew Lefave took 3rd.

At the midday point, the top 12 teams, and the top 18 male and female athletes are prepping for the sixth and final workout. Each event has contained some element of surprise, resulting in some interesting changes to the overall Leaderboard. A few of the races are close enough that there is no reason for the final workout to be any different.