Regional Report: North East Takes on Snatch Ladder

May 27, 2012

Keka Schermerhorn

To start Day 3, athletes faced the most technical Olympic lift and aimed for PRs.

Under sunny skies with a light breeze at Rebook International Headquarters in Canton, Mass., competitors at the North East Regional took on the first workout of the final day.

After two days of grueling competition, athletes faced the most technical Olympic lift and aimed for PRs to make the cut for Event 6.

Men

Going into Day 3, Spencer Hendel says he wanted to complete the snatch ladder.

Although he didn’t, he was the only male competitor to successfully snatch 265 pounds.

“I came in with the goal of winning this event. The double-unders were like a bee sting before each lift,” he explains. “I was just trying to get them done. I have a game plan for Event 6. I’m going to stick to it and see what happens.”

Leader Daniel Tyminski and Hendel both got off their barbells after missed attempts — Hendel at 275 pounds and Tyminski at 245 pounds. While Hendel had a second go at the barbell, Tyminski chose to attack the double-unders for some extra points.

Austin Malleolo topped out at 245 pounds. Like Tyminski, he wasted no time getting back on the rope and knocking out extra double-unders.

As the final event was starting, the top four men on the Leaderboard were separated by four points.

After Event 5, the top three men overall are Tyminski, Malleolo and David Charbonneau.

Women

No female athlete got past the 150-pound snatch in Event 5.

Megin Oczkowski, the first female athlete to successfully snatch 145 pounds, tied her previous PR.

“The 150 was hard, especially coming from four WODs in the past two days,” she says. “My hams are fried. I had a good pull but was way too far back in my heels to stabilize it.”

Jenny Davis also topped out at 140 pounds. After a failed attempt at 145, she got back on the rope for extra double-unders.

Bethany Hart snatched 150 pounds after a couple of attempts.

After Event 5, the top three women overall are Davis, Hart and Jessa Lemoine.

Team

Event 5 is unique for the teams not only because the men and women compete separately, but also because the event determines the top 12 teams continuing on to the final event.

Shannon Morris of Hybrid Athletics snatched 155 pounds, helping her team earn a spot in Event 6.

“I hadn’t done a (one-rep max) snatch in over a year,” Morris says. “I had gone 17 rounds at 155 pounds, so I knew I could get that weight up, but the crowd helped.”

Caleb Diebolt of Reebok CrossFit One snatched 255 pounds, a 25-pound PR. But the lift wasn’t enough to earn the team a spot in Event 6.

“The whole team hit PRs in this workout,” Diebolt says. “We have been drilling these snatches in the last month and it has really paid off.”

CrossFit Southie and Champlain Valley CrossFit also topped out at 255.

After Event 5, the top three teams overall are CrossFit New England, CrossFit Southie and CrossFit Milford.