In the lightweight class, Denise Gerard protege Donna Carr displayed excellent conditioning to take the class in front of Lori Ruggiera. Ruggiera posseses the better structure but was not as crisp and Muriel Brewer, in third place was also a bit sharper conditioned. Dawn Hickman took fourth and had the best stage presence of the top five and her routine was full of energy. Denise Yankowitz rounded out the top five.

The middleweights was a strong class and Keri Yates' balance pushed her to the class title. During prejudging, Brenda Smith looked to be pushing her for the class, but Smith wasn't able to make the finals (see injury report below). Keep an eye out for Smith who should definitely do some damage in the class and promises to keep improving her already outstanding physique.

Britt Ashley Smith, one of the youngest competitors in the show, took second and shows a lot of potential with a very aesthetic, pleasing physique and overall look. The most cut legs belonged to Holly Geersen who's impressive quads had the deepest cuts in the show. Lesli Hamilton took third and looked solid too and it could have been argued that her physique was competitive with Smith except a tad softer than her in the hamstrings. Courtney Shifflett made the top five and her notable lower body may have overpowered her upper body a bit. If she comes in a bit tighter, she'll easily vy for the class title.

The largest class, the light heavyweights then took the stage and Arizona's Christine Sabo came in the sharpest and with a lot of improvements over the last year, powered ahead of young upstart Amanda Dunbar to take the class. The genetically gifted Dunbar just needs a bit more fullness and density and if she comes in a bit drier, will have a long and prosperous future in the sport. Texan Pam Franklin made an impressive National debut and her training with Betty Pariso is definiteily paying off with some nice full, dense muscularity.

The sleek physique of Melissa Thompson was a crowd favorite and she's one to keep an eye on. She edged out promising youngster Kristy Hawkins who added impressive thickness since her showing last year, and just needs to come in a bit more conditioned. Jennifer Barconi may have placed last, but shows nice structure.

The crowd was in heavy anticipation for the heavyweight class and as the big girls took the stage, it seemed like the depth of the class was a bit lacking from previous years. It seems that overall, the show has up and down years. Perhaps when it has up years, some competitors feel a bit intimidated and opt not to do it unless they can come in perfectly, and when they see that the competition depth isn't as impressive, they feel compelled to join in. That being said, there were as always, good solid athletes, and many competitors who showed marked improvement.

One such athlete is Deb Widdis who has been training with Becca Swanson (the world's strongest woman). She was accompanied by an entourage that included Ali Huston, a young powerlifter that also impressed many who saw her in the audience.

However, it was veteran Yvonne Edmunds winning the heavyweights followed by Jennifer Turner who had improved since her showing at the 2003 Nationals in Miami. Many people were wondering where Isabelle Turell was, as she had been prepping for the show, and up until as close as a few weeks out, looked to be a favorite for the class.

It wasn't meant to be though as Turell did not make it to Chicago and that left the door open for others. Anne Sheehan placed fourth and had added impressive thickness and had good density but held a bit too much water and was followed by Kelly Patrick who took fifth. Texan Mark Elizabeth Hobbs' placing was also a result of holding a bit much water, but Hobbs is gunning for the USAs and will also be doing one more show in Texas before taking the stage in Vegas, and should look very impressive at the USAs.

Melissa Sidenbender had a streamlined physique that didn't hold as much muscle on her frame, but looked shapely and much like some of the first wave of original bodybuilders from the Rachel McLish era. Kim Kilper stood out for her thick arms and very memorable biceps. With a bubbly personality that showed through on stage, the young bodybuilder should be able to move up the ranks with a bit more definition and muscle maturity.

Fitness
There were over 20 competitors in the fitness competition and many strong contenders. The short class was won by the determined and well-conditioned Wendy Wolbert. Tessa Kring took second and Amy Johnston had the best physique but fell down in her placings in the routine round. Tricia Temple had nice muscularity, and winner of the routine round was Angela Baird who's music cut off early and was one of the many people who suffered from musical glitches that marred the show.

Amanda Swallow had the most muscular physique on stage, which may have been to her undoing as far as the physique rounds were concerned. She was in superb condition and had the most impressive muscularity but the judges marked her down for it. Swallow also had an outstanding routine, but ended up placing ninth.

In the tall class, Kristina Henn, who has been plugging away, had put it all together for the judges and took the class and overall titles. She edged Tamara Sherrill for the class who has a very nice aesthetic physique and great stage presence as well. Jessica Clay took third just ahead of Kim Seely who always impresses with her tight physique and energetic routines.

Figure

With the incredible number of athletes in the competition this year, the judges had their work cut out for them. Since there were four pro cards to be given, they couldn't expand the competition to six groups so one group had nearly 50 competitors in it, which otherwise could have been a competition itself.

The results are posted below, but general observations would be that the more muscular athletes were penalized and some who spoke with the judges afterwards were told that same thing. If striations or cuts were seen, that might indicate being 'too conditioned' and looked down upon. There were some competitors who seemed to suffer more from this than others and one outstanding physique that was punished for that was that of Pamela York who showcased impressive lines and thickness much like the pro figure competitors possess but at the amateur level, didn't fare so well. Additionally, York has good stage presence and a very striking look.

Others that did not place that had notable physiques included Shelly Howard who has crisp lines and nice hard muscle and Jennifer Gates from Indiana who's delts stood out and complimented her impressive curves well. Jackie Wang also brought a nice defined package to the stage, and although she may have been a bit muscular for the judges, may easily place much higher with the same presentation at another show.

Of the class winners, all of them should do well in the pros, with perhaps Abby Duncan and Chastity Sloan being able to make immediate impact in their pro debuts. Joelle Tyler also has incredible structure and should be able to earn her pro card this year if she comes in as she did or better as she was just edged by Jennifer Peyton for the C class title in what could have been called, the tightest class.

Injury report
In the bodybuilding and figure competitions there were two notable injuries. For bodybuilding it was in the middleweight class with Brenda Smith who undeniably had the show's best calves. She had to go to the hospital since she was so dry and had three bags of fluids pumped into her. Smith still tried to make it to finals even after that, but wasn't able to. However, she was around on Sunday and still looked spectacular.

In the tallest figure class (D), Michelle Troll was looking amazing and many people were interested in seeing what kind of physique she would bring to the stage, but she didn't get to stay onstage long. Troll suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, and was having particular trouble on stage once the competition began. As the first callouts were made for her class, she felt faint and had to get offstage to avoid passing out. There were rumors that Troll was angry at not making the first callout, but that was not the case at all, and anyone who knows her would know that.

Afterwards, when she spoke with the judges, Sandy Ranalli herself said that Troll was about to be brought into that first callout group, so she could have passed out in that group, so in some ways it may have been for the best. Troll promises her fans that she'll be back and looking better than ever!

Update - Isabelle Turell may have been the biggest surprise not to be at the show as one of the favorites to win her class, if not the overall. She suffered an injury four weeks out from the show and three weeks out it got worse and she had to have a shoulder abscess removed. This obviously threw her off track but she was undaunted. Instead of doing the Juniors, she's focused her efforts on winning a pro card in 2004 and will be doing another show later in the year. As she said in her own words, "I am trying to bring female bodybuilding something totally different," and we suspect she will succeed in that.