NAC Culture Clash: Canadians Converge on Cleveland
Candidates from north of the border grabbed the overall titles at three of the four women’s sports contested at the ’09 IFBB North American Championships, which were held in Cleveland on August with longtime rising-star Alison Ethier getting her pro card in fitness at last, Silvana Salvati swooping in from Toronto to pluck the figure title from the grasp of a battalion of ambitious quarter-turners, and Jody Wald repeating her light-heavyweight win from 2008 in women’s bodybuilding. The biggest example of Canadian muscle came in the form of heavyweight flexer Zoa Linsey, who was coming off a runner-up finish at the Canadian Nationals on August 22. The 5’9 1/2” trainer, who lives in Japan, flew into Cleveland covered in well-conditioned muscle and dashed a lot of hopes, including those of heavyweight second-placer Holly Geersen, who was coming off a class win at the USA in July. Linsey scored commanding class and overall victories in the open as well as masters divisions.
As with promoter Gary Udit’s other big annual show, the Masters Nationals, the number of divisions and pro cards given out at the North Americans expanded in 2009. In women’s bodybuilding a card now goes to the overall winner of the masters division as well as the open. As so often happens with multiple age divisions, however, the same athlete, Zoa Linsey, won both.
Thanks to some quick action taken by Gary and the powers that be after the Masters Nat’s and the brouhaha regarding Tracy Mason’s double win there, however, the rules regarding open and masters crossover athletes and pro cards have been tweaked. Basically, if an athlete has won one overall and wins the second, the second pro card goes to the overall runner-up.
Reaping the benefit was veteran lightweight competitor Tammy Patnode, who, like Linsey, won her class in the masters division as well as the open. The 5’ New York resident, who took second at the NPC Nationals last year, had her best physique on, and the judges handed Tammy her long-sought ticket to the pros.
Wald’s win in the light heavies dashed the hopes of top United States contender Chris Sabo, second at the USA in July, who had to settle for the runner-up spot once again.
The middleweight title went to Amy Sibcy. For complete NAC results, see below.
Photo: Tammy Patnode and Zoa Linsey.
’09 IFBB North American Women’s Bodybuilding Championships
Lightweight
1) Tammy Patnode**
2) Lisa James
3) Margaret Negrete
4) Ninfa Castillo
5) Caroline Krakower
6) Barbara Stannard
Middleweight
1) Amy Sibcy
2) Cheryl Faust
3) Pam Wentz
4) Maria Mikola
5) Tami Bellon
Light Heavyweight
1) Jody Wald
2) Christine Sabo
3) LaDawn McDay
4) Janeen Lankowski
5) Diana Cook
6) Sylvia Cowan
7) Kathy Connors
8) Sylvia Chavez
9) Leslie Crook
10) Myra Adams
11) Jocelyn Gorman
12) Leah Collier
Heavyweight
1) Zoa Linsey*
2) Holly Geersen
3) Monique Jones
4) Angela Rayburn
5) Wendy McMaster
6) Michelle Brent
7) Keli Watkins
8) Christina Rhodes
9) Robyn Mentgen
10) Pamela Franklin
11) Andrea Morisse-Thiel
12) Lauren Laplante
13) Tammy Jones
14) Emanuela Silvagni
15) Demetria Franklin
16) Jill Theobald
Masters 35 and Over Lightweight
1) Tammy Patnode
2) Amy Sibcy
3) Lisa James
4) Cheryl Faust
5) Margaret Negrete
6) Rita Kaya
7) Pam Wentz
8) Ninfa Castillo
9) Caroline Krakower
10) Ellen Woodley
11) Maria Mikola
Masters 35 and Over Heavyweight
1) Zoa Linsey* **
2) Melody Spetko
3) Jody Wald
4) Angela Rayburn
5) Christine Sabo
6) Wendy McMaster
7) Michelle Brent
8) Janeen Lankowski
9) Robyn Mentgen
10) Christina Rhodes
11) Keli Watkins
12) Pamela Franklin
13) Andrea Morisse-Thiel
14) Sylvia Cowan
15) Kathy Connors
16) Lauren Laplante
17) Emanuela Silvagni
17) Jill Theobald
17) Leslie Crook
*Overall winner.
**Earned pro card.
Figure Is Fine at the NAC
The IFBB North American Championships, held last weekend in Cleveland, attracted some 300-plus quality athletes from the United States, Canada and Mexico, and you can bet your sweet you-know-what that a large share of them came to quarter-turn in figure. Canada continued its domination of the weekend with the stunning victory in that sport of Silvana Salvati, a 37-year-old from Toronto who’s been competing in figure and model search contest for less than a year.
