South West Team Report: Day 2

May 31, 2014

Mandi Lo, with Priscilla Tallman and Ivory Carr

Day 2 was all about strategy and endurance for South West Teams.

While Day 1’s events highlighted team skills and strength, Day 2’s events showcased strategy and endurance. Points separating top teams were minimal at the end of Day 1, but teams worked hard to close the gaps today, proving that tomorrow there will be no room for error. 

Team Events 4 and 5

With heavy thrusters and 14-foot rope climbs, transitions and strategy were key for these two events. Teams who were efficient in moving the bar from one athlete to the next, or had athletes who could do more than one rope climb in a row eventually took the lead in each heat.

CrossFit Verve pulled ahead early in Heat 1 but CrossFit Roots was able to take the lead as Verve slowed down on their second set of rope climbs. Roots quickly widened the gap and their impressive time of 17:58 earned them second place in the event overall.

A dropped bar on thrusters brought your rep count back to zero, setting teams at a deficit and narrowing the margin to finish in the top spot. CrossFit Works in Heat 3 made this costly mistake and was the only women’s team to not finish under the 10-minute time cap.

The Salt Lake City women took the lead right away in Heat 3 and were the first to the rope climbs. BackCountry Black, the new team created by former Front Range CrossFit superstars Chris Dozois and Becky Conzelman, fought back to catch up in the second set of thrusters, and as Salt Lake City slowed their pace a notch, BackCountry Black sped up and widened the gap.

Close behind the two leaders was CrossFit The Club, which finished regionals last year in fourth place and is hungry for a spot to the Games. In the last set of thrusters, the women moved fast and efficiently, bypassing Salt Lake City and getting to their rope first. Salt Lake City finished the event closely behind them.

The crowd was on its feet and cheering as the men started their thrusters in Event 6. Each team finished thrusters within seconds of each other, but Bomb Squad was the first to get on the ropes. Determined not to lose the lead the women had given them, the men of BackCountry fought to catch up.

“That workout is about eliminating transitions, which made you considerably faster,” Dozois said.

Teammate David Foster added: “The team adjusted on the fly. If one member gets no-repped or is feeling fatigued, then another teammate picks up for them. That was crucial to win this workout.”

Team Bomb Squad knew they had strong male and female athletes so it all came down to transitions and speed.

“We just had to go blind freakin’ fast,” teammate Josh MacDonald said.

In the last minutes before the event, they had to adjust their thruster reps due to teammate Kyle Taylor working through a calf injury that he sustained in yesterday’s snatch event, which gave BackCountry the lead to finish in their heat.

Event 4 Results
1. Back Country Black (8:37)
2. CrossFit the Club (9:20)
3. Bomb Squad (9:23)

Event 5 Results:
1. Back Country Black (7:47)
2. Roots (7:58)
3. Bomb Squad (8:09)

Team Event 6

Event 6 shuffled the team Leaderboard.

The bigger athletes from yesterday’s events seemed to struggle with the 9-6-3 rep scheme of strict handstand push-ups, cleans and burpees in an event that was designed to be a sprint relay.

CrossFit The Club stayed steady and calm as the men finished their reps, but it was the female athletes that crushed this event leading to a new event record. Ex-gymnast Sheena Hammer was the first woman to the wall and made quick work for her teammates, Masters Qualifier Chris Perrins and team anchor Autumn Hawkins. With the roar of the crowd behind her, Hawkins blasted through her reps putting her team at 15:58 and landing them a third-place spot on the Leaderboard.

“I tried to block it out of my mind, but I could hear,” said Hawkins who said she knew that they were in the ballpark of breaking the record.

BlackCountry Black finished four minutes behind them to get second overall, securing their top spot on the Leaderboard over East Valley CrossFit.

CrossFit Roots climbed the Leaderboard quickly with solid performances today, taking fifth place in Event 4 and second place in both Events 5 and 6.

Event 5 Results
1. CrossFit the Club (15:58) - Event Record
2. Roots (19:23)
3. Back Country Black (19:58)

Overall Standings
1. BackCountry Black
2. East Valley CrossFit
3. CrossFit the Club
4. Bomb Squad
5. Roots
6. RedRocks CrossFit
7. NoCoast CrossFit
8. CrossFit Verve
9. Ute CrossFit
10. Salt Lake City CrossFit