2004 NPC Nationals Contest Report

November 19-20, 2004 - by gene x hwang

Dallas, TX, USA - The last National level show for 2004 offered an opportunity for ten women to petition for their pro cards. Without figure athletes, the field was still large, and the popularity of both sports was not in question.

The fitness women started off the competition on Friday evening with the two-piece round and then presented their routines during the Saturday prejudging with the one-piece taking place during finals for the top five finishers. One of the most suprising competitors may have been Victoria Larvie who was only 13-years-old. She ended up placing 12th, but didn't look out of place. The class was won by Jennifer Becerra on the strength of her fitness routine round score and Kendra Elias took the other pro card by sweeping both physique rounds.

Amanda Swallow was ripped and had a strong routine, but her conditioning was punished and she placed 10th. Hollie Dyer had impressive presses in her routine, and another notable routine was Heidi Fletcher's who was somewhat reminiscent of one that Jenny Hendershott might perform with the requisite pop and attitude. Keep an eye out for Fletcher at her next show.

In the medium height class, there was a mix of fresh faces and veteran competitors, but it may have been the new faces who made the biggest splashes. The class was won by Deana Lee who just beat out Sandi Ward by five points for the class title, but they both can move on to the pros now. Third went to Colorado's Brooke Paulin who was making her debut at Nationals and should have a bright future ahead of her. Louisiana's Michelle Marciante returned to the stage and looked fine with tight conditioning and strong legs.

The routine round winner was Angie English who's stage presence combined with her dynamic routine and kinetic moves, should make her one of the favorites to move up next year. Another rising star is Erica Davidson who placed seventh, but may have had the most impressive physique in the class. If her legs are just a bit harder, her physique will be hard to beat, and with a solid routine, she should have a good chance to turn pro in 2005.

The trooper award should go to Carrie Simmons who continues to compete at the National level and is always improving her physique and routine. However, during her full routine, her music went out and she continued on, but the judges stopped and she had to come back out after the next class to do her routine once again for them to fully judge.

The tall class was the closest with a final margin of just three points, with Summer Montabone sliding ahead of Julie Lohre in the one-piece round to take the class title, but Lohre also picked up the "Best Routine" award for her impressive performance. With routine ace Laticia Jackson also in the class and the award covering all three classes, it was a strong acclaim to garner, and Lohre was definitely deserving of it.

Lena Sanchez looked very impressive with her lean physique but like Amanda Swallow, was marked down for it, and Liza Hughes suffered similarly for coming in lean. Christine Moore was the tallest athlete and looked very impressive with nice abs, and muscularity overall. She placed fifth, but one athlete who competed was left off the final score sheets completely - Lauren Book. The 19-year-old had competed before at the Jan Tana, and will hopefully be included on the final final scoresheets for her hard work and competing.

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Bodybuilding

With four classes this year, there was a lot of incentive to compete, and all four divisions had impressive athletes, but once again, it was the Light Heavyweights that were the most competitive and deep, but for a change, it wasn't the Light Heavyweight that won the Overall. For that, it was Texas' own (well, maybe now Oklahoma's) Gina Davis who took the whole show.

Davis placed seventh last year, but made it known that she was going to be focused and spend all of her time on preparing for the 2004 Nationals which would be in her home state. Not only did she deliver on that, but she presented a fantastic physique that will present well on the Pro level, and on top of that, is an awesome combination of femininity, muscularity and balance. Davis will do well as a pro, and hopefully will be a harbinger of the types of physiques that will continue to be produced out of the amateur ranks.

Davis beat out perennial pro card bridesmaid Lora Ottenad, but both would make nice pros, and it would be nice if the NPC could do as the Canadians did and offer an additional card when they see fit. Ottenad would make a good pro, but it would not be at this show.

One of the most talked about competitors, from the moment she elegantly stepped on stage as the last athlete in the heavyweights was Leighsa Bailey, another product of Texas. Bailey also personifies what female bodybuilding is all about, and along with an impressive physique managed to place third in her first time on the National stage. While a bit shocked by the overwhelming response from the fans and media, we hope to see Bailey come back as another excellent ambassador for the sport.

