FigureRX Contest Report: 2007 National Figure Championships and 2007 Team Universe Fitness Championships

July 13-14th, 2007
By Stephen Bierer

What a difference a year makes! The 2006 version of the National Figure Championships in New York represented a change in course for the entire season. After several warnings at check-ins and mandatory meetings in Charleston and Chicago, the judging panel turned the standings topsy turvy and penalized several top contenders for their level of hardness. Not so in 2007, where the judges actually did a pretty good job assessing talent … muscular and more conditioned competitors moved up, as long as they had those other necessary qualities like symmetry, beauty and presentation.

The renaissance in fitness is a great thing for everyone in the industry, and we would like to credit IFBB professionals like Tanji Johnson and Kim Klein for leading the way with their efforts, and for the example they set both on and off the stage. The competition in the fitness division at Team Universe was some of the best we have seen in quite a while, and we can’t wait to see what happens at Nationals in Dallas this November. Six IFBB pro cards for fitness were handed out here, two per height class, and we wish some more of them could have been transferred to the B class which was unbelievably stacked.

	Bethany Wagner

Jessica Rohm won Fitness Class A, just as she did at Junior Nationals in Chicago, while New England’s Maggie Blanchard moved up one spot to 2nd. Maggie is an excellent promoter and posing suit maker, and now she is also an IFBB pro! Fitness Class B featured a showdown between two 2007 overall winners, Bethany Wagner who took the title at Junior USA’s and Tina Durkin who won the overall at Junior Nationals. Bethany has a very cute routine and a great physique, and she took the class. But somewhere in the middle a new star emerged and took second place along with an IFBB card. Erin Riley won her first fitness show, the Bev Francis Atlantic States, and then turned pro at her second here in New York. With fifteen years of gymnastics experience her routine was incredible and her physique is amazing … and we are pleased to say that Erin will be joining Team FigureRX as we sponsor her for her pro debut at the Atlantic City Pro in September.

	Erin Riley

Tina placed third and we expect her to do very well at Nationals in November. In Fitness Class C, Nicole Wilkins swept the title and the overall but more about her later. Michelle Mayberry, the Emerald Cup overall winner, took the second pro card in the class.

Figure Class A (up to and including 5’2”) was the second largest class with 36 competitors. Huong Arcinas took home a pro card with a first place win, as expected. Huong was in incredible shape as usual and always has some of the best legs on stage in every category – shape, size and conditioning. The second pro card in this class went to Meriza DeGuzman from San Diego.

Huong Arcinas	Desha Rodriguez	Monica Mark

Tivisay Briceno came in a bit harder than she did at Junior Nationals in Chicago, and was rewarded with a 3rd place finish. She also smiled quite a bit more, and now moves on to Masters in Pittsburgh where she will be a FigureRX favorite to win a card. Monica Mark has excellent back development and an overall look that will have her moving up soon, she has improved her conditioning a lot since winning the Ironman in February. Melody Manlove (7th) is a Texas newcomer with a great package, and another competitor who we expect to move up is Florida’s Desha Rodriguez, who placed 8th in New York. In the somewhat overlooked category we would place Tiffany Procopia, who needs to work on her posing, and Michigan’s Shannon Bennett.

Tara Chandler		Karen Mullarkey

Tara Chandler first caught our eye in Chicago where she placed 3rd, and she was a very deserving champion in Figure Class B (over 5’2” and up to and including 5’3”). Tara is obviously blessed with incredible genetics, which allows her to then work hard to develop some of the best muscle ratios on stage. Second place and a pro card went to Karen Mullarkey, who also has a lot of potential to make an impact in the IFBB. Karen had previously placed 5th at the 2007 Junior Nationals and the 2006 USA’s.

Marissa Ann Garza	Lauren Rosen	Angie Platten

Class B was the smallest with only 17 competitors, but several stood out. Seventh place finisher Marissa Ann Garza is destined for great things, but she needs a little more posing suit bling and to hold her arms a little closer to her body when posing. Lauren Rosen has a cute look, while Oklahoma State champion Angie Platten had a solid national debut. Edith Driver has good potential but needs to work on her overall conditioning.

