The South Regional featured a pair of CrossFit Games veterans battling it out for first place well ahead of the rest of the field. Tennil Reed and Camille Leblanc-Bazinet went back and forth all weekend long, but it was Reed who would ultimately prevail at the end.
Reed finished all six events in the top three and registered an event victory on Event 3. Leblanc-Bazinet, however, had three event victories, but her other three finishes were two 4th place finishes and a 5th place. Reed would go on to beat Leblanc-Bazinet by 10 points.
The rest of the leaderboard was in flux for most of the weekend. Margaux Alvarez struggled on Event 1 taking 16th place, but after steady performances the rest of the way in and capping the weekend with an Event 6 win, Alvarez took 3rd place.
Fourth place went to Bethany Branham. Branham, the South Central region winner of the Open came in with high expectations and was able to back them up. While she had a 17th and an 18th place finish, she was able to hold off Alexis Johnson and Brista Mayfield.
The final qualifying spot came down to Alexis Johnson and Brista Mayfield. The athletes entered Sunday tied in points, but Mayfield held the tiebreaker with a 1st place in Event 4. On Event 5, Johnson fought through the 45 ring muscle-ups on her way to 6th place while Mayfield struggled as she was unable to finish under the time cap, placing 11th.
Mayfield still had a chance on Event 6, but Johnson powered through the heavy 100-pound sandbag cleans and outpace Mayfield. With the finish, Johnson will be heading back to the CrossFit Games for her second appearance.
Two-time CrossFit Games veteran Candice Wagner never put serious pressure on the top 5. She had an outside chance heading into Sunday, but after a 9th place and 31st place finish knocked her back to 8th overall.
Brenda Castro, Latin America’s fittest woman, took 12th overall.
Final Standings:
- Tennil Reed (560)
- Camille Leblanc-Bazinet (550)
- Margaux Alvarez (481)
- Bethany Branham (447)
- Alexis Johnson (439)
*** - Brista Mayfield (421)
- Jessica Aelvoet (386)
