Contrary to many other shows, the fitness component for the show had a lot of good competitors although figure still seems to be stealing athletes from it. A total of 22 women were in the two height classes and it was the tall class winner, Trish Mayberry who took the overall.

In the short class, Sandie Ward swept the title. Coming from Little Rock, AR, home to several top fitness athletes, Ward showed strength in her press moves and had lots of energy on stage. Ward was followed by Jenni Allen who also showed good strength moves in her routine along with some impressive tumbling.

Ohio's Heather Dellinger, followed in third, with a nice physique, placing well in both physique rounds, but her 5th place routine pushed her down a bit. Tracy Traskos, with an alluring smile got 4th and Sidney Harris rounded out the top five. Harris, like Dellinger had a strong physique but her routine round scoring held her back.

Other notables included Dena DeMauro who had an excellent routine, and Debbie Ryan who also had a high-energy routine with lots of pop. Ryan's routine placed last though, for some reason and thus her final placement was in 12th place. There was some issue with music, and Ryan performed last (even after the tall class went) so this may have had something to do with it.

Mayberry won the tall class on the strength of her routine, while Melissa Babers finished in first in both the one and two-piece rounds. Babers looks a bit like IFBB Pro Linda McLaughlin, and as she continued to refine her routine, will continue to place high.

Salt Lake City's Kendra Monson was in second, and had a sparkling physique and catching smile. With perhaps the best stage presence in the group, Monson should be able to continue to make an impact at the national level.

Figure: Muscularity punished
In the figure competition, the more muscular competitors placed low, and a clear message seemed to be sent to the competitors: muscle and hardness is out. Many of the competitors are confused by this, with the pro fitness competitors looking harder and harder. Since figure is supposed to be (in simple terms) fitness without the routine round, then shouldn't the pro fitness physiques present the ideal that the women should strive for? Apparently not. And this has been the confusion with figure, since many of the softer and less muscular competitors have been placing well.

It seems that muscle is imperative in a physique competition, and definition is important to be able to see what is there. While the same level of conditioning that the bodybuilders achieve may not be necessary, a tight, lean and defined body should be presented on stage. It'll remain to be seen how the criteria evolves for figure, but there are quite a few competitors who are confused and many who are frustrated. Hopefully things will get cleared up soon (and hopefully they will reward the more muscled physiques!).

Since the physiques can speak for themselves, you can take a look at the shots online. And since many of you all have requested, we've included the score sheets at the bottom of the review, with the placings, which also notes the competitor numbers for reference.

A few of the more muscular competitors, in the short class were Christy Clausen and Jodi Miller. Clausen got 8th, but Miller tied for 16th with several others. Phoylin Vonghamchanh also had good muscle, and placed 13th.

In the tall class, Selma Reneman, Marlene Harden, Tara L. Hampton, Robin Rosche and Melissa Stevens all looked great. They all presented more muscular physiques and/or leaner conditioning. Hampton placed the highest of the group in 8th, while Reneman followed in 9th. Rosche was probably the most muscular, and tied for 16th. She also had a unique sporting eyes of differing colors, which added to her exotic look.

Bodybuilding: Muscle is in!
On the bodybuilding side of things, it was a competitive contest again, with a very strong Heavyweight class and strong class winners throughout.

The lightweight class was won by the very refined physique of Michelle Burdick. Following Burdick was Lynda Vaughn who had impressive lower body muscularity in the quads and calves, but a tad wider in the waist. Third went to Orlando, Florida's Ellen Woodley, who was chased by 54 year old Muriel Brewer. Brewer was very lean, but the softer, but well-polished physique of Ann Dana rounded out the top five. Dana had a very feminine package, and may be able to carry a bit more muscle, although she was already the heaviest in the class at 118 lbs.

It seems that the lightweight class cutoff might be a little low, as the middleweights and heavyweights both had 15 or more competitors, while there were only eight lightweights. The NPC might be wise to review the class cutoffs and perhaps increase the weights a bit.

In the middleweights, it was Texas' Terri Harris who easily took the class. With a very tight, lean package, Harris looked tough. Her routine was also the best of the evening until that point. Many of the lightweight class routines were not very exciting, and it was good that Harris got the crowd's attention back.

Second went to Janet Kaufman, who was nice and hard, and sported great mature muscle to compliment her full muscle bellies. Kaufman also displayed the best pecs in the class. Cheryl S. Overman followed Kaufman and took 3rd with a good balanced package. However, she wasn't hard enough to crack the top two.

Michelle Benson was 4th and was harder than Overman but it was very close and in the final tally, only a point separated the two. Dana Capobianco took 5th and may have been overlooked a bit since she was the last competitor out. With a nice upper body and good balance throughout, Capobianco probably deserved a higher placement.

Others in the class included Janine Moran who has a nice physique and just needed to be a bit harder while Debbie Patton displayed a balanced package, but may need to add a bit more muscle. Julia Stamper was very tight and placed just behind Patton, who was in 6th.

When it was time for the heavyweights to come out, the crowd was in for a surprise as some of the best physiques of the show were on display.

Since the group was broken up into two groups when they were brought out on stage, there was immediately two favorites from the crowd. In the first group it was 21-year-old Sarah Dunlap showing some tremendous muscle and definition. In the second group, it was Heather Policky who wowed the audience with her unreal quads, and had achieeved the balance to her physique that it had before lacked.

Also in the running was Sue Scheppele who was also ripped, and showed striated glutes. All three were huge, and Policky was the heaviest competitor at 173 lbs. In the final tally, the judges had straight firsts for Dunlap and she then proceeded to take the overall. However, the audience and many others thought that the judges erred, with Policky showing better lines and fuller muscle bellies.

At two times during the show, when Policky was posing, there was an audible gasp from those in attendance when Policky went from relaxed to flexed and tensed up her world-class quads. In all the events this reporter has been to, it was the first time that an entire audience gasped like that in unison, and the focused Policky was visibly pleased with the reaction. The muscle purists in the crowd were in favor of her physique, and when the results were announced, boos echoed out.

Scheppele was in incredible shape too, and received several second place votes from the judges. With thick muscles throughout, and in incredibly defined condition, she did very well, and if it were not for the incredibly sharp physiques in front of her, probably would have won the class.

In 4th was Alley Miesh-Nie who had the best routine of the night. With very nicely-shaped muscle, Miesh-Nie presented a very balanced package, but didn't have enough muscle to crack the top three. Audrey Peden took 5th, but did not look quite as sharp overall as 6th place finisher Andrea Cloward. Seventh place finisher Stefanie Schuler also, looked like she could have placed higher, with a very well-balanced presentation. With tighter legs, and a little more definition throughout, she should easily crack the top five in future competitions. Jennifer Abrams, who placed 9th, presented herself very well. With good stage presence and creative posing, Abrams just needs to tighten up her legs, and maybe add a bit more size, which her frame should be able to easily carry. Abrams was the lightest heavyweight at 138 lbs.

All in all, the weekend was quite a success with a lot of incredible athletes participating. With such a deep field, and with the bodybuilding competition containing so much depth, it was a sign that the sport continues to grow, and perhaps bodybuilding is making up some of the ground it might have been perceived to have lost in the wake of the growth of fitness.

The only problem was the length of prejudging with so many competitors. However, there were many of note to look out for in Las Vegas for the USAs. The competitive season is definitely heating up and should bring a new crop of pros with the first pro card being handed out in July.