Regional Report: North West Snatch Ladder Shows New Names

May 27, 2012

Robin Runyan, Carla Conrad and Wendy Wilson

The Snatch Ladder was disappoint for some and PRs for others in the North West.

The blue skies were shrouded by typical Pacific Northwest cloud cover on this final day of North West Regionals. After two days of intense competition, Sunday kicked off with the Olympic lifting challenge Snatch Ladder for the teams, which was then paired with double-unders for the individual athletes. 

The arena floor had three rows of barbells on black mats with red cards that depicted the weights on the bars. Athletes lined up under the pull-up racks and filed in one by one to attack the first weight and move up the ladder. The female team members hit the floor first, followed by the individual women. When they were done, the male team members went at the bars, followed by the individual men. 
 
This event meant everything to the athletes as it narrowed the field down to 12 teams and 18 individuals going into Event 6.
 
Teams
 
It was a quiet, methodical start to Event 5 for the female team athletes as they began the climb up the Snatch Ladder. The crowd did not keep it silent as the women stepped into the first station. The first team to break past the 105 was CrossFit Whidbey Island, advancing a single member as far as 145 cleanly, stopping at 150.  TheLAB Eastlake CrossFit was the first team to move multiple members forward.
 
CrossFit Spokane’s Abigail Ranki was the first woman to take it past 150, dropping out unable to lift 155, with the crowd in full support of her attempts. The first women’s team to move through the ladder intact was CrossFit Coeur D’Alene. The 150-pound station eliminated two members and the final member at 155.
 
For many of the women advancing to the heavy weight, the 150-pound station was the defining load for them as most could not move past it. An example is CrossFit Fort Vancouver’s women, currently tied for first place, which completed 145 pounds with a single member, but exited at 150.
 
The three-member men’s teams came to the floor, with the crowd at full throttle for the event. The first team to begin was Kirkland CrossFit, who tapped out at 245 pounds. Mt. Baker CrossFit made it to 195 pounds with all three members intact, exiting together at 205 pounds. For the men, 245 pounds was consistently where the remaining team representatives were eliminated, beginning with Salem WOD Crushers and Team BCF.
 
The breakout occurred when Cascade CrossFit’s Nick Rocco kept the climb going at 255, then 265 and with the crowd level at its loudest. The weight that took him out was 275 pounds – but 265 pounds was a 20-pound PR for him. The final athlete on the floor was Ben Stoneberg of CrossFit Intensify at 245 pounds.
 
Team Event 5 Results
1. CrossFit Coeur d’Alene: 1,030 
2T. CrossFit Fort Vancouver: 1,020
2T. CrossFit Intensify: 1,020
 
Overall Standings
1T. CrossFit Fort Vancouver (10 points)
1T. CrossFit Intensify (10 points)
3. CrossFit Coeur d’Alene (26 points)
 
Women
 
After the women of the teams climbed the snatch ladder, the individual women lined up under the racks and, one by one, made their way onto the floor. When the timer went off, the first woman – Allison Carley of CrossFit Hillsboro – began with her 20 double-unders and then grabbed the barbell, setting up and nailing the 105-pound snatch. The competition was underway.
 
Most of the women hefted the 105- and 115-pound bars overhead, failing at 125 and 130 pounds. But Andrea Roozen of CrossFit Pearl District and Karen McCadam of CrossFit Hood River really kicked up the excitement when they jumped under the 130-pound bars, failing at 135 pounds and opting to rack up points with double-unders.
 
The crowd cheered as Jenna Dodge of Bridger CrossFit, and Tracy Nagai of CrossFit Amped snatched up the ladder, nailing 135 pounds each and failing at 140 pounds. Molly Hunsinger of CrossFit Industrious pulled 140 pounds overhead, but couldn’t hold onto the 145 bar; she ended in third place overall.
 
And then, the top four women hit the floor. The crowd anticipated big lifts from Allison King of Kirkland CrossFit and unaffiliated Alexandra Seal, both experienced weightlifters with PRs of 145 and 155 pounds, respectively. King made it to 145 pounds, failing after several attempts at 150 pounds. Despite pulling with all her strength, Seal couldn’t hit her personal best, failing at 140 pounds.
 
Top woman Cheryl Brost of Eugene CrossFit, with a personal record of 133 pounds, topped her best by 2 pounds, nailing 135, but failing at 140. With a personal best of 155 pounds, Samantha Petersen of CrossFit Whidbey Island kept up with King’s climb, successfully jumping under the 145-pound bar, but failing at 150. She was the last woman to leave the floor.
 
In the end, King topped the snatch ladder, followed by Petersen in second place, Hunsinger in third, and Seal in fourth. Going into the final event of the weekend, Brost still leads the women with 17 points, with Petersen only 1 point behind at 18 points. Seal remains in third place with 31 points.
 
Women Event 5 Results
1. Allison King: 145.06 
2. Samantha Petersen: 145.00
3. Molly Hunsinger: 140.05
 
Overall Standings
1. Cheryl Brost (17 points)
2. Samantha Petersen (18 points)
3. Alexandra Seal (31 points)
 
Men
 
After the men put on an impressive show in team Event 5, the crowd at the Americraft Showplex was ready for the individual men to show their strength and skill in the snatch ladder. 
 
Eight men successfully snatched 225, including Open leader Kevin Simons. Simons, a former gymnast with a lifting background, was disappointed with his score. His snatch PR is 255 and he hoped to reach that today, but after this weekend’s onslaught of workouts, his legs were gassed. He kept perfect form throughout each snatch but failed to stand after getting under the 235-pound bar, ending with a score of 225.04.
 
Bryan Miller from Beaverton CrossFit got the crowd going by becoming the first man to successfully snatch 235 pounds. He attempted 255 but couldn’t control it, ending with the top score of the event with 245.31.
 
Yurii Hanson, third going into the event, finished third in the snatch ladder with 235.18. 
 
The leader going into the event, Austin Stack was the last man standing on the floor. He ended the event at 235.31 with the crowd cheering him on. A PR for him would have been 245 pounds – and he wanted it – but after seeing how everyone else finished, he figured he was in a good position and finished with doubles. 
 
After the event, he feels great.  “How could it not with the crowd behind us? It helps with the pain,” he said
 
Stack remains the overall leader with 20 points. Yurii Hanson now sits in second with 27, while Kevin Simons now sits in third with 32 points. 
 
Men’s Event 5
1. Bryan Miller: 245.31
2. Austin Stack: 235.31
3. Yurii Hanson: 235.18
 
Overall Standings
1. Austin Stack (20 points)
2. Yurii Hanson (27 points)
3. Kevin Simons (32 points)
 

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