Kristin Reffett Leaving CrossFit Mayhem After Three Seasons

August 8, 2017

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Kristin Reffett and Lindy Barber at the 2017 Mayhem for Mustard Seed Ranch Competition.

Only a day after CrossFit Mayhem took 2nd place at the 2017 CrossFit Games, Kristin Reffett announced she will be leaving the team. Reffett, one of the original members of CrossFit Mayhem Freedom, said in an Instagram post, “This may not have been the ending to my chapter on the CrossFit Mayhem Freedom team that I hoped for, but i wouldn’t trade in this weekend for anything.”

CrossFit Mayhem finished behind Wasatch CrossFit, marking the first time the team has not won the Affiliate Cup in three years. It is the first time Rich Froning has not been atop a Games podium in 7 years (4 individual titles and 2 team titles).

During the first two seasons Reffett was on CrossFit Mayhem, she was a coach at CrossFit Nashville and traveled back and forth to Cookeville (about 80 minutes away) to train with the team.

Head up and moving forward. This may not have been the ending to my chapter on the @crossfitmayhemfreedom team that I hoped for, but I wouldn't trade in this weekend for anything. I'm so thankful for the friends and family I've made in Cookeville over these past 3 years and I'm proud to still get to stand on the podium anywhere with my best friends. We put our hearts into this season and there's nothing more I can ask for. Thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way and thank you to all the @crossfitgames staff and volunteers for making this whole week possible for us exercisers. ————————————————- "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once and awhile, you could miss it" – Ferris Bueller #americasteam #crossfitgames #ferrisbueller #fueledbypaleoworks #nova3labs #bearkomplex

A post shared by Kristin Reffett (@kreffett) on Aug 7, 2017 at 9:12am PDT

With Reffett’s departure, it means that Rich Froning will need to find a replacement on the women’s side. This past year Froning’s cousin, Darren Hunsucker, stepped in to replace James Hobart after he moved back to Boston.

Looking at the full CrossFit Mayhem roster this season, the team had two female alternates on the Open roster, Lauren Neal and Jessica Hunsucker (Darren’s wife). Neal was a member of the original CrossFit Mayhem team and stepped up when another female athlete fell through in 2015.

However, bringing either of these two athletes would be a significant change to the firepower of Mayhem. Reffett finished 6th in the Central East during the Open while Hunsucker finished 137th and Neal finished 608th. If Froning wants to build a team that can get back on top he is likely going to need to look outside of Cookeville.