Many people may say that women's bodybuilding is going too far, and that could be argued, but there is not doubt that the heavyweight class alone was filled with many athletes that would not be questioned at all, and it was heard throughout the competition how great many of these women looked. Another example just in the heavyweight class would be Nekole Hamrick who had the unfortunate task of standing right next to Gina Davis and Mimi Jabalee, who took fifth. Hamrick looked great at last year's Nationals, and this year added some nice size throughout to keep her very aesthetic balance, while also filling out her frame. She can stand to hold even more muscle too, so watch out for her.

A lot of people were on the watch for Isabelle Turell, and while she didn't nail her conditioning, the girl is thick and once she dials it in, should move up significantly in the ranks. A new face on the national stage was yet another Texan, Giana Holder who has very nice lines, and a great v-taper. Her and Jody May will be representing the state in the class again in the future.

The light heavyweights were by far the biggest class with 20 athletes in total. Included in the class were notables such as Elena Seiple, Kim Perez, Dena Westerfield, Debbie Bramwell, Cindy Gonzalez, Anita Nikolich, Robin Parker, Angie Salvagno, Terri Harris, Heather Lee and Sondra Faas!

So, what that meant is that it would be a battle just to make the top five and it was just that. However, the top five was an amalgamation of differing physiques. Robin Parker was peeled and looked incredible. Kim Perez was thick and showcased her tiny waist. Elena Seiple's line and thickness were up against Dena Westerfield's added mass and dense muscularity.

In the end, the judges went with the Goldilocks approach, going with Cindy Gonzalez who presented a phsique that was a balance of all the rest, while not combining the most extreme aspects of the others. An argument could have easily been made with going with many of the competitors in this class, and the judging showed that with three different people getting 1st place votes.

It may have been most disheartening for Robin Parker considering the incredible conditioning she came in with. She was so sliced that she was actually punished for her conditioning while just a week before, she took the overall in similar shape.

Debbie Bramwell looked solid, and made strong improvements to her physique but just placed outta the top five, and Sondra Faas was in the best shape of her career as well. Heather Lee, who had been doing powerlifting and training with Elena Seiple also showed impressive gains and her legs are outstanding. Last year's second place finisher, Anita Nikolich became ill just before the show, but still competed, but was affected too much to place, while Alicia St. Germaine made her nationals debut and looked impressive. If not for being in such a hyper-competitive class, she may well have placed significantly higher, but she should be happy with the physique she brought to stage which was solid throughout.

The middleweight class had Emery Miller moving up to it and looking amazing. Miller was easily the winner, but Michelle Morrison and Alissa Jones who placed 2nd and 3rd respectively also looked strong. Jones was better conditioned, and continues to improve and has made a rapid ascension to the national level as well as impressing with every show, while Morrison was the most muscular woman in the class and just had to be a shade tighter. Keri Yates took fourth followed by Christine Brandon who looked very tight and just edged out Brenda Smith by one point to make the top five. Brandon's arms were notable while Smith's calves are unforgettable, and the best in the show for all classes.

With the weight limit on the lightweights going down by three pounds, that made for a hard class to make. However, veteran's Pam Kusar, Tera Guzman, Jamie Troxel and Donna Karr were all up for it and were the top five in that order.

Troxel garnered three first place votes and the top three all were ranked between 1st-3rd place which showed how close it was. In the end, Kusar's conditioning may have prevailed (although that wasn't the case in other classes). The newest face in the class was that of Lori George. The youthful George had a nice presentation on stage and a good overall aesthetic. We hope to see more of George on stage, and as she gains more and more muscle maturity, she'll continue to rise up the placings. Terilyn Watts had the most shredded physique in the class, with cross striations all over her impressive legs, but placed seventh behind Florida's Ellen Woodley who keeps improving herself. Woodley has a nice shape and always comes in shape.

