2007 NPC USAs
2007
NPC USA Bodybuilding and Figure Championiships - contest photos and
coverage - genex magazine - Isabelle Turell, Robyn Mentgen, Casey
Daugherty flexing
July 20-21, 2007 - by
Hans Klein and Gene X Hwang
Las
Vegas, NV, USA -
53 female bodybuilders competing for one pro card made for some very
long odds at the 2007 NPC USA in Las Vegas. As always, it was a very
competitive – and controversial - show.
The
first big surprise of the show came at the final weigh-in on Friday
morning, where there was no sign of hot favorite Isabelle Turell. 27
year-old Isabelle, who had won the light-heavies at the North Americans
last year, was someone a lot of the other competitors were most worried
about and several of them could be heard breathing a sigh of relief on
Friday when they realized that they wouldn’t have to stand alongside
her onstage.
Isabelle’s no-show left the contest –
and
especially the heavyweights - wide open. The word at the weigh-ins was
that last year’s runner-up, Michele Neil, who had won the class at the
Masters
a week earlier but missed out on the overall, and Indiana’s
Julia Stamper, who was competing at the USA for the first time after
placing a controversial sixth at Junior
Nationals last year, were both
shredded. Sheila Bleck – who placed third here a year ago - also looked
incredible when she weighed in on Friday morning.
The
pre-judging was held as usual on Saturday morning at UNLV’s Artemus Ham
Hall, with the female bodybuilders up first. When the 9 lightweights
stepped out onstage, your eyes were immediately drawn to Galina
Serdtsev, now living in Florida, who had
placed fourth in Miami
last November on her national-level debut. She
looked ever better here, her tiny waist making her instantly stand out
from the line-up and looking like the obvious class winner.
The
middleweights was the smallest class of the show with just seven
competitors. Jennifer Sedia of Texas, who had placed second here last
year behind Tina Chandler on her national-level and then took fourth in
Miami, dominated the stage with her thickness and perfect symmetry.
Diana Tinelle also shone with her shape and presentation. Kelly
Dobbins, who was on a roll after winning the overall at the Contra
Costa and the lightweight at the Emerald
Cup and was probably the most
ripped competitor in the class, also looked great.
In
the
light-heavies – as so often in the last few years - it was less
clear-cut. It was a packed line-up as usual, with a range of 18
contrasting physiques. Among the first nine competitors to line up
onstage, the standouts were Christine Sabo, who was second at this show
last year and seemed to have brought in her waist and improved her
shape; Holly Geersen, who was in her best condition ever; and last
year’s light-heavyweight class winner Angie Salvagno, who looked
slightly off last year’s condition but still had that incredible
v-shaped upper body.
Among
the second group of
light-heavies to
line up onstage was Star Blaylock, who had dropped three pounds in 30
minutes to make weight on Friday morning. Although she was not quite as
hard as some of the other competitors, especially in the legs, her
shape and lines instantly made her stand out. On the other hand, Bev
DiRenzo and Karen Choate were both ripped to the bone from head to toe
as usual – it was just a matter of what the judges were looking for
this time. Kim Ferrell, who was competing at the USA for the first time
and said she was just hoping to be able to hang in this class, was also
in incredible shape, with cross-striations in her quads.
The
first comparison – apparently called out in numerical order – consisted
of Karen, Angie, Holly, Chris, Star and Bev. After they had gone
through mandatories, the judges moved Bev and Star to center stage and
compared them again. After that, all six returned to the
line-up,
so by the end of pre-judging the audience was pretty much in the dark
about who the top three were, let alone the winner.
The
heavyweight class was even more packed than the light-heavies, with 19
competitors. Michele Neil and Julia Stamper were both in amazing shape
as expected and Sheila Bleck also looked incredible, with what was
probably the most perfect structure of the class. Another of the
favorites in the heavyweights, Oklahoma’s Candy Canary, had a
completely new look. Candy had made her national-level debut at this
show 12 months ago and placed seventh, weighing 155 pounds. This time
she competed at a much lower weight (she said after the show she
thought she stepped onstage at around 142), but it had the effect of
making her look more balanced from top to bottom.
The
first call
out – again apparently in numerical order – was Candy, Sheila, Julia,
Michelle and Dianne. After a round of mandatories, the judges moved
Sheila to the middle, with Julia and Michelle on either side, which
seemed to suggest Sheila had it.
At the night show,
the first two classes went pretty much as expected.
