Team
Entering the last day of competition, the top 5 teams were in solid position to qualify for the Games. Other than 12 Labours Lions moving ahead of CrossFit Bound for 3rd place, the team competition on Sunday lacked any leaderboard intrigue. The best five teams were a step ahead of the rest of the field and are now headed to Carson.
Final Results
1. Team Soul 803
2. HustleHard CrossFit 769
3. 12 Labours Lions 765
4. CrossFit Bound 732
5. The CrossFit Squad
Women
The women’s competition entered Sunday with 10 women all within reach of qualifying for the Games. The heavy overhead squats in Event 6 created a lot of movement on the leaderboard as some athletes saw their chances fade away. Breona Evans, Sarabeth Phillips, Caroline Dardini and Alanna Fisk struggled with the overhead squats, putting themselves out of contention.
With only Emily Bridgers completely safe and Anna Tunnicliffe in good position entering Event 7, there were four athletes vying for the final three qualifying spots. With Meg Reardon and Cassidy Lance tied for 5th place, it was going to be an all-out sprint. Reardon was confident going into the event and she went all out from the start, but Lance kept pace.
But on the round of 2 legless rope climbs, Reardon created separation between herself and Lance. With only one rope climb left, Reardon didn’t delay giving her a second advantage over Adkins on her way to the event victory. Helmick, who entered the event in 3rd, struggled but was able to hold on by 9 points ahead of Lance.
Final Results
1. Emily Bridgers 602
2. Anna Tunnicliffe 533
3. Meg Reardon 528
4. Christy Adkins 526
5. Alea Helmick 510
***
6. Cassidy Lance 501
Men
Just like on the women’s side, almost the entire final heat on the men’s side had a chance at one of the top 5 qualifying spots. Heading into Event 6, Nathan Bramblett, Jeff Evans and Daniel Petro held on to the last three spots. But after a poor Event 6, Chandler Smith, the headline from Day 2, put himself out of contention. The leaderboard shuffled from 4th to 8th after Event 6 with Evans dropping to 7th and Helmick down to 8th. However, both were only 8 and 9 points out of 5th, respectively.
On Event 7, Jeff Evans took the early lead and was cruising to victory until his last legless rope climb. As Evans tagged the top crossbar and descended, his judge called a no-rep. This allowed Ben Smith to take the event victory. As Evans rested and began to climb the rope one more time, Travis Mayer, Gary Helmick and Jacob Anderson sprinted to the finish mat. Evans completed the last climb for a 5th place finish.
Following the event, there was over a 10-minute delay to announce the final results as it appears that the judges were reviewing the video tape to see if Evans’ final rope climb was indeed a no-rep. During the review, replays were shown to the crowd with a loud boo following each occurrence. Eventually, the no-rep was confirmed with the ruling that Evans’ legs secured the rope before his hands were back on the rope.
The 5th place finish cost Evans a spot to the Games as he finished nine points behind Helmick. Had Evans won the event, Evans would have finished in 3rd place ahead of Mayer, Anderson and Helmick, with Helmick on the outside looking in.
Instead, Helmick joins his wife as the first married couple to compete as individuals at the CrossFit Games since 2011 when Matt and Cherie Chan made it.
Games veterans Jeff Evans, Nathan Bramblett, Daniel Petro, Aaron Hanna and ZA Anderson all missed out this year.
Final Results
1. Ben Smith 618
2. Noah Ohlsen 560
3. Travis Mayer 531
4. Jacob Anderson 526
5. Gary Helmick 517
***
6. Jeff Evans 508
7. Nathan Bramblett 504
8. Daniel Petro 481
9. Chandler Smith 464
10. Aaron Hanna 451
