2006 NPC Cal/Pro Figure

May 26-27, 2006 - by gene x hwang

Culver City, CA, USA - The Cals used to be one of the most respected state shows and while it still is held in high regard, the depth of the competition was a bit shallow this year. The class winners and overall champions were all deserving and of high quality, but many of the classes didn't have the large, quality classes folks had come to expect from the Cal.

Why this is happening is not quite clear, but it may be because many of the athletes are already Nationally qualified or it could be due to the fact that there are so many other National qualifiers, that doing the Cal isn't as necessary as it used to be.

Regardless, the overall champs should all represent the state well on the National stage.

The bodybuilding competition looked a lot like the Contra Costa a few weeks earlier, with Claire Rohrbacker-O'Connell taking the whole show again. The heavyweight champion was also Guilia Divina just as it was at the Contra Costa, with the Middleweight class being the only change with Holly Meade taking the class at the Cal.

The classes were extremely small at the Cal with just one other lightweight in competition against Claire - Susan Kodaira. Kodaira did come in excellent shape and was a well-deserved athlete on stage next to Rohrbacker-O'Connell. The only other competitor in the open was heavyweight Linda Berlingery.

Fitness has waned down to just two athletes with Sherilyn Roy beating April Fortier for the state title.

In figure, the numbers were up but again, it wasn't as big and deep as you might have expected from the state of California. The overall winner though should have quite a promising future. Mona Liza Reyes took a controversial 2nd at the Contra Costa, but moved up to take the entire show and earn herself a coveted sword in the process.

Look for Reyes to make an impact on the National stage. Northern California also was home to the Class B, D and E class winners - Carrie Gee, Tinya DePaula, and Ginger Reissler respectively.

While NorCal isn't as well known as it's Southern counterpart for putting out as many athletes, this year they made a strong statement.

In the Pro competition, Christine Pomponio-Pate took the title. It was a very big class with over 30 athletes in competition. However that number proved to be a bit too much. With that many athletes on stage, it's hard for the judges to look at everyone.

One of the most overlooked athletes was Nicole Pitcher-Scott from the UK. IFBB Women's Historian Steve Wennestrom noted that she was the "most improved" athlete on stage and many other media and fans took notice of her impressive physique. She will be back on stage in New York in July and hopefully will get the looks she deserves from the judging panel there.

Following Pomponio-Pate was Northern California Gina Camacho who's been moving up the ladder steadily and should be a strong contender at the Olympia as well with her nice shapes, and Latisha Wilder who followed her is also one of the top athletes. Wilder should have won a show by now, and is an amazing athlete.

Gina Aliotti took fourth but also qualified for the O and will be one of the younger athletes to grace that stage later this year. Following her was Michelle Flake who looked impressive as one of the more thickly muscle women on stage.

So many of the athletes came in looking good, but with so many athletes on stage, they all didn't get enough of a good look so many of the placings below the top ten are way off.

Ines Jimenez suffered a lower placing most likely because she's a new face. The Costa Rican came in impeccable shape and showed off very nice lines but was placed last in a group that included Alexis Ellis, Pia Johnsen, Deb Leung and Mascha Tieken!

Check out our message boards to chat with some of the athletes as well as discuss your thoughts.

Results

Women's Bodybuilding Overall: Claire Rohrbacker-O'Connell Lightweights: 1) Claire Rohrbacker-O'Connell 2) Susan Kodaira Middleweights: 1) Holly Meade Heavyweights: 1) Guilia Divina 2) Linda Berlingery Masters Bodybuilding 1) Claire Rohrbacker-O'Connell 2) Holly Meade 3) Charletha Tatum 4) Linda Berlingery Amateur Fitness 1) Sherilyn Roy 2) April Fortier Masters Figure Over 45 1) Elissa Schlichter 2) Rebecca Purdue Overall: Carrie Gee Over 35 Short: 1) Carrie Gee 2) Laura Pudnot 3) Cathy Buntz 4) Rose Watson Medium: 1) Allison Busher 2) Noreen Castillo 3) Lillian Gramio 4) Andrea Romero 5) Dena Weiner 6) Janna Hollingsworth Tall: 1) Alisa Lee 2) Shannon Brown 3) Charlitha Tatum

Pro Figure 1) Christine Pomponio-Pate* 2) Gina Camacho* 3) Latisha Wilder* 4) Gina Alioti* 5) Michelle Flake 6) Melissa Frabbiele 7) Zena Collins 8) Pauline Nordin 9) Marcy Porter 10) Zhanna Rotar 11) Waleska Valle 12) Cathy Lefrancois 13) Andrea Dumon 14) Trish Mayberry-Warren 15) Deborah Denio 16) Chrissy Garcia 17) Nicole Pitcher-Scott NP) Lynsey Beattie-Ahearne NP) Jennifer Becerra NP) Susanne Bock NP) Natasha Brown NP) Myriam Bustamante NP) Alexis Ellis NP) Ines Jimenez NP) Pia Maria Johnsen NP) Deborah Leung NP) Martha Lombardo NP) Petra Mertl NP) Sherie Salvadori NP) Masae Tagamai NP) Mascha Tieken * Qualifies for Olympia Amateur Figure Overall: Mona Liza Reyes Class A 1) Mona Liza Reyes 2) Sherilyn Roy 3) Jema Santos 4) Cathy Gambino 5) Jennifer Pudlow Class B 1) Carrie Gee 2) Elissa Schlichter 3) Laura Pudnot 4) Tanya Pennington 5) Kelly Kent Class C 1) Bee Fox 2) Alexandra Porshnikov 3) Natalie Bastillo 4) Cathy Buntz 5) Erica Brennan Class D 1) Tinya DePaula 2) Stephanie Clark 3) April Fortier 4) Lillian Gramino 5) Andrea Romero Class E 1) Ginger Reissler 2) Allison Busher 3) Noreen Castillo 4) Danielle Edmonds 5) Dena Weiner Class F 1) Jen Thayler 2) Nancy Georges 3) Elisa Lee 4) Vicki Suroki 5) Shannon Brown