Galina
Serdtsev – introduced by emcee Lonnie Teper as “the Siberian express”
–
took the lightweights as expected, with Beth Wachter in second and
Tracy Witherspoon in third. In the middleweights, Jennifer Sedia seemed
to be even harder at the night show than at pre-judging and was the
unanimous winner, with Diana Tinelle in second and Kelly Dobbins third.
The
big surprise came when the top five light-heavies had gone through
their routines and the audience realized that Chris Sabo hadn’t made
the finals.
It turned out that although two of the judges
had her
in second place, she was in sixth – possibly the most surprising
placing of the night.
Holly Geersen was given fifth
– another
placing that surprised a lot of people in the audience – with Bev
DiRenzo in fourth and Karen Choate in third (four of the judges had her
first and another four in fifth). That left Star Blaylock and Angie
Salvagno as the final two. When Star was announced in second, there
were loud boos from the audience. It turned out that Angie and Star had
equal scores, with four judges voting for Angie and three for Star. As
always seems to be the case, people at the show were discussing the
light-heavyweight placings for the rest of the weekend.
There
was more drama in the heavyweights. After a mix-up over fourth and
fifth place, Candy Canary was given fourth and Dianne Solomons fifth.
Julia Stamper placed third – an outstanding placing for an athlete who
many people felt was overlooked at Junior Nationals last
year.
That left Michele Neil and Sheila Bleck – a classic contrast of size
and conditioning versus structure and shape. The judges went with
Michele; Sheila, who said after the show she thought she had won,
looked shocked.
Any of the four class winners could
have won
what was an intriguing contest for the overall. After they had gone
through mandatories, the judges moved Jennifer and Michelle to the
middle, suggesting it was between the two of them, and put them through
another set of comparisons. Despite Michele’s sheer size and phenomenal
conditioning, Jennifer more than held her own and the audience was
delighted when the middleweight was announced as the overall winner. A
pro exactly 12 months after making her national-level debut, Jennifer
was in tears as last year’s overall winner, Heather Policky, presented
her with the trophy.
On the
figure side of things, another six pro cards were to be handed out and
this was finally Jessica Wright's time. Having been on the
cusp so many times, the persistent and consistent Wright finally broke
through to win the tall class and earn her pro status. The
tall class was a bit mixed up when the results were announced and the
two most affected were Jamie Reed who wasn't originally brought out on
stage, and Mendi Sakamoto. Sakamoto was brought out as one of
the top five, while Reed was not. Then they realized the
mistake and brought Reed out from backstage and had the remaining three
women go offstage (since Reed was in third place).
Sakamoto
ended up not coming back out which was a harsh thing but the results
had to be correct. She'll no doubt be out there though in the
future as Sakamoto has a tremendous physique and is not one to be
overlooked with her striking looks. Stephanie MacDonald took
second to Wright, Maria Rogers took fourth and veteran athlete Nancy
Georges took fifth. All looked tremendous and should all be
on the pro stage soon enough.
Going to the A Class, it was Desha
Rodriguez taking the always tough class. With nice balance
throughout and a great stage presence, she edged Carin Hawking and Mary
Cencic to take the class. Shelly Rigo is always in the mix
and took fourth just ahead of Jessica Madden. Monica Mark may
have been the crowd fave and narrowly missed making the top five.
Look for her to be in the mix the next time around.
Others
to keep an eye on inclue Jamie Costa (#221) who was buff and lean but
didn't get a good look from the judges. Crystal Lowery and
Karen Wolfram also looked nice but both placed towards the bottom of
the class.
Another long time national force was
Allison Williams - aka AJ who finally turned pro as the B class champ.
It was a very competitive group in the top five with Chrissy
Burton and Michelle Woodward pushing her in the top three.
But it was finally AJs day and she was a deserving winner.
Tracy Bodner was the most ripped athlete in the class but got
punished for her conditioning. She would probably do better
in bodybuilding and Nikki Warner could also make the switch but looked
great on stage and took 10th.
The C class was won by Lynn
Widdowson who took first just ahead of Erin Heath. Heath has
been knocking on the door of a title and no doubt will earn a victory
soon. Danielle Leavitt is also one to keep an eye on.
April
Fortier won the D class just ahead of Danielle Kifer who looked
tremendous. Kifer has classic lines and a nicely developed
physique.
The overall champion of the show -
Catherine Andersen - came from the E class. While there were
a variety of different physiques in the top five, the judges went for
Andersen ahead of Danielle Edmonds, Natalie Calland and Amanda Quinlan.
Angela Watson took fifth. Watson has incredible
shape with her dramatic v-taper and it won't be long before she steps
on a pro stage.
