Fortuitous Night for Felicia at the '10 Border States Pro Figure

It was a good show last night at the initial Border States Pro Figure competition but a close call for the initial Border States Pro Figure champ, Felicia Romero, who fended off serious challenge from Kristi Tauti to take the title by a slim two points. Seventeen women answered promoter Jon Lindsay’s call to quarter-turn for cash and Olympia invites in San Diego, with no shortage of potential in the bunch. From the first callout, however, the judges were focused on the above-mentioned pair, with persons of interest including, in alphabetical order, Krissy Chin, Carin Hawkins, Akane Nigro-Ismeal, Kristin Nunn and April Roundtree.

The battle for first played out along classic lines: Tauti was more conditioned but Romero had the better overall shape—and she was conditioned enough. Hence the striking brunette from Mesa, Arizona, who was ninth at the  Olympia last month, notched her forth pro win and secured an early invitation to make her fourth appearance on the Olympia stage in 2010, real efficiency of effort.

Also ahead of the game for the upcoming season were Tauti and Chin, who was practically in tears when she realized she’d gotten the nod for third. The judges had not been so clear about their intentions in that on that one. Some of us thought it might go to Nigro-Ismeal, the ’09 NPC USA class winner, who made a smashing pro debut, but it was not to be. Krissy’s noticeably smaller and softer package had the kind of not-just-the-same-old-thing factor that gets people’s attention, and it got the panel’s.

Nunn took the fourth spot and Akane was fifth. Not too bad for her first time out.

Mr. Lindsay was very pleased with the turnout, and wanted to make sure everyone knows that he’s doing it again next year. The ’10 IFBB Border States Pro Figure—companion show to the NPC Border States Championships—is set for next October 16. In fact Lindsay Productions’ schedule for 2010 includes four women’s pro events in California, two bikini—the Max Muscle Pro Bikini in Culver City  on March 27 and the Pacific USA Pro Bikini in Anaheim on August 14—and two figure contests—at the Cal (as usual) in Culver City on May 29 and the Border States, which will again go down in San Diego.

Returning to this years competition, here are the complete results for ’09 IFBB Border States Pro Figure:

1) Felicia Romero*
2) Kristi Tauti*
3) Krissy Chin*
4) Kristin Nunn
5) Akane Nigro-Ismeal
6) April Rountree
7) Carin Hawkins
8) Meriza DeGuzman
9) Ann Titone
10) Sabrina Gibson
11) Christina Vargas
12) Jennifer Dejoya
13) Crystal Chiles
14) Stephanie Togrul
15) Valerie Gangi
16) Ann Pratt
17) Maria Del Consuelo Rojas
*Qualified for the ’10 Figure Olympia.

Photo: The callout tells the tale in San Diego (from left): Kristin Nunn, Krissy Chin, Felicia Romero, Kristi Tauti and Akane Nigro-Ismeal.