SportsRant.com inside the NPC Figure & Fitness
With Clark Kent & photographer Walt Ostarly
As always Shannon Meteraud and Tres Bennett put on a wonderful event in the 2006 NPC Junior USA’s were no different. The event took place in Charleston, SC for a third year in a row and was once again a definite crowd pleaser.
This years show had an added teaser, two figure pro cards to be given out at this years event with almost 100 girls competing for them it wasn't going to be easy. Walt and I began our coverage as we always do perusing the lobby and attending the competitor meeting/check-in, in search of that one competitor we feel has that extra something and follow her from start to finish, stay with us and see how things turn out.
When the first group of figure competitors took the stage we knew it was going to be tough. The class A stand out was #14 Sonia Adcock a beautiful young lady with stage presence that was hard to miss. Sonia was our choice, we had her picked as the overall winner but the judges thought otherwise. Sonia did however go on to win the class A division.
Other class A stand outs were #28 Melissa Froio #16 Jennifer DeJoya both of which made the top five and #26 Kristie Newsome who took 8th but we feel defiantly belonged in the top 5.
In the class B once again we were on with the judges
And selected #58 as the winner of the class B as well as one of our choices to turn pro, however the class B did have the strongest competition and yielded a few mistakes or shall we say oversights in judging
.
Remember early on I said we selected a competitor from the start that we felt had that something extra to win? Well our choice was competitor #45 Angie Picarello. This young lady was a total stand out and got two first round call outs but for some odd reason failed to make the top five. Im sure we will se her in Chicago and I am sure she will do well.
Other surprises that weren't in the top five were last week’s winner of the class B in Panama City at the 2006 NPC Shannon Dey was Gina Ostarly. Gina was in the best shape I had ever seen her in, this 38 year old mother of three looked right at home on the stage with a beautiful smile and nice V-shape taper along with probably the best Abs on stage we just don’t know how the judges missed her, she placed a strong 10th but you can bet Gina will turn Pro in the very near future. Another pick we had for the class B that we feel went overlooked was #38 Jeni Hanson who finished 11th. The rest of our B class picks were...
#41 Tamara Amend took 4th
#56 Stacy Adams took 3rd.
Class C was also a tough call but we had the winner all the way #64 Elizabeth Lamm a a young lady with a fresh smile an very distinct look that we feel propelled her to victory. Now 2nd and 3rd place we felt were a bit off. We had #81 Nola Trimble as an easy 2nd place if not a win, Nola had an eye catching look on stage and her suit selections were second to none. Last but not least we would like to mention...
Lauren Noah also a C class competitor with a beautiful overall look on stage but just needed a bit more conditioning, keep your eye on this girl in the future.
Now lets finish it up with the tallest division, D class was an all together different call. This class displayed a very diverse array of competitors from muscular to skinny and everything in between. Once again we had the winning pick with #100 Lisa Morton, Lisa was a very cute and also went on to win the overall show. She had a very different look from the winners a much more muscular look.
The D class competitor with a more of the look the judges seem to be going for that day was #109 Melissa Montanaro, a very cute girl which we feel had more of the look to coincide with the winners of the class A, B and C but hey that’s just our observation. Overall the judging of the show Headed by Sandy Ranalli and Peter Potter was the best judging I have seen in a very long time, congratulations on a great show.
Inside Fitness at the 2006 JR USA!
As we all know fitness in the NPC has been a dying sport since figure came on the seen. This showing honestly was no different with the rare exception of a couple of great routine performances. They had two divisions short and tall with a total of 14 competitors. The A class (short) had the toughest competition by far in the way of physiques and routines.
Ashlynn Evans (class A) we thought had an overall best fitness look and attitude, with a bit more conditioning she will be a serious contender. Michelle Theison made some great physique changes and showed a strong routine to take 2nd place. Christy Green the A class winner took no prisoners, Christy had an excellent physique matched up with one hell of a routine. Class B fitness (tall) had a larger showing of (8 competitors with Liza Hughes emerging the victor. Liza had a very energetic routine that she did with confidence but she needs to beef it up quite a bit if she plans on pursuing a pro card in NPC fitness. Needless to say it was an easy overall win for Christy Green with her excellent performance.
Mother of three wins & gains IFBB Pro card
Leslie Morris was another of our picks not only to win her class but also to go on to get her Pro card, which she did in fact accomplish. We met Leslie and her husband after the show and found out Leslie is a proud mother of three children, Leslie again congratulations on an amazing accomplishment.
Behind the scenes with Pam Betz
The show could not go on with out the unselfish efforts of Pam Betz, month after month show after show year after year Pam gets it done. As I am sure you all know Pam Betz puts on her own show:
The upcoming 2006 Junior National Championships
Deadline for Entry: May 26, 2006
The event is held in Chicago, IL Jun 16-17
For more info contact Pam Betz 1-407-876-4467
Girls if you’re serious about your NPC career
DO NOT MISS THIS EVENT!
Quick Points & Thoughts:
Does anyone know why?
Why all of the NPC National shows all are jumbled so close together this year? Doesn't the NPC realize that if the shows were a bit more spread apart each show would draw more attendance as well as more competitors.
Why not a new division?
Why not a new NPC division? NPC Miss Fit Beauty, a bit less than fitness and figure. At the shows we keep hearing NO MUSCLES that’s not what we want but that’s not what we see. So hey make way for a new division.
Clark Kent is a new to the Rant and will cover Fitness competitions for Sportsrant.com. You can send comments to clark.kent@sportsrant.com
