Week Three in Review: South West

March 12, 2012

Neal Leitereg

We are now on the home stretch.

Tiffany Hendrickson and Nick Zambruno sealed 1st on 12.3 with nearly 13 and 14 rounds each.
 

The third week of the Open competition came and went over the weekend, meaning we are now on the home stretch, sprinting toward the South West Regional with just two more weeks of staging.

Once again, the latest round, namely, 12.3 – box jumps, push press, and toes-to-bar, have resulted in shakeups across the various Leaderboards. A number of projected “top athletes” have begun to make their final push up the ladder, while other dark horse candidates seek to make things difficult and to carve out a spot of their own.

Here is a rundown of the Open action from Week 3.

WOMEN

After a strong Week 2 in which she cracked the top three competitors in the individual women's bracket, former collegiate gymnast and Wasatch CrossFit trainer Tiffany Hendrickson led the way in Week 3, topping out with a combined 460 reps over the weekend.

Her performance, which saw Hendrickson lock down the 2nd overall spot on the Leaderboard, caused a minor ripple among the top three competitors overall in the South West, with previous leader, Becky Conzelman (376 reps), dropping to 3rd overall, while 17-year-old Colleen Maher (413 reps) took over the top overall spot in the Region.

CrossFit Venture's Natalie McLain, who had the second-most reps over the weekend with 452, remained 4th overall in the South West, while a 4th-place finish in Week 3 by CrossFit Broadway's Juli Bauer, who had 418 reps, saw her jump ahead of CrossFit Now's Amanda DeRosa and into the top five.

DeRosa, Emmalee Moore, Jasmine Dever, Beth Guse and Cherie Chan round out the overall field of 10 as we head into Week 4.

Put It Up CrossFit's Nicole Ochsenhirt, who did not participate in workouts in Week 2, managed the third-best total in Week 3 with 447 reps, followed by CrossFit Scottsdale's Melissa Einbinder (426) and Bauer (418).

Other major gainers over the weekend include former collegiate swimmer and Urban Warfit CrossFitter, Hannah Caldas, who had the eighth-most reps with 406 to move into the 16th spot in the region, along with “strong is beautiful” believer of CrossFit Draper, Hillari Eaton, who ranks right behind Caldas after registering 401 reps.

MEN

Unlike the women's bracket, the individual men's Leaderboard
returned all but one of its top three athletes after Week 3. Previous No. 1, Matt Chan of CrossFit Verve, dropped all the way to 6th in the Region after managing just 375 reps.

Chan was not the only top athlete to drop out of the top three, as Week 2 star and Urban Warfit CrossFit beast, Rob Pyfer, took a major tumble, dropping from 2nd overall in the region to out of the top 100 after managing just 267 reps in Week 3.

Nick 'Neo Lights Up' Zambruno, who trains under coach Luke Kayyem at CrossFit Scottsdale, led the way in Week 3 for the South West men with a whopping 503 reps to move from 8th to 5th overall. For comparison's sake, Zambruno's 503 reps were 34 better than second-best competitor, former Salt Lake Marathon winner and Ute CrossFitter Michael Cazayoux (469), and 73 better than our new leader in the region, Zach Forrest (430) of CrossFit Max Effort.

Taking advantage of the shakeup across the men's Leaderboard in the South West were CrossFit Park City's Chris Spealler and CrossFit Modig's Geoff Turner, who registered the third (459) and fifth (448) number of reps, respectively. Their performances pushed Spealler to 2nd in the Region, while Turner now occupies the 3rd place.

Copper Mountain's Adam Piccari, who knows all about how humbling the fitness experience can be, had the fourth-most reps with 452. Once thought to be the next John Bonham, Piccari turned to the sport after his hopes of being a professional musician were dashed; he has persevered through the rigors and trials of CrossFit to emerge as a dark horse contender in 2012. He now ranks 10th overall in the South West Region following Week 3 action.

CrossFit Apollo athlete and apparent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aficionado, Chad Cole, made a major jump between Week 2 to Week 3, and could be cracking the top 10 in the not-to-distant future. Cole, a collegiate baseball player, who was introduced to CrossFit after his 50-year-old father bested him in a round of "Angie," rose from 25th to 14th overall after putting up 427 reps in 12.3.

TEAMS

While the men and women saw Leaderboard changes, it was business as usual for the top CrossFit teams in the South West region, with Front Range CrossFit (2,313), CrossFit Verve (2,231), Hacks Pack UTE (2,445) and CrossFit Park City (2,212) all remaining in the top one through four spots, respectively. 

There is, however, a new team occupying the 5th overall position – South Odgen outfit CrossFit The Club, which combined for 2,186 reps to jump from the 8th spot into the top five. The previous team to hold down the 5th spot, CrossFit SoCo, now sits in 12th place after achieving 1,953 reps over the weekend.

MBS CrossFit jumped up one spot to 6th in the South West after putting up 2,160 reps, while CrossFit RED (2,042), CrossFit Max Effort (2,112), Bomb Squad (2,272) and CrossFit Evolve (2,052) round out the top 10 teams in the region following the action from Week 3.