2003 Emerald Cup
by Gene X Hwang - April 18-19, 2003

Bellevue, WA - For its 21st year, the Emerald Cup onceagain broke records with over 200 competitors in the bodybuilding, figuree and fitness competitions. Craig Productions pulled off another amazing show, with the fitness and figure competition starting things off on Friday night.

Because of the expanded schedule of events, Friday evening hosted both the prejudging and finals for fitness and figure. Also, in 2003, the NPC expanded the classes for figure to include a fourth class, which has been called the 'medium-tall' class. Fitness had only two classes, but each class winner was deserving.

In the short fitness class, there were six competitors, and Sandy Grant took the class. Edging out Ocean Bloom, who has more recently competed in Fitness America, Grant had the more defined physique. Both their routines were dynamic, but may need more pop before they compete at the National level. Rachelle Ripoll took third, with a strong physique, but may need to have more strength moves and pop in her routine.

In the tall class, Kim Dolan cleaned up with an awesome routine and great stage presence. Because of her experience in Fitness America, Dolan performed very well, and with a few more strength moves in her routine, will definitely be someone to keep an eye on at USAs or Nationals. Michelle Landreth took second to Dolan, and has an excellent physique with good definition and aesthetics. Erin Lynn Moore followed in third, and Shannon Gill took fourth. Gill has good structure, and a thick upper body somewhat reminiscent of Jennie Hanke. With more work on her routine, and a more defined physique, Gill will place higher in future competitions.

In the end though, the total package the Dolan presented definitely made her a very deserving champion, and other National level fitness competitors may need to take note of her.

With figure there were actually five divisions with the Masters being the fifth category. Shannon Black took the class, with great lines and symmetry. Kathy Cunningham followed her up closely with more definition and from the side, has some of the best shape around. Her musculature also looked more mature, but this time around, Black edged her out. Judy Farinha was third, and in the one-piece round looked like fantastic. With good balance and symmetry, she should be a top challenger in future figure competitions. Also of note was Carrie Ford who had some of the best abs in the class.

Short Figure was won by Rachelle Ripoll and Jackie Goepfert took second. Jennifer Chang, who possesses good arms and a strong upper body, took third followed by Jillian Gillam. Gillam has a nice wide back and v-taper, but just needs to get harder and balance out the rest of her physique to improve.

The medium class was the toughest and class winner Misty Yi was also a deserving overall champion. With nice full muscle and the best calves in the figure show, Yi was an obvious choice. With her overall aesthetics, she should do very well at figure nationals and should be in the pro ranks soon. Marga Martin took second, and looked great in the 1-piece round. Angela Katzenberger was 3rd, and came in very tight, and Zhanna Rotar also looked good. Rotar looks like she may have been a bodybuilder, with thick muscularity and dense muscle throughout, which may have been too much for the judges.

In the medium tall class Jacqueline Finnan edged out Connie Gallo, although Gallo was a bit tighter. Both have good shape, and should be able to compete at the National level, if they tighten up a tad more at competition time. Former bodybuilder Amy Rainaldo took fourth in the class, and may have been the leanest competitor. While much smaller than in her bodybuilding days, her remaining musculature and shape looked fantastic, and looked a bit like the bodybuilders from the early '80s.

The tall class was Holly Baroni's to take, with excellent lines, symmetry and definition. Kate Brown took second, followed by Emma Callaghan, Clara Koffinow and Danijela Crevar. Crevar had the best 1-piece of the night, showing off her physique in a shiny strappy black suit. Crevar has been a natural bodybuilder, and like Rainaldo, has the solid muscle maturity that makes for a pleasing physique. However, her tan was a bit light, and she wasn't quite a leaned out as she could be.

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BODYBUILDING
The bodybuilding took place on Saturday, and there were two masters classes in addition to the standard three weight classes.

In the over 35 class, Lori Schelling, a 45-year old from Montana edged out Charlotte Campbell with a fantastic package of balanced, lean muscle. Schelling is also a PE teacher and provides her kids with ample inspiration if her physique was any indicator. Merry Harris, owner of Merry Christine Bodywear took third with a very lean physique and good definition throughout. Jackie Reister followed in third, with Janice Cockerman rounding out the top five.

In the over 50 class, Barb Belmont took first. With a lot of added muscle from her showing last year at the Emerald Cup, Belmont looked great, and was more full than 2nd place finisher Debra Ban Drosky. Ban Drosky was also quite lean, with many of the masters competitiors displaying better conditioning that many of the 'non-masters' athletes.

75-year-old Kelly Nelson was the oldest competitor, and looked fantastic, earning a special trophy from the promoters. Schelling edged out Belmont for the overall, with her more balanced aesthetics.