As with her fellow Canadian Zoa Linsey in the women’s bodybuilding competition, Silvana is a tall one—5’8”—and she swept the overall in the masters division as well as the open. Since three pro cards in figure are awarded at this contest—to the masters winner as well as the top two in the overall posedown—Silvana’s double win meant that the top three class winners got the call. That was great news for LaVonda Ezell and Cheryl Brown, of the A- and B-class, respectively, who also got their cards. Both those gals have been featured in Pump & Circumstance in IRON MAN in the past couple of months after LaVonda took her class at the Masters Nationals in mid-July and Brownie notched a class win at the USA a week later. It was only a matter of time before they’d both be moving on to the next level.
Also winning their classes in the figure open were Pamela Soper, Charmayne Jackson and Katherynne Ramirez.
See below for complete NAC figure results.
Photo
New figure pros (from left): LaVonda Ezell, Silvana Salvati and Cheryl Brown.
’09 IFBB North American Figure Championships
Figure A
1) Lavonda Ezell**
2) Tiana Gonzalez
3) Crystal Brown
4) Debra Lavette
5) Juana Guadalupe-Esparza
6) Tiffany Moody
7) Anne Strouch
8) Ann Claiborne
9) Jennifer Berkowitz
10) Sara Schumann
11) Shawna Kondo
12) Gina Molinaro
13) Catherine Norris
14) Judy Del-Amor
15) Lisa Sandercock
16) Hanah Melvin
17) Debbie Bell
Figure B
1) Cheryl Brown**
2) Tiffany Procopio
3) Shannon Bennett
4) Ann Pratt
5) Wendy Tedesco
6) Lauren Jacobsen
7) Jayme Galloway
8) Betsy DiGiovanni
9) Tracey MacDonald
10) Tracy Grogg
11) Nicole Huss
12) Sarah Block
13) Shelly Albetta
14) Jennie Hendricks
15) Teresa Lake
16) Misi White
17) Judi Merrick
18) Lisa Anderson
Figure C
1) Pamela Soper
2) Chelsey Morgenstern
3) Angela Kegler
4) Ginger Redeker
5) Rachel Leblanc
6) Jennifer Marchetta
7) Nancy Tremblay
8) Mary Dent
9) Julie Bagley
10) Sabrina Sonner
11) Carmen Demske
12) Orah Bigio
13) Rommey Murphy
14) Katherine Fratello
15) Stacy Kinnard
16) Nina Cash
17) Shawna Reinhart
18) Alicia Kowalski
18) Anne Michalak
18) Beatrez Villasenor
18) Gloria Mohninger
18) Jaime Taylor
18) Lauren Krysa
18) Michelle Yatsuk
18) Selma McPherson
18) Stacy Rose
18) Trease Smock
Figure D
1) Charmayne Jackson
2) Mikaila Soto
3) Sue Knott
4) Deborah Judy
5) Jennifer Myers
6) Heather Wilson
7) Janet Lynn West
8) Melissa Colucci
9) Sheila Mettler
10) Jean Migliore
11) Kathleen Lamberson
12) Lena Borgeson
13) Nicole Pearson
14) Suzanne Barlas
15) Tanya Peale
Figure E
1) Katherynne Ramirez
2) Mona Muresan
3) Holly Powell
4) Elizabeth Earhart
5) Katie Heath
6) Allison Moyer
7) Rachel Davis
8) Renee Paul
9) Genevieve Palmer
10) Particia Manzi
11) Diana Madera
12) Michele Thorington
13) Ursula Cristofaro
14) Danielle Rouleau
Figure F
1) Silvana Salvati*
2) Sheri Fisher
3) Amanda Bollinger
4) Michelle Krack
5) Melanie Rucker
6) Siobhan Wright
7) Julie Jepson-Garcia
8) Melissa Binkley
9) Emily Zelinka
10) Shelly Howard
11) Christian Hammond
12) Michelle Bates
13) Colleen Smith
14) Sici Weinstock
15) Stephanie Billings
16) Ashleigh Gass
16) Lisa Miles
Masters 35 and Over Figure A
1) Lavonda Ezell
2) Kristina Curci
3) Tiffany Procopio
4) Shannon Bennett
5) Debra Lavette
6) Juana Guadalupe-Esparza
7) Tracy Grogg
8) Anne Strouch
9) Tiffany Moody
10) Shawna Kondo
11) Nicole Huss
12) Gina Molinaro
13) Judy Del-Amor
14) Frederica Brant
15) Teresa Lake
16) Misi White
17) Debbie Bell
17) Hanah Melvin
17) Julie Kelsey
17) Lisa Anderson
17) Lisa Sandercock
Masters 35 and Over Figure B
1) Cheryl Brown
2) Ann Pratt
3) Angela Kegler
4) Tracey MacDonald
5) Wendy Tedesco
6) Mary Dent
7) Patrice Vignola
8) Julie Bagley
9) Sabrina Sonner
10) Lara Williams
11) Jennifer Marchetta
12) Orah Bigio
13) Carmen Demske
14) Cindy Currie
15) Judi Merrick
16) Anne Michalak
16) Gloria Mohninger
16) Katherine Fratello
16) Nina Cash
16) Selma McPherson
16) Stacy Kinnard
16) Stacy Rose
Masters 35 and Over Figure C
1) Mikaila Soto
2) Elizabeth Earhart
3) Stephanie Blocker
4) Deborah Judy
5) Jennifer Myers
6) Caroline Hernandez
7) Janet Lynn West
8) Jean Migliore
9) Jamie Johnson
10) Melissa Colucci
11) Renee Paul
12) Sheila Mettler
13) Tanya Peale
14) Lena Borgeson
Masters 35 and Over Figure D
1) Silvana Salvati* **
2) Holly Powell
3) Shelly Howard
4) Colleen Smith
5) Sici Weinstock
6) Caron Mahn
7) Genevieve Palmer
8) Particia Manzi
9) Ursula Cristofaro
* Overall winner.
