2004 Southwest Pro Cup Contest Report

August 6-7, 2004 - by gene x hwang

Arlington, TX , USA - The weekend of August 6-8, 2004 was one of the busiest in the sport as the Team Universe, Southern States and Southwest Pro Cup all shared the same weekend on a day when 13 new pros were bestowed their pro cards and over 50 IFBB Pros also competed.

It was also a day which saw Canada's first fitness athlete win a title by winning the Southwest Pro Fitness title. That was Mindi O'Brien (shown at right).

Arlington, Texas was again home to the competition and while there was no men's bodybuilding element to the pro show, there was still a lot of muscle on stage including a small, but impressive heavyweight class.

IFBB Pro Women's Bodybuilding

"Heavyweights: Nasty Girls"

Thanks to Reg Bradford for the headline suggestion, and it's quite appropriate as the crowd was given one of the best series of posing routines, kickstarted by the always entertaining Heather Foster.

As usual, the New Yorkers routine included some moonwalking, humor and a lot of impressive muscle. With a nicely choreographed intro with voice overs from the 'Olympia,' a ship in space, with whom Foster was transmitting data, it started off methodically: a 'weapons' check which she breezed through ("tiny waist" and "loaded guns" among them), and into the joint loosening feed. Once 'loosened' she busted out and the crowd reached it's loudest cheering of the entire evening.

Up next was Texan Bonny Priest who had competed in the show as an amateur just two years ago. Following Heather Foster is daunting, but Priest was more than ready. The amped-up Texan had plenty of support from the proud crowd and she proceeded to keep rocking the house, keeping the momentum from Foster's routine. By the end of it, she could not help but smile as she ended her captivating routine with punctuation marks in the flexing of her cross-striated quads, among other shredded bodyparts.

The curvy musculature of Betty Viana was next and as she strolled onto stage wrapped in a red feather boa, everyone was well into the groove of the competition and the sassy South American made way for Mercedes Bazemore who represented the East Coast with appropriate attitude and flair (like her "SEXY" neck bling).

It was Priest's tighter conditioning though that proved to be the edge as she beat out Betty Viana by a single point in the final standings - a very close call, but both are qualified for the Olympia where they should have another chance to go head-to-head.

The lightweights were also tight and included a pro debut for Nathalie Abellan from France. On the other end of the spectrum, veteran Mary Ellen Jerumbo was competing, and displayed her enthusiasm for the sport of bodybuilding in characteristicly crisp conditioning and a routine full of positive energy.

Another new pro, Michelle Davis looked like a bigger version of herself from her showing at the 2003 NPC Nationals when she won her pro card and was very hard and dense. This time she added more size, but wasn't as razor sharp as at Nationals, and with the tough pro competition, still made a very strong showing. Denise Gerard placed ahead of her and looked to be in the best conditioning of her career. She admitted that she was very pleased with her shape and presentation and brought in the package she wanted for herself and has not felt better on stage.

Angela Debatin came in solidly, but Desiree Ellis was ripped and had her A-game as did Mah Ann Mendoza. Mendoza came on strong in the finals with a nice, elegant routine, while Ellis' may have been a bit too harsh in it's lyrics, with many cuss words in the voice overs which were inappropriate.

In the overall, it was Priest's show as the larger and tighter physique took the overall.

Oh Canada!

International flavor is one of the best things about a pro show with the top athletes worldwide coming to compete and our Northern neighbors made a statement not to forget about Canada with Ontario's Mindi O'Brien's win.

With a field that included Tracy Greenwood, Debbie Czempinski, and Jennie Hanke among others, it was sure to be a tough battle. There were 25 who were on stage at the beginning so the field was quite deep.

The tough physique and strong routines that O'Brien strung together resulted in a debut to remember. Strong physiques helped Alti Bautista and Sandy Grant. Bautista has such a tiny waist and compact physique and if she came in a tad tighter would have moved up a few spots. Grant has nice muscularity but was up on the far end and had to perform her routine last which is tough when there are 24 other pros going ahead of you. Regardless, both had strong showings and will be pressing the ones ahead of them.

The opposite situation was the case for Bridgette Newell and Teri Mooney whos routines are strong, but whos physiques brought them down.

Jennie Hanke looked great and Australian Debbie Czempinski missed qualifying for the O by just four points which over the four rounds of judging equates to just one point per round. Look for Czempinski to be at the Olympia though if she continues to bring a package like she brought to Arlington.

The GNC, the final qualifier before the Olympia should be a great show with such a deep and talented pool of athletes who are vying for those last few qualifications before the Olympia just two weeks following. Many who placed into the teens at this show are capable of brining up parts and routines enough to crack the top placings.