In Figure Class C (over 5’3” and up to and including 5’4”), Becky Clawson moved up from 2nd place in Chicago to win the class and her pro card. We really like the runner up in this class, Heather Green, and believe she is going to be an excellent pro – we can’t wait for her debut! Erin Heath was very tight with great upper body conditioning, and placed 3rd in this very top-heavy class of 24 competitors; we are looking for Erin to move up in Las Vegas.

Heather Green	Pamela Soper	Lauren Notini

Pamela Soper took 5th place with a very good overall look that included great lines and small joints, after winning her class at the NPC Pittsburgh and placing 4th in Chicago. Lauren Notini is an attractive competitor with excellent arm development, Keri Moser has stand-out rear delts, and we were pleased to see Tara Gooch move up somewhat. Lynn Widdowson is a competitor with potential who was not at her best here, placing 13th.

Krissy Chin dominated the deepest and strongest class of the night, Figure Class D (over 5’4” and up to and including 5’5”), and she also would have been our choice for the overall title. We can’t say enough about this talented athlete who is also a great person, and we know Krissy is going to be at or near the top of the professional ranks soon (we wish her the best in her pro debut at the Houston Pro).

Krissy Chin		Tiffany Rabon

We’re pleased that Hazal Nelson was able to pull off the rare feat of placing 2nd and winning her pro card in her first national show of the year, after two top 15 placings in 2006, because her solid muscularity combined with great symmetry is good for the sport. We would also place her among the better pro card winners of the night. Jennifer Toth placed 6th in Chicago and moved up to 4th here, while the 9th place finisher in Chicago, Tiffany Rabon, has great shoulder development and overall shape and moved up to 7th in New York. We also like Karyn Brantley a lot and hope that she will do more national level shows next year.

Hazal Nelson		Karyn Brantley

Lauren Noah has an adorable look and followed up on her 2nd place finish in Charleston with a top ten here. Tiffany Refner picked the wrong show to enter this year, she has an ideal figure shape but comes in a little smoother, and that look was not favored at Nationals. A functional fitness physique along with a total figure package is a beautiful thing, and Erica Hamilton has both and could have placed higher than 12th here. We loved the props Erica selected to use during in her routine. Florida’s Nicole Weeks also should have placed much higher, she came in looking excellent and was simply robbed. Other competitors to note in this huge, stacked class include Amy Linas, who was 13th in Chicago but 16th here, and Michele Naylon, who inexplicably fell from 3rd at the Junior USA’s. Karin Kimura was not as well conditioned as normal, while Dorothy Trojanowicz also came in softer after needing to go in the other direction after Junior Nationals.

Lauren Noah	Erica Hamilton	Nicole Weeks

The star of the evening, Nicole Wilkins, resided in Figure Class E (over 5’5” and up to and including 5’6”) where she swept both the figure *and* fitness overall titles. Nicole has All-American cover girl looks and we love her lines in her one piece posing suit. The other pro card was also well deserved, going to Stacy Clary who has improved her look at each and every show she has entered. Amanda Quinlan placed 11th in New York and has a bright future, while Jennifer Meyers has a sleek physique and moved up to 12th after placing 13th in Chicago. It’s just a matter of time for Angela Watson as long as she shows up to compete at the major shows, and we hope that Jenny Flores stays at it as well because she has excellent muscle maturity and great tie-ins.

Nicole Wilkins		Stacy Clary

Teresa Anthony, who we already declared the most improved competitor of the year, took first place in Figure Class F (over 5’6”) and a much deserved pro card. We recommend that everyone keep an eye on her career because she’s only getting better and we believe she is a future star. The second card in Class F went to heavily muscled Melissa Griffin, who also won her class in Charleston and was top five in Chicago.

Teresa Anthony		Melissa Griffin

Jessica Wright placed third, once again just missing her pro card but we believe that it will happen for her soon. Jamie Reed put together a total package and looked incredible, moving up to 4th place in this competitive class. We would have placed Misty Green a little bit higher, but it’s hard to figure out how high in this excellent class of athletes. Look for Ali Huston, who placed 10th here, to climb higher in Las Vegas. We’d also like to see more of Nicole McCrary, who looked superb in her national debut.

Jamie Reed	Misty Green	Nicole McCrary

We welcome any comments that you may have about this article at FigureRX@verizon.net.