** Earned pro card.
Kat Meows at the NAC
The NPC and IFBB’s new bikini division attracted an attractive lineup at the North American Championships last weekend in Cleveland, August 28 and 29, although it was nowhere near as large as the group that assembled in Las Vegas to contest the USA Bikini Championships a month ago. The overwhelming choice for the open bikini overall, based on reports, was a gal who got my attention earlier in the year, Kat Holmes. The 5’4 1/4” ballroom dance teacher from Panama City Beach, Florida, is a natural for bikini competition and did some 10 shows this season in her quest for a pro card. At the USA, where she got fourth, the worst placing of her run, her physique was a little too loose, particularly in the lower body. Based on the photos, that was not the case in Cleveland.
Additional pro cards went to Kira Rivera, who won the masters and also took her class in the open, and Jessica Lawrence, the runner-up for the overall in the open division.
Also winning her class in the open division was Gillian Risebury. It’s worth noting that masters bikini competition is so far not attracting anywhere near the hordes of over-35 hotties as are flocking to masters figure. I suspect that will change, but how big an attraction it will be remains to be seen.
See below for complete NAC Bikini results.
’09 IFBB North American Bikini Championships
Bikini A
1) Gillian Risebury
2) Atenea Lara-Gavino
3) Nicole Klasnick
4) Stephanie Sewell
5) Sarah Potts
Bikini B
1) Kira Rivera
2) Kimberly Castle
3) Melissa Grady
4) Debra Dunn
5) Nicole Rubinoux
6) Clare Cui
7) Grace Carney
8) Michelle Lamb
Bikini C
1) Kat Holmes* **
2) Sunshine Moose
3) Tanya McCort
4) Danyell Johnson
5) Elizabeth Radinovic
6) Kathryn Rice
Bikini D
1) Jessica Lawrence**
2) Missy Coles
3) Kristin Romine
4) Elise Firestone
5) Judy Weichman
6) Vanessa Rose
7) Kristin Bittner
8) Sherry Hasty
Masters 35 and Over Bikini A
1) Kira Rivera* **
2) Melissa Grady
3) Debra Dunn
4) Stephanie Sewell
Masters 35 and Over Bikini B
1) Renee Jars
2) Judy Weichman
3) Sherry Hasty
* Overall winner.
** Earned pro card.
More NAC Winners
Fitness returned to the IFBB North American Championships last weekend, just in time for veteran Canadian competitor Allison Ethier to take the overall and earn her pro card at last. I’ve been covering Ethier, who won the IRON MAN-sponsored Bodyspace Model Search in January, since her early days competing in the Ms. Fitness organization a decade ago. She spent the rest of this season dogging the tracks of fellow Canadian vet Sylvia Tremblay, who edged her out at the Armold Amateur in March and beat her in the short class at the Canadian Fitness Nationals on August 15 before going on to win the overall and her own long-sought pro card. Now Allison, a 32-year-old high school math teach from Quebec, will see her in the pros
Elsewhere at the North Americans…
On the subject of masters competitors and pro cards, a huge congratulatory shout-out to IRON MAN’s Dave Goodin, who won a newly instituted card at the NAC—for taking the overall in the masters 50-and-over
division. The Texas Shredder, so called because he’s one of the most conditioned and consistent athletes in the sport, is also one of the nicest guys in the industry. Guess we won’t be predicting that the Austin-based flexer will win his class at the Team Universe next month.
Dave Goodin’s column, Shredded Muscle, appears every month in IRON MAN.