Notable in the E Class was Erin Parrish
who looked like a slightly more muscular and lean Jessica Paxson, and
Catherine Boshuizen and Melisa Thalheimer also sport nice physiques -
all of them tied for 16th.
Veronica
Miller was not in the top five, narrowly missing out and placing sixth,
but she placed higher than Tanya Merryman who took 8th. Merryman is
finally getting looks from the judging panel and if she can bring her
upper body to match those legs, she'll be hard to overlook.
She did say that she may be back on the fitness stage though
so keep an eye out for her in Dallas!
Check
out
our
message boards to
discuss the show, post your thoughts and chat with athletes from the
competition!
Results
|
Bodybuilding
Overall:
Jennifer Sedia* Lightweights (scoresheet) 1)
Galina Sardtsev 2) Beth Wachter 3) Tracy Witherspoon 4)
Melinda Williams 5) Tricia Travis 6) Sharon Garrett 7)
Melissa Alvarado 8) Natalie Barnett
Middeweights (scoresheet) 1) Jennifer Sedia 2) Diana Tinnelle 3)
Kelly Dobbins 4) Sally Taylor 5) Holly Robey 6) Heidi
Bagwell 7) Rebecca Greaig
Light Heavyweights (scoresheet) 1) Angie
Salvagno 2)
Star
Blaylock 3)
Karen Choate 4) Beverly
DiRenzo 5)
Holly Geersen 6) Christine Sabo
7) Kim Ferrell 8) Gina Spengler 9)
Diana Cook 10) Tina Zampa 11) Casey Daugherty 12)
Theresa Hendricks 13) Shar Courtney 14) Roxanne
Edwards 15) Akila Pervis NP) Jennifer Benda
Heavyweights (scoresheet) 1) Michelle Neil 2) Sheila Bleck 3)
Julia Stamper 4) Candy Canary 5) Dianne Solomons 6) Bettina
Kadet 7) Joella Bernard 8) Kim Winn 9) Gerri
Deach 10) Gabrielle Nicander 11) Bonnie Pappas 12)
Rose Kasallis 13) Cindy Johnson 14) Giulia Divina 15) Robyn Mentgen NP) Yamile Marero NP) Brenda King NP)
Tammy Jackson NP) Jody May
*
Eligible for IFBB Pro Card
| Figure
Overall:
Catherine
Anderson*
A Class (scoresheet) 1)
Desha Rodriguez* 2) Carin Hawkins 3) Mary Cencic 4)
Shelly Rigo 5) Jessica Madden 6) Monica Mark 7)
Vicki Counts 8) Liza Kampstra 9) Gemma Santos 10)
Christina Morales 11) Jamie Costa 12) Busaraporn
(Ann) Treesukosol 13) Sue Upson 14) Crystal
Lowery 15) Nikki Browner 16 tie) Angela McKenzie 16
tie) Karen Wolfram 16 tie) Mona Liza Reyes 16
tie) Denise Dinger 16 tie) Mandy Henderson 16
tie) Traci Hall 16 tie) Nicole Jimenez 16 tie) Misi
White 16 tie) Jennifer DeJoya 16 tie) Andi Grasso 16
tie) Carla Stone 16 tie) Trina Goosby 16 tie)
Tricia Temple 16 tie) Huong Vo 16 tie) Tina Arabia 16
tie) Christine Burton 16 tie) Melody Manlove 16
tie) Jill Knight 16 tie) Shannon Bennett 16 tie)
Kristie Newsome 16 tie) Patricia Wilson 16 tie)
Robin Channell 16 tie) Eva Lee 16 tie) Akane Nigro 16
tie) Susan Bailey 16 tie) Jennifer Ulrich 16 tie)
Brie Zentil
B
Class (scoresheet) 1) Allison Jones Williams* 2) Chrissy
Burton 3) Michelle Woodward 4) Stacy Garcia 5)
Janae Stewart 6) Bea Fox 7) Jacqueline Skibba 8)
Keri Moser 9) Stacy Adams 10) Nikki Warner 11)
Candice Houston 12) Marama Smith 13) Denise Rose 14)
Marissa Garza 15 tie) Laura Milar 15 tie) Kori
Propst 15 tie) Natosha Green 15 tie) Elissa
Schlichter 15 tie) Nez Zamorano 15 tie) Anjalee
Lalich 15 tie) Lori Brooks 15 tie) Laura Kutnock 15
