Friday evening saw the fitness one piece round and on Saturday morning the rest of the prejudging was held for the bodybuilders as well. There were seven pro cards to be won at this show, six in the fitness (top two per class) and one in bodybuilding for the overall champion. It seems like they are still trying to get as many new fitness pros into the ranks while making it a much harder earned reward for the bodybuilders.

During the routine round for the fitness competitors, there were not too many showstopper routines, although routine queen Jennifer Hendershott provided her usual strong presentation. Other notables included eventual champion Adelina Friedmansky and Shannon Meteraud (who's dominatrix themed beginning got the crowd immediately interested) in the short class (under 5'2").

In the medium class (5'2"-5'4½"), in addition to Hendershott, second place finisher DJ Wallis had the most creative and memorable routine of the evening with a GI Jane/Lara Croft/Commando motif. After rolling out on stage with a toy machine gun she kicked virtual villians' butts accompanied by old school kung-fu movie sound effects, and finished up by displaying the American flag. Heather Mosely also had a solid routine in the class and the overlooked Che Swagger had the best music and a good routine to compliment her equisite taste in electronica.

Of the tall class competitors (5'4½" and above), Linda McLaughlin had a great routine in the evening show, to a moviephone theme, and Kim Hartt, who looks a little like Debbie Kruck, also had a solid routine. Monica Burdick, Amanda Doerrer and Heather Millard also put on a good show.

There were also a number of competitors that had great stage presence and with a little more work on their physiques and more polished routines, they can do well in future competitions. Some of these competitors include Seattle's Jill Holland - who has one of the most beautiful faces on stage, and short class competitor Vanessa Benavides.

After the class winners were announced, they were all brought out for the awarding of the overall title. The three women took the stage, and after the judges made them do the compulsory quarter turns, it was time for the usual posedown portion when the judges could tabulate their results. However, in fitness it was a little bizarre to have this, and as they were asked to pose down, it loked like the competitors didn't know what to do either. Hendershott ran to the front of the stage, got confused, and then they all stood at different angles - basically a "quarter-turn-down" instead of posedown. A strange finish to the fitness portion, finally crowning Adelina Friendmansky.

National level veterans Stephanie Starr, Stacey Seaver and Kathy Pichnarcik all looked good as well, but Villalobos' complete package was a fiarly easy choice for first. Starr and Seaver both looked tighter in the evening finals, but by then most of the judging was already completed.

The middleweight class was a little confusing in the end, but as the competitors took stage, it looked like Mah-Ann Mendoza had the best combination of hardness, symmetry and muscle mass. A relatively new face on the national scene, Karen Aguilera, also looked tremendous. Her upper body was ripped and if her lower body can be as tight, she'll definitely contend for the class title. Fourth place finisher Kathie Camepa had a great back and triceps, and good aesthetics as well, and should only move up in subsequent shows. Becky Rampey had a good routine, with some moves similar to those of Andrulla Blanchette's past routines, incorporating martial arts moves to Spice Girls music.

The strangest part of the finals was when they announced the top five, Mah-Ann Mendoza was not called out. It was either a heinous judging error or something else. It turns out that Mendoza apparently had "automotive trouble" that caused her to miss the finals, and it was unfortunate as she was the only woman in all three classes to sweep 1st place votes from the entire judging panel, and probably would have had a good shot at the overall, and the accompanying pro card.

The heavyweight class was up next, and from the moment the first batch of the 21 women took the stage, the crowd was astonished at the competitiveness of the class. Immediately, Denise Hoshor, a former middleweight at this show in 1998, and Th-resa Bostick were among the favorites. Hoshor added lots of thick muscle and her back and quads were amazing. However, Bostick's back was perhaps the thickest one ever to take an amateur or even professional stage.

Others who were in tremendous shape included perennial national level challenger Heather Foster, who had the best routine of the evening of all classes, Californian Carla Haug, who was looking very impressive and tight, and the ever-shredded Carmen Brady and Fatima Johnson. Brady was perhaps the most ripped and you could see muscle fibers throughout her physique.

This class could potentially have been one of the most competitive ever at the USAs, and the top eight were all in incredible shape and in another show probably could have placed first. Unfortunately for some, this meant that the competition was very stiff, and anyone in less than perfect shape was hurt. Giselle Sass was off slightly and it showed in her 12th place finish.

The top spot was also looking very close. Hoshor probably had the better aesthetics, but the judges awarded Bostick's size over Hoshor's balance. Both came in tight and it was a tough call to make, but Bostick earned her pro card by taking the overall as well.