2008 NPC Junior Nationals Contest Report - Figure Class F

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Figure Class F was most affected by the changes in the height classes for 2008, and in fact there were only six athletes who measured over 5'8" and only one competitor who logged in at 5'9". The competitors are out there, however, and we expect to see more of them later this year. If you analyze the score sheets, this class also featured some differences in placings between the one piece and two piece rounds, and not necessarily in the order that we would have expected. Jennifer Martin from Louisiana took the one piece round with a score of "6", with symmetry, tiny joints, and superb appendage lines (legs and arms) being her strongest attributes. She improved her conditioning significantly between Charleston and Chicago and even was showing some enviable leg separation. Jennifer also has a very tight midsection, but in spite of that she fell to third place in the two piece round. In the end, she was able to pull off a very deserving class win by a single point.

Second place in the class had to be decided with a tie-breaker, with both Ali Huston and Noel Clark finishing one point away from first. 22-year old Ali was second in both posing suits but particularly stood out in her two piece, where her etched midsection and tightened physique were on display. Defined abdominals remain an almost universally admired trait on or off the figure stage, and thankfully still seem to in vogue with the new judging criteria. Ali presented her best package ever and will look to move up even more at USA's in Las Vegas. Noel placed 4th in her one piece but unanimously won the two piece round, as she continued to improve her placings after making tremendous physique and presentation refinements during the off-season.

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For the second straight show, Arizona athlete Christine Aguilar filled out her tall frame nicely to accompany her already championship-level symmetry and placed 4th. Michigan native Amanda Breznau rounded out the top five with a little bit of a softer look than she exhibited while winning the tall class and the overall in May at the NPC Pittsburgh. California star and 7th-place finisher Veronica Ramirez, the tall class winner at the 2007 NPC Border States, NPC Sacramento and NPC San Francisco, made her way to the national scene and showed off some beautiful legs, excellent symmetry and creative presentation. We predict that she will be a major factor in the tall class at future national level shows.

We're fans of Tammy Bleile's level of well-distributed, high quality muscle and she has made significant improvements to her presentation since the 2007 Junior USA's. Tammy finished 9th and we hope that she is encouraged to compete more often because her look adds a lot to the stage. Rounding out the top ten was future superstar Stephanie Billings, an athlete who we predict will make her way to an IFBB card sometime in the next two years. This was Stephanie's first national level show, and it was almost as if she was overlooked during the one piece round and then "discovered" on Saturday, placing 6th in her two piece. Stephanie is gorgeous with excellent mass and the makings of some of the best figure leg lines on stage, and if she can eliminate some of the streakiness in her tan and continue to make moderate refinements to her physique the sky is the limit for her.

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