tie) Tracy Bodner 15 tie) Karen Mullarkey 15 tie)
Patty Farrow 15 tie) Carolyn Secor 15 tie) Jane
Archer 15 tie) Kelli Piggee
C
Class (scoresheet) 1) Lynn Widdowson* 2) Erin Heath 3)
Emily Nicholson 4) Holly Semanoff 5) Jessica
Norlander 6) Michelle Anderson 7) Anna Laratta 8)
Danyell Leavitt 9) Enji Khoo 10) Ginger Redeker 11)
Wendi Murray 12) Jana Stewart 13) Maria Avalos 14)
Dina Atha 15) Jeri Corte 16 tie) Erika Branich 16
tie) Stephanie Rupp 16 tie) Siene Silva 16 tie)
Linday Nguyen 16 tie) Shannon Furstenberg 16 tie)
Kristine Reinking 16 tie) Susie Henrie 16 tie)
Bonnie Stuckenschmidt 16 tie) Rada Reyes 16 tie)
Grace Rivera 16 tie) Angel Allison 16 tie) Rose
Cannon 16 tie) Stacie Hunt
D Class
(scoresheet) 1) April Fortier* 2) Danielle Kifer 3)
Tracy Guarino 4) Lillian Granillo 5) Brooke
Brusch 6) Jessica Troha 7) Natalie Bastiao 8)
Desunka Dawson 9) Kendra Mcadams 10) Felicia
ONeal 11) Kimmie Brooks 12) Meredith Berthelson 13)
Karin Kimura 14) Inez Bess 15) Michelle Welsh 16
tie) Heather Payne 16 tie) Noreene Castillo 16
tie) Toya Smith 16 tie) Laticia Harrell 16 tie)
Maria Reyes 16 tie) Amy Burkins 16 tie) Charla
Cormier 16 tie) Jill Oksenhorn 16 tie) Joy Lewis 16
tie) Venus Ramos 16 tie) Valerie Carlino 16 tie)
Courtney Paul 16 tie) Kathryn Stewart 16 tie)
Kimberly Agnew 16 tie) Michelle Bishop 16 tie)
Tiffany Stoker 16 tie) Tanya Rhoades 16 tie)
Heather Grace 16 tie) Jennifer Reynolds 16 tie)
Kiersten Weber 16 tie) Traci Saba 16 tie)
Rachelle Stephens
E Class
(scoresheet) 1) Catherine Anderson* 2) Danielle
Edmonds 3) Natalie Calland 5) Amanda Quinlan 6)
Veronica Miller 7) Stephanie Blocker 8) Tanya
Merryman 9) Jenny Lewis 10) Robyn Roveccio-Palmer
11) Sandy Scamman 12) Brandy Gilmore 13)
Shari Yates 14) Kari Lege 15) Susana Gentry 16
tie) Corina Frikken 16 tie) Angela Watson 16 tie)
Lindsey Cope 16 tie) Terra Walker 16 tie) Carolyn
Maul-LaTham 16 tie) Alecia Rankovic 16 tie) Nola
Trimble 16 tie) Joanna Wilson 16 tie) Carol Flick
16 tie) Brandy Leaver 16 tie) Robin Sinclear 16
tie) Melissa Thalhamer 16 tie) Jennifer Schumm 16
tie) Melissa Deal 16 tie) Denise Blackwell 16
tie) Suzanne Barlas 16 tie) Norma Larson 16 tie)
Michelle Mazulis 16 tie) Adriana Martinez 16 tie)
Catherine Boshuizen 16 tie) Erin Parrish 16 tie)
Janice Turbyfill
F Class
(scoresheet) 1) Jessica Wright 2) Stephanie McDonald 3)
Jamie Reed 4) Maria Rogers 5) Nancy Georges 6)
Jessica Steffens 7) Jamie Justin 8) Ali Huston 9)
Christine Aguilar 10) Julie Alves 11) Brandie
Gardner 12) Mendi Sakamoto 13) Rachel Carraway 14)
Jeanne Nimmer 15) Heather Skaar 16 tie) Ifeyinwa
Nzerem 16 tie) Kerstin Khalfani 16 tie) Jessica
Livingston 16 tie) Michelle Batista 16 tie) Avis
Ware 16 tie) Julianna Jade 16 tie) Jennifer Banks 16
tie) Ursula Cristofaro 16 tie) Sarah Sharpe 16
tie) Heidi Mierendorf 16 tie) Brigette King 16 tie)
Jessica Shannon 16 tie) Christina Pistotnik 16 tie)
Misty Green 16 tie) Lisa Balash 16 tie) Heather
Porter 16 tie) Angela Stueber 16 tie) Jodie Dooley 16
tie) Martha Lepe 16 tie) Sheila Salinas
*
Eligible for IFBB Pro Card
|
Last updated: July 31, 2007 @ 11:05 p.m. PT