TEAM

Photo by: CrossFit HQ
 

Event 6

 

For total time, women will complete, then men will complete:

50 GHD sit-ups, each

50 muscle-ups, total

50 hang power cleans, total (205 / 135 lb.)

 

Females will go first. Males may begin once females have moved to the finish mat.

 

Time cap: 25 minutes

Athlete order: FFF then MMM

 

Schwartzs CrossFit Melbourne essentially booked their spot to Carson with another dominant performance in Event 6 while CrossFit Athletic boosted their chances of advancing to the Games with a solid second place showing. 

 

CrossFit North Head’s women were dominant in heat 1 and gave their men a huge lead. Their time of 23:44 was good enough for 8th overall in the event. In heat 2, Team Creature’s 23:08 gave them a 5th place finish in the event. In heat 3, the top teams showed no sign of letting up. The ladies of Schwartzs CrossFit Melbourne and Zaks Pack East Tamaki were aggressive on the GHD and aggressive on the rings. Schwartzs’ women were the first to the barbell at the 7:20 mark closely followed by CrossFit Athletic, the team in third position in the standings. The latter team gave their men a few seconds’ advantage, but it was Schwartzs’ men reaching the barbell first. They had over 30 reps on the hang cleans before they were joined by anyone else. CrossFit Athletic were undone by a number of no reps on the muscle ups but they were nonetheless the second team to the barbell. Still, there was no catching Schwartzs who were well ahead of the pack with their time of 18:34, with CrossFit Athletic snatching the second spot at 20:28. Zaks Pack East Tamaki were third at 21:48, showing again that they were one of the elite teams in this competition. 

 

Going in, the focus for Schwartz CrossFit Melbourne was the muscle ups. “The girls chipped through their set of 50 really really well, Jaime right off the bat with a set of 10. So that’s a huge start,” team member Andrew Lauterstein said. “It put the boys in a good position to execute their game plan as well.”

 

Results

 

1. Schwartzs CrossFit Melbourne (18:34)

2. CrossFit Athletic (20:28)

3. Zaks Pack East Tamaki (21:48)

4. Southern CrossFit (22:22)

5. Team Creature (23:08)

 

Event 7

 

For time, each athlete moves through stations of:

30-calorie row 

  Deadlift hold while trailing teammate rows (315 / 205 lb.)

30 strict handstand push-ups

  Handstand hold while trailing teammate performs HSPU

30 toes-to-bars

  Static hang while trailing teammate performs toes-to-bars

50-foot overhead axle lunge (155 / 105 lb.)

 

Time cap: 20 minutes

Athlete order: Any

 

Schwartzs CrossFit Melbourne used superior strategy and teamwork to become only the second team in any region to finish Event 7. Their excellence over the entire weekend sent a message of intent ahead of the CrossFit Games this July. They will be joined by Zaks Pack East Tamaki, an experienced team that didn’t finish outside the top 10 until the last event, and CrossFit Rocks which earned four top 5 finishes over the weekend. CrossFit Athletic and CrossFit Active complete the list of qualifiers. The latter team won the battle for that fifth transfer spot, overtaking Southern CrossFit in this last event. 

 

CrossFit North Head got the farthest in the first heat, with two athletes onto the finish mat. Tropic Thunder and Team Creature were just outside the top five heading into this final event, with tickets to the Games on the line, and needed to do well. The former team was the second to send an athlete to the finish mat. But it was G Force who was the first to send two athletes to the finish mat. Tropic Thunder would end up having the 6th best performance in the event, but it wasn’t enough to get them into the qualifying places. In heat 3, CrossFit Active was only two points outside of the top 5 going in, so they had everything to compete for. They were vying for that 5th position with Southern CrossFit. Range of Motion, Southern CrossFit and CrossFit Active were the first teams to the toes-to-bar.  CrossFit Loaded, a team which excelled on Day 1 and was vying for a qualifying spot, looked in trouble when they still had one athlete on the starting mat at 14 minutes into the workout. Schwartzs CrossFit Melbourne were the first team to have two then three then four athletes then five then all six of their team across the finish line at 19:47. They were by far the only team to complete this grueling workout. For CrossFit Active and Southern CrossFit, it was a race to get through the handstand push ups, the real gauntlet for athletes in this event. In the end, the former team’s 8th place finish bested Southern CrossFit’s 12th place finish, and their reward was the 5th qualifying spot and a ticket to the Games. 

 

Team member Jordan Bender of Schwartzs CrossFit Melabourne said jokingly, “We’re a little bit happy. We’re completely stoked. We’ve been working really hard. Our coach has been busting us for the last four weeks for this. And it’s really nice to get the reward.” 