In the open lightweights, Paula Shaffer beat out Jill Knight and both looked very good. Shaffer may have been a tad tighter, but has been placing very well in the past several competitions. Should she do USAs or Nationals, she should be able to place well, with a bit more thickness throughout.

Nicole Talley was very thick, and placed third. If Talley was more cut, she would have placed higher, but her coniditioning wasn't spot on. Lupe Aguilar possesses great shape, but was not hard enough, and thus placed fourth. Dawn Beach rounded out the top five of the class.

Ripped was a good way to describe Becky West who easily took the Middleweight class. With impressive definition throughout her frame, West was fairly full, but could easily add more muscle to her frame and still place well. Denise Fann trailed West followed by Linda Runsch and Wendy Lindquist. Lindquist also competed in figure, and has some of the nicest biceps in the group. A good crossover competitor, it will be interesting to see which was Lindquist goes with her future competitions. Renee Daly also looked good, with a very tight package, and with a little more thickness, should easily make the top five.

Kirsten Haug took the Heavyweights moving up from her third place finish last year, and looked very impressive. Beating out Theresa Knoll, Haug also earned the overall title, and is poised to make an impact at the National scene. With great balance, and a very signature physique, Haug doesn't closely resemble other competitors and provides a fresh physique for the sport.

Knoll was strong as well, but didn't have the balance that Haug showed. Lauren Powers was shredded, having been prepped by Finnish pro Pauliina Talus, and was followed by Rhonda Dethlefs who placed fourth. Dethlefs has a well-balanced physique somewhat reminiscent of Sherry Smith's, and will be someone to keep an eye on. Patty Philpot took fifth, coming in a tad too soft, even compared to her showing at the 2002 Emerald Cup.

All in all, the Emerald Cup proved to be another impressing contest. All of the overall champions will most certainly make an impact on the National scene, and it wouldn't be too far a statement to say that all three could potentially be pros by the end of the 2002 competitive season.

Men's note: Although we don't often comment on the men, there was one competitor to keep an eye on in particular, who was overall and Ligh-Heavyweight champion Michael Kindred. Kindred is a European import, working on getting his US citizenship. He was thick, ripped and massive, getting chants of "freak" and "guest poser" from the fans who were all blown away by him. Keep an eye out for Kindred.

Results

Women’s Bodybuilding Overall: Kirsten Haug Lightweights 1. Paula Shaffer 2. Jill Knight 3. Nicole Talley 4. Lupe Aguilar 5. Dawn Beach 6. Deborah McSparrin 7. Joanna Pattison Middleweights 1. Becky West 2. Denise Fann 3. Linda Runsch 4. Wendy Lindquist 5. Carrie Ford 6. Renee Daly 7. Renee Lewis 5. Jennifer Saunders Heavyweights 1. Kirsten Haug 2. Theresa Knoll 3. Lauren Powers 4. Rhonda Dethlefs 5. Patty Philpot 6. Tonya Payne 7. Ila 8. Kristen Keller 9. Anna Marie Onesti 10. Judy Harris 11. Karen Black Masters Over 35 1. Lori Schelling 2. Charlotte Campbell 3. Merry Christine Harris 4. Jackie Reister 5. Janice Cockerman Masters Over 50 1. Barb Belmont 2. Debra Ban Drosky 3. Tara Silicio 4. Karen Barker 5. Pam Jensen 6. Kelly Nelson 7. Denise Rathwick 8. Stephanie Bonneau-Meece 9. Lonnda Williams   Partial Men's Results Overall: Michael Kindred

Women’s Fitness Overall: Kim Dolan Short Class 1. Sandy Grant 2. Ocean Bloom 3. Rachelle Ripoll 4. Leah Barwick 5. Jennifer Martin Tall 1. Kim Dolan 2. Michelle Landreth 3. Erin Lynn Moore 4. Shannon Gill 5. Diane Ferron Figure Overall: Misti Yee Up to and including 5’2” 1. Rachell Ripoll 2. Jackie Goepfert 3. Jennifer Chang 4. Jilliam Gillum 5. Jennifer Poe Over 5’2” and up to and including 5’3” 1. Misti Yee 2. Marga Martin 3. Angela Katzenberger 4. Melissa Budreau 5. Sandi Smith Over 5’3” and up to and including 5’5” 1. Jacqueline Finnan 2. Connie Gallo 3. Rosalita Peters 4. Amy Rainaldo 5. Jeanette Mortvedt Over 5’5” 1. Holly Baroni 2. Kate Brown 3. Emma Callaghan 4. Clara Koffinow 5. Danijela Crevar Masters (over 35) 1. Shannon Black 2. Kathy Cunningham 3. Judy Farinha 4. Heidi Demmert 5. Tina Ranger

 

Last updated: 5/4/2003 @ 9:10 p.m. PT