The 2025 Northern California Classic…aka the NorCal Classic…aka the NCC…wrapped up Sunday night. The final In-Person Qualifying Event of the season, however, didn’t come without controversy.
Throughout the weekend, athletes faced several changes to the events. From the lanes being uneven due to differences in the Gator in Stow and Go to the removal of heavy double-unders in Pumphouse to the weights being changed at the last minute for the final event, the NorCal Classic had plenty of complications.
With the Truck Push, the Gator in the left lane was found to be much harder to push than the Gator in the right line. The organizers, Blair Morrison and Ben Alderman, changed the scoring to 50% and then shortly thereafter separated the scoring between the right and left lanes.
In simpler terms, the athletes who pushed the Gator in the right lane were scored against only those who were in the right lane. And those in the left lane were scored separately against others from the left lane.
In Pumphouse, the handles of the RXSG heavy jump ropes were coming apart from the heat in earlier divisions. Multiple athletes had their jump rope fall apart mid-competition. As such, the double-unders were removed from the event for the elite divisions.
And for the final event, I was told that judges were briefed with different weights than originally programmed and the changed weights were used on the competition floor for both the men and women. The last minute change, however, caused some confusion among athletes.
Illia Moskalenko took 1st in the event, but loaded the final barbell to 325 pounds, before completing the rep and crossing the finish line. In the next heat, Nate Ackermann, incorrectly loaded one side of the final barbell with the 10-pound change plate before changing it back.
The error might have caused Ackermann to lose out on a qualifying spot to the CrossFit Games. Ackermann finished in a tie with Jorge Fernandez, but lost the tiebreaker as Fernandez won an event – the Truck Push.
With that, Bill Leahy, Jorge Fernandez, Alex Gazan and Hattie Kanyo have qualified for the 2025 CrossFit Games.
For those wondering about Colten Mertens, he withdrew on Saturday due to a back injury. Mertens suffered the injury in training the week before, but elected to try to compete anyway. However, with a CrossFit Games ticket in hand already, Mertens decided to withdraw to avoid aggravating the injury.
Here are the final results of the NorCal Classic. For the detailed leaderboard, head over to Competition Corner.
MEN
1. Bill Leahy – 42 points
2. Jorge Fernandez – 62.5
***
3. Nate Ackermann – 62.5
4. Spencer Panchik – 71.5
5. Matt Brady – 77.5
6. Max Krieg – 85.5
7. Nicholas Bedon – 99
8. Justin Johnson – 104
9. Travon Benton – 104.5
10. Jase Brooks – 111.5
11. Drake Lewis – 115
12. Kevin Schuetz – 119
13. Nikita Yundov – 122.5
14. Phillip Muscarella – 122.5
15. Mathias Porter – 126.5
16. Mike Evans – 131
17. CJ Gerald – 137.5
18. Illia Moskalenko – 147
19. Trent Volentine – 149
20. Ben Wise – 151
21. Gonzalo del Rio – 154.5
22. Andres Calderon – 157
23. Rafael Sancen – 159
24. Hans Koellenberger – 160
25. Brandon Schipper – 162
26. Christian Ramon – 171.5
27. Wes Peters – 179.5
28. Selvan Ramjattan – 189
29. Cole Anderson – 190.5
30. Ricardo Marquez – 192
31. Andrew Burke – 196.5
32. Jackson Miller – 197.5
33. Cooper Besougloff – 202.5
34. Caelin Weaver – 203.5
35. Ryan Drew – 206.5
36. Derrick Gullett – 208.5
37. Keanu Redongo – 224.5
38. Nicky Rodgers – 227
39. Tucker McLemore – WD
40. Colten Mertens – WD
WOMEN
1. Alex Gazan – 46.5 points
2. Hattie Kanyo – 64.5
***
3. Carolyne Prevost – 66
4. Kristin Holte – 73.5
5. Oda Lundekvam – 88
6. Andrea Solberg – 89.5
7. Trista Smith – 99
8. Maddi Foutz – 102
9. Karisa Stapp – 105
10. Nina Vragovic – 111
11. Rebecca Fuselier – 114.5
12. Elizabeth Wishart – 114.5
13. Sydney Wells – 115
14. Miley Wade – 115.5
15. Rachel Noel – 116.5
16. Gudbjorg Valdimarsdottir – 124
17. Arielle Sanders – 130
18. Emily Rolfe – 130.5
19. Emily Rethwill – 142
20. Katelynn Sanders – 145.5
21. Lindsey Lane – 152.5
22. Hinatea Montebello – 152.5
23. Alison Scudds – 155.5
24. Kendall Gilmore – 158
25. Ally Zierke – 166.5
26. Emily White – 170.5
27. Caitlin Bernardin – 173
28. Laura Driskill – 175
29. Alina Ward – 185
30. Kyla Romero – 185
31. Mary Helen Saunders – 196.5
32. Chelsea Nicholas – 209
33. Tori Garcia – 212
34. Gabby Hechtman – 215.5
35. Alexis Kendrix – 219.5
36. Aubriana Montplaisir – 220
37. Rachel Fricker – 227
38. Solveig Hagelien – 231.5
39. Abigail Burnard – 232.5
40. Montana Powell – 240.5
41. Emelie Schneider – 256.5