Check out Expo photos from the show in our Buzz!

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So another competition year draws near to a close and the light heavyweight class may have been the best change to the sport with numerous overall champions coming out of the class as well as a plethora of deep, talented athletes propogating it. It would be nice though if the lightweight class could be moved back to 120 lbs., then the middleweights and 120-130, light heavyweights at 130-140, and heavyweights at over 140 lbs. It seems like the lightweight is too light, and then having the light heavyweights span a 15-pound range, is a bit much. Regardless, we welcome the return of the class.

Look for the year end wrap and awards to be posted to the site in the next month or so...

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Prejudging - 11/19/2004 - Deana Lee, Erica Davidson in the middle and Michelle Marciante on the right - by request.

Photos from weigh ins - November 18 and 19, 2004 - Brenda Smith makes the middleweight class, Lora Ottenad displays her six pack, Elena Seiple is grumpy, Amanda Swallow flexes her guns, Amy Peters as Lara Croft

Results

Bodybuilding Overall: Gina Davis* Lightweights 1) Pam Kusar* 2) Tera Guzman 3) Jamie Troxel 4) Donna Karr 5) Lori George 6) Ellen Woodley 7) Terilyn Watts 8) Dawn Hickman 9) Melinda Williamson 10) Carol Cabaldon Middleweights 1) Emery Miller* 2) Michelle Morrisson 3) Alissa Jones 4) Keri Yates 5) Christine Brandon 6) Brenda Smith 7) Yvette Bova 8) Karen Adkins 9) Debra Brockway 10) Somayra Hernandez Light Heavyweights 1) Cindy Gonzalez* 2) Elena Seiple 3) Kim Perez 4) Dena Westerfield 5) Robin Parker 6) Debbie Bramwell 7) Heather Lee 8) Sondra Faas 9) Angie Salvagno 10) Star Blaylock 11) Norma Nieves 12) Terri Harris 13) Stphanie Kessler 14) Gale Hamlet-Frankie 15) Alicia St. Germaine 16 tie) Alanna Crespo 16 tie) Dawn Muth 16 tie) Julie Peavey 16 tie) Anita Nikolich 16 tie) Marie Tullos Heavyweights 1) Gina Davis* 2) Lora Ottenad 3) Leighsa Bailey 4) Audrey Peden 5) Mimi Jabalee 6) Nekole Hamrick 7) Giana Holder 8) Valerie Peart 9) Isabelle Turell 10) Michelle Baker 11) Jody May 12) Yamile Marrero 13) Deniz Odar 14) Shonia Lee 15) Heather Darling 16) Ella Williams * qualifies for IFBB Pro Card

Fitness Overall: Deanna Lee Short 1) Jennifer Becerra* 2) Kendra Elias* 3) Angi Jackson 4) Heidi Fletcher 5) Denise Cook 6) Angel Staton 7) Allison Daughtry 8) Jessica Nabinger 9) Hollie Dyer 10) Amanda Swallow 11) Sarah Toll 12) Victoria Larvie 13) Joanna Ocampo 14) Laveca Smith Medium - scoresheet 1) Deana Lee* 2) Sandi Ward* 3) Brooke Paulin 4) Michelle Marciante 5) Angela English 6) Lisa McCormick 7) Erica Davidson 8) Colleen Mansfield 9) Tessa Kring 10) Lishia Dean 11) Sonja Bruce 12) Tara Carillo 13) Michelle Woodward 14) Carrie Simmons 15) Leslie Robb 16) Lori Smith Tall - scoresheet 1) Summer Montabone* 2) Julie Lohre* 3) Latitia Jackson 4) Michelle Mayberry 5) Christine Moore 6) Lena Sanchez 7) Jennifer Cassetty 8) Liza Hughes 9) Celeste Turner 10) Tara Richards 11) Shawna Jamison 12) Sara Krajnik * qualifies for IFBB Pro Card