NPC North Texas Championships

Like many other pro shows there was an amateur component to the weekend alongside powerlifting, strongman (and strongwoman) competitions and martials arts.

The many classes of competitors added up to a nice full schedule. Fitness was the smallest division with three total athletes and Amy Livingston, a protégé of pro Tracy Greenwood, won out.

Bodybuilding between novice and open had some intriguing competitors with a variety of strengths, but most prominent was the open heavyweight and overall bodybuilding champion, Jody May. The blonde sported a magenta streak in her hair, but many people may not have noticed because her physique was so outstanding with full hard muscles throughout and a charming demeanor and presence on stage.

Both IFBB Historian Steve Wennestrom and photographer Reg Bradford noted the similarities to Lori Bowen, calling May a bigger version. Praise like that is lofty, but May is deserving and has a bright future ahead of her. Before the show she had said she would consider doing Nationals if she qualified at this show, and now that she has, we look forward to another heavyweight in that deep class which would also feature her fellow Texan Gina Davis.

Light-Heavyweight champion Michelle Greer also looked tremendous with a signature style and tiny waist complimented by sweeping quads. Greer also competed in the figure competition and took that overall title as well.

The best calves of the competition (stretching the tape at 17"!) belong to Jennifer Delano from nearby Fort Worth, and it was her first show, so look out for more from Delano at future Texas shows. Kathleen Rydell was a masters competitor with a striking look and nice arms.

A future star in figure could be Christy Baker who may have had the best genetic structure of all the figure competitors. Another very young looking masters competitor, Baker just needs a little more time working on adding some muscle and coming in tighter to slide up the ranks.

The international flavor wasn't limited to the pros though as Brazil and Costa Rica were represented by Inez Jiminez and Bridgette Blount respectively.

Results

IFBB Pro Bodybuilding Overall: Bonny Priest* Lightweights 1) Mah Ann Mendoza (#4)* 2) Desiree Ellis (#5)* 3) Angela Debatin (#1) 4) Denise Gerard (#3) 5) Michelle Davis (#7) 6) Mary Ellen Jerumbo (#6) 7) Nathalie Abellan (#2) Heavyweights 1) Bonny Priest (#9)* 2) Betty Viana (#10)* 3) Heather Foster (#8) 4) Mercedes Bazemore (#11) IFBB Pro Fitness 1) Mindi O'Brien (#17)* 2) Tracy Greenwood (#18)* 3) Jennie Hanke (#9)* 4) Debbie Czempinski (#4) 5) Carla Freda (#1) 6) Terri Mooney (#16) 7) Alti Bautista (#15) 8) Kirsten Nicewarner (#22) 9 tie) Sandy Grant (#26) 9 tie) Bridgette Newell (#12) 11) Angela Semsch (#21) 12) Julie Childs (#25) 13) Amy Hadded (#10) 14) Carla Sanchez (#19) 15) Shena Forkner-Jones (#13) 16) Elizabeth Maurice (#20) 17) Lea Waide (#23) 18) Melissa Babers (#7) 19) Maria Laura Cerbelli (#5) 20) Amy Huber (#11) 21) Tracy Traskos (#3) 22 tie) Lydia Haskell (#8) 22 tie) Karen Wolcott (#6) 22 tie) Donna Jones (#14) Widthdrew due to injury: Shannon Dey (#2) * qualifies for Olympia

NPC Amateur Open Bodybuilding Overall: Jody May Lightweights 1) Melinda Williamson Middleweights 1) Dee Lazard Light-Heavyweights 1) Michelle Greer 2) Kathleen Rydell 3) Marie Tolos Heavyweights 1) Jody May NPC Amateur Novice Bodybuilding Overall: Ellen Torrance Lightweights 1) Tina Chandler 2) Carla Wirtz Middleweights 1) Ellen Torrance 2) Debbie Baker 3) Jennifer Delano NPC Amateur Masters Bodybuilding 1) Ellen Torrance 2) Melinda Williamson 3) Dee Lazard Fitness 1) Amy Livingston 2) Rosa Hearst 3) Lavecka Smith Figure Overall: Michelle Greer       Short (up to and including 5'4'") 1) Edie Andersen 2) Venny Lopez 3) Heidi Turner 4) Wendy Rawlins 5) Kelly Laduke Tall (over 5'4") 1) Michelle Greer 2) Bridgette Blount 3) Inez Jimenez 4) Amber Jarrell 5) Stephanie MacDonald Masters Figure 1) Inez Jimenez 2) Christy Baker 3) Edie Andersen 4) Brenda Saucedo 5) Ann Bunge