Aug 06

WZA RX Teams Qualify For Regionals

By Jp Ruiz News, WZA Miami

WZA RX Teams Qualify For Regionals

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Competing as an individual athlete can be a daunting challenge whether it’s in Miami at Wodapalooza, or at Regionals for the CrossFit Games.

Having skill is one thing, but working with others for the benefit of a team takes a lot of heart, communication, and practice. Some of the best Rx Team finishers at the Wodapalooza in 2018 went on to do well both individually and as members of teams during the CrossFit Open. Here are some athletes looking to compete in May for a chance to make it to the Games in August.

Sarah Viets – SinCity CrossFit

Sarah’s WZA Rx team Vegasstrong made their way to the podium finishing 3rd at Wodapalooza this January. Not surprisingly Viets is no stranger to team competition at the CrossFit Regional level. In 2016, Viets was part of the Regional team, SinCity CrossFit ,who finished 26th. This year, Viets has done quite well for herself during the CrossFit Open. Viets finished as the fittest woman in Nevada and is sitting in 16th place in the South West Region. With an invite to land in her inbox soon, Viets will have the luxury of competing by herself or going back for a shot at the CrossFit Games with her team SInCity CrossFit who finished the year 11th in the South West.

Dillon Betancourt – CrossFit Soul Miami

Betancourt was part of an Rx team who took home a silver medal as Team Soul Incommunicado. This wasn’t the first time Betancourt stood on a podium for a fitness competition. In 2015, Dillon competed on Team FYF and in 2016 he was part of Team Soul who won the Atlantic Regional and went on to place 11th at the 2016 Reebok CrossFIt Games. As an individual, Betancourt had his best year ever in the Open finishing 87th in the South East and 38th in the state of Florida. Neither of these positions put him in a spot to compete in West Palm Beach at the Atlantic Regional this year, but his team, CrossFit Soul Miami sits in 11th place (the top 15 teams advance). There is a great chance Soul Miami will be in and then we’ll have to wait and see if Betancourt makes the cut as one of the two male athletes who will compete for a shot at a return trip to Madison in August.

Elise Fugowski & Nicole Ninomiya -Coliseum Strength

Fugowski & Ninomiya both were crowned as champions in Miami at Wodapalooza in 2018. Each of them held their own in a tough North East Region which is loaded with a past champion and tons of former Games’ athletes. While neither will have a shot to compete as individuals (Fugowski was 37th and Ninomiya landed in 32nd – her best finish ever) their team Coliseum Strength finished comfortably in 6th place in the North East and 38th in the Worldwide which easily qualified them for the East Regional in Albany, NY this May. With only two spots for the ladies on this Regional team, if their Open scores are any indication (Fugowski’s score was used 3 times and Ninomiya’s scores were used 4 times) of their importance to this team, we’d expect to see them take the floor to compete at the Times Union Center.

Aug 06

WZA Rx Make a Splash in CFG Open

By Jp Ruiz News

WZA Rx Make a Splash in CFG Open

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Although they lack the festival feel, sunshine and excitement of the south Florida fitness community, there are plenty of other fitness competitions outside of WZA. Because of that, most of the athletes who participate each year continue to compete all year long, including in the worldwide CrossFit Games Open.

While the Elite athletes at WZA continue to dominate this Open, the second highest division at WZA, the Rx, are staking their claim within their respective regions. Each year, the top performers in the Rx division paint a pretty accurate picture as to who will content for a spot in the next stage of the CrossFit Games, Regionals.

Check out how a few of the notable Wodapalooza Rx athletes are doing so far:

Amanda Hardeman

Amanda Hardeman took home a 100 point Rx Women’s Division victory at Wodapalooza in January. Now this Central East athlete (part of the Central Region) is holding her own in the 2018 Open. Through 3 events (technically 4 if you could 18.2 and 18.2a as two events) Amanda is currently in 13th place in her Region. She got off to a blazing start with a second place finish in 18.1 hammering through 398 reps. This score put herself in a good position to land one of the top 20 spots and a chance to compete at the Central Regional competition in Nashville. Hardeman last qualified for Regionals in 2016 where she took 30th place.

Tim Mustion

Tim Mustion finished 2nd for the Rx Men, but despite not winning his division at Wodapalooza, he’s in a great spot in the South East Region. Mustion leaped to the lead on 18.1 with a staggering 458 reps completed. This scored put him past fellow Wodapalooza Elite competitors, and CrossFit Games athletes, Travis Mayer and Noah Ohlsen. He has slipped a bit in the standings after his results in 18.2, 18.2a and 18.3, but with just two events remaining, Tim still has a 7 spot cushion from the cut line (which is at 20th place). He’ll need two solid scores on 18.4 and 18.5 if he wants a guaranteed ticket to the Atlantic Regional in West Palm Beach, Florida this May. If he slips out of the top 20, he’ll have to wait to see if he can qualify for his first ever trip to Regionals at only 25 years old.

Hayley Murillo

Hayley Murillo, 2nd at WZA in the Rx Women’s division, is making a huge name for herself so far in the Open. She’s currently the 21st ranked woman in the US, 1st ranked in California (home a slew of Games athletes and past champions) and 3rd in her region (the newly formed West Coast). If you’ve followed Hayley at all, this shouldn’t be a big surprise. She is a four-time Regional athlete (two as an individual, and twice as a team member for CrossFit High Voltage). She last competed at Regionals in 2016 and got 34th place. Her best finish was 2014 when she got 25th in what was then the Southern California Regional. With two workouts left and 35 total spots open for women in the West Coast Region, a healthy Murillo should punch her ticket to Regionals again in 2018 and look to compete for a spot in Madison this August.