 

Results

 

1. Schwartzs CrossFit Melbourne (19:47)

2. CrossFit Rocks (CAP + 98)

3. CrossFit HPU (CAP + 108)

4. CrossFit BAGUS (CAP + 109)

5. Range of Motion (CAP + 117)

 

CrossFit Games Qualifiers 

 

1. Schwartzs CrossFit Melbourne (660 pts)

2. Zaks Pack East Tamaki (567 pts)

3. CrossFit Rocks (553 pts)

4. CrossFit Athletic (524 pts)

5. CrossFit Active (520 pts)

 

INDIVIDUAL MEN

Photo by: CrossFit HQ
 

Event 6

 

5 rounds for time of:

25-calorie row

16 chest-to-bar pull-ups

9 strict deficit handstand push-ups

 

Time cap: 16 minutes

 

Joel Munro and Zeke Grove, from heat 3, were the fastest athletes of the day while Games veteran Brandon Swan stumbled again after doing so well to climb back into contention on Day 2. Both Rob Forte and Khan Porter showed well to stay clear of everyone else at the top of the leaderboard. 

 

CJ Walker took heat 1 with a time of 14:24. In heat 2, Callum Ward’s 14:06 became the time to beat. Heat 3 turned out to have the fastest athletes of the day. Zeke Grove and Joel Munro matched each other throughout the workout.  Grove was in the lead going in to round five, but Munro cycled quickly through the pull ups, going unbroken, and was first to the wall. Both athletes had to break multiple times on the final set of handstand push ups, and a no rep for Grove turned out to be costly. Both athletes sprinted to the finish mat, but it was Munro taking the heat and the event with an incredible time of 11:51, less than 15 seconds off the world record. 

 

Munro said, “When I first saw the workout they were all strengths of mine so I knew I could break less. When I was doing it in training I went through it unbroken but coming here in this venue you feel a bit sore coming into this event. I was still going to go for it unbroken. The last set of handstand push ups I didn’t get through but keeping up with Zeke, he’s my best mate, we knew he had some of the same strengths and having him beside me pushing me made it better.” 

 

The last heat was memorable for all the wrong reasons for Brandon Swan who’s had a seesaw weekend. He had a terrible first day followed by a brilliant Saturday to pull himself up to third place overall. The strict handstand push ups killed him on Event 6, and he ended up tied for 22nd position in the event. The result put his hopes of going back to the Games in jeopardy. Dean Linder-Leighton won heat 4 with a time of 12:44, and Kevin Manuel’s 5th place finish in the event put him in sight of a transfer spot for the Games. Khan Porter finished 4th and Rob Forte finished 7th to remain in 2nd and 1st respectively in the overall standings.  

 

Results

 

1. Joel Munro (11:51)

2. Zeke Grove (11:52)

3. Dean Linder-Leighton (12:44)

4. Khan Porter (13:04)

5. Kevin Manuel (13:11)

 

Event 7

 

For time:

15 muscle-ups

1 squat clean (205 / 135 lb.)

1 squat clean (225 / 145 lb.)

1 squat clean (245 / 155 lb.)

1 squat clean (255 / 165 lb.)

1 squat clean (265 / 175 lb.)

 

Ben Garard set a world record to cap off a stunning comeback and qualify for the CrossFit Games in fifth position. Meanwhile, Khan Porter took advantage of Rob Forte’s worst performance of the weekend to become the Pacific regional champion. Chad Mackay and Kevin Manual completed the stable of five athletes in the transfer positions. 

 

There was a shake-up at the top of the leaderboard after this crucial final event, which meant that a couple of athletes had their hearts broken. A couple of others were elated by the result, which meant that against the odds they would be heading to Carson in July. 

 

David Wiggin took heat 1 with a time of 1:44. In heat 2, CJ Walker beat Luke McGruer by a step. Walker’s 1:31 would end up being the 5th fastest time of the day. Michael Mogard, a Games veteran, took heat 3 in 1:32 after a couple of athletes missed on the final barbell. In heat 4, Kevin Manuel and Ben Garard were first to the barbell after the muscle ups. Garard hopped gracefully over each dropped barbell like a skilled hurdler, never pausing and never struggling with any of his lifts. He needed a steller performance and he got one, setting the world record in the process by one second. Yelling in celebration, he knew he’d done what he needed to do. Manuel, likewise, did his job and by finishing second in the event leapt into the fourth qualifying position. On the other hand, Dean Linder-Leighton and James Connew both dropped out of the transfer positions due to their performances. Linder-Leighton struggled mightily to 29th place in the event. Connew fared better, in 12th, but it wasn’t enough to keep him safe. In the end, he finished 6th overall behind Garard whose first day of the competition was a nightmare, finishing 27th and 23rd in Events 1 and 2. After that, however, he never finished outside of the top 10 in any event, displaying enormous heart and determination to secure his first trip to the Games. Khan Porter’s fifth top 5 finish of the weekend enabled him to overtake Rob Forte, who led the entire weekend, and win the title of fittest man in the Pacific region. Forte finished 27th in the event.      

 

Garard said, “I was so fired up to get out there. I was chomping at the bit for that one. As soon as that one got released I said that one’s got my name on it. I stayed calm, a little bit wobbly on the rings but as soon as I got off it was game over.”

 

Results

 

1. Ben Garard (1:17)

2. Kevin Manuel (1:21)

3. Khan Porter (1:25)

4. Chad Mackay (1:28)

4. CJ Walker (1:31)

Games Qualifiers

 

1. Khan Porter (551 pts)

2. Rob Forte (541 pts)

3. Chad Mackay (489 pts)

4. Kevin Manuel (471 pts)

5. Ben Garard (469 pts)

 

INDIVIDUAL WOMEN

Photo by: CrossFit HQ
 

Event 6

 

5 rounds for time of:

25-calorie row

16 chest-to-bar pull-ups

9 strict deficit handstand push-ups

 

Time cap: 16 minutes

 

The final heat was full of drama as four women raced each other to become the first to finish the event on the day. In the end, Alethea Boon employed fast cycle times on the chest to bar pull ups and the strict handstand push ups to pull away from the other three women in the last round. 

 

Heat 2’s Angela Kyme and Rebecca Gowing did very well to make into the fifth round of this difficult workout. Their performances stood up well and they ended up sixth and seventh respectively in the event. Early on, in heat 4, Kara Webb lost precious seconds after believing she had finished the first row when in fact she had a few more calories to go. Most athletes broke up the handstand push ups into small, manageable sets early on.   Alethea Boon, though slower on the row as a shorter athlete, took the lead through her proficiency on the handstand push ups. Danae Brown was right behind her going in to the second round, and Stephanie Ortiz joined them as the early leaders. Ortiz and Tia-Clair Toomey jumped on the ERGs just seconds behind Brown and Boon in the third round. It was Brown and Boon in the lead with just one round to go, Brown’s strength on the rower and Boon’s on the wall. It was crucial that Boon went unbroken on the pull ups while Brown came off the bar. Boon attacked the handstand push ups in quick sets of three to take the heat and the event in 14:47. Brown joined her on the finish mat at 15:05, beating Toomey by only four-tenths of a second.

 

Boon said, “I’m absolutely stoked. I just went in knowing I really sucked at rowing, so I kind of did a lazy row and just went hard on the rest, which seemed to pay off.”

 

Results

 

1. Alethea Boon (14:47)

2. Danae Brown (15:05)

3. Tia-Clair Toomey (15:05)

4. Kara Webb (CAP + 5)

5. Stephanie Ortiz (CAP + 6)

 

Event 7

 

For time:

15 muscle-ups

1 squat clean (205 / 135 lb.)

1 squat clean (225 / 145 lb.)

1 squat clean (245 / 155 lb.)

1 squat clean (255 / 165 lb.)

1 squat clean (265 / 175 lb.)

 

Kara Webb added an exclamation point to her dominance over the weekend by easily taking the last event. Alethea Boon, Danae Brown and Tia-Clair Toomey all made sure of their spots in Carson by performing well. In the race for the fifth and final qualifying spot, Sammy Wood overtook Stephanie Ortiz after trailing her for most of the weekend. 

 

Victoria Campos won heat 1 with a time of 3:36. Rebecca Gowing missed on the final barbell but recovered to take heat 2 with a time of 2:56. In heat 3, Joelene Neville tripped over her last barbell on the way to a heat-winning time of 3:04.  In heat 4, Kara Webb went unbroken on the muscle ups, but a strange no-rep on the first barbell allowed Alethea Boon to catch up to her. Given the difference in physical size, the race between the two women was never really a contest. Webb handled the barbells with ease and stepped onto the finish mat at 1:45 to easily win the event. Tia-Clair Toomey raced through the last couple of barbells while Boon had to take her time with the set up, and consequently Toomey took second place in the event to cap off an excellent weekend and book her place in Carson. Sammy Wood made her last lift and stepped onto the finish mat at 2:20 in a 4th place event performance that saw her take over the fifth and final transfer spot. Stephanie Ortiz found herself the odd woman out when the dust settled. She got stuck on the muscle ups and her 18th place performance, her worst of the weekend, meant that sixth place overall was hers, a cruel fate for any CrossFit athlete in this regional season. 

 

Webb said, “Man I am fired up and ready to finish what I started.” When asked about her training for the next couple of months she added: “Knuckle down, do what I’ve been doing, train the way I do, listen to my coach, do what I’m told and make sure I’m looking out for myself. Don’t ever take your body and your health for granted. That’s your number one priority as an athlete.”

  

Results

 

1. Kara Webb (1:45)

2. Tia-Clair Toomey (1:51)

3. Alethea Boon (2:01)

4. Sammy Wood (2:20)

5. Denae Brown (2:47)

 

Games Qualifiers

 

1. Kara Webb (645 pts)

2. Alethea Boon (589 pts)

3. Tia-Clair Toomey (578 pts)

4. Denae Brown (561 pts)

5. Sammy Wood (536 pts)

Related Articles:
2015 East Regional Recap: Day 3
2015 South Regional Recap: Day 3