Friday, July 15, 2005

Hey Everyone~

TGIF!!!!!!! The weekend is finally here!!! I am not exactly sure what I have planned....Hopefully something fun! Maybe a motorcycle ride....maybe movies...hmmm.....

Anyway, I wanted to post up this great writeup that Genex/FTVideo has about the USA's....I have said it once and I will say it again, it is ELENA SEIPLE'S YEAR!!!!!!! Conditioning, Symetry...a great set of LEGS this year...and of course feminity and great stage presence. She is the total package!!!!

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2005 NPC USAs Previewby Hans


July 13, 2005 -

The 2005 USA is shaping up to be a hot show – and not just because it’s taking place in Las Vegas in July. With a pro card up for grabs for the overall winner, it looks like there are going to be a lot of the top female bodybuilders in the US onstage. Rumors have been swirling around about how the judging will go after the judges at Junior Nationals last month seemed to reward femininity over hardness. We aren’t going to even try to predict winners, but here are some of the leading contenders in each class:


Lightweights
We only know of a few lightweights doing the USA. One is 36 year-old Pam Shealy of South Carolina, who has been competing for a decade, improving steadily, and was runner-up in the class last year. Also Deborah Barnes will be stepping on stage with Pam. Barnes is a veteran competitor with nice muscle maturity and thickness and should be in the top of class.


Middleweights
A lot of people are excited to see how 20 year-old phenom Britt Miller of North Carolina compares to the top middleweights in the US. Britt placed second in the middleweights at Junior Nationals last year at just 19 years-old, and has made big improvements since then. “I have bumped up my physique to the next level,” she says. It’s amazing for Britt to even be doing this show at her age, but we think she’ll place very high. “I have to shoot for hardness and dryness being that I do not have the mature muscle that many of my female competitors have,” she says. “I feel that if I bring my best package to the stage, what can be overlooked, right?” (Britt is also doing the Collegiate Nationals in Pittsburgh a week before the USA.)


Other contenders in the middleweights will be Tracy Mason, the runner-up to Shannon Young at Junior Nationals this year; and Nancy Simms of Las Vegas, who is prepped by long-time national-level competitor Michelle Ivers.

Also look out for Tina Chandler, who won the overall at the NPC Lone Star in Texas last month. “She’s going to kick ass!” says Colette Nelson, who saw her at the show and was impressed. “She was the total package. Her conditioning was perfect - hard, but not too freaky.”


Light-heavyweights
The light-heavyweight class in Vegas is going to be insane. If you thought it was awesome at the Nationals last year, the line-up for the USA could be, if anything, even better, with some very interesting comparisons between women that have never been on the same stage together before. The cool thing is, a lot of them are great friends and have been supporting and motivating each other through their contest prep.

The hot favorite will be the woman who placed second at Nationals behind Cindy Gonzalez, Elena Seiple. At that show, Elena planned to compete as a middleweight but didn’t make weight, so at 5-foot-4 and 127 pounds she was the lightest in the class – not that she looked it onstage. This time she’ll be a light-heavy – no question. Anyone that’s spoken to her or followed her journal in the six months since Dallas knows that she’s been extremely focused and training intensely, and from the pictures we’ve seen, she’s made some big improvements, especially in her legs. She’s being prepped by Justin Harris of Troponin Nutrition, the same guy that took Alicia St. Germaine to a light-heavyweight win at Junior Nationals last month.

Christine Sabo of Arizona, who was the runner-up in this class at the USA last year behind overall winner Carri Ledford, has been keeping a low profile in the run-up to this show. But she’s been working extremely hard all year in the gym, focusing on thickening her back, and anyone who saw how she came out of nowhere to win Junior Nationals last year knows not to underestimate her. Debbie Bramwell, who placed third in the light-heavies last year and sixth at Nationals will also be back, and with her awesome thickness, she’s always a threat.

Since placing second (behind Christine Sabo) at Junior Nationals last year,25 year-old Amanda Dunbar of Fort Myers, Fla., has added overall size and thickness to her physique while keeping her 24-inch waist. She’s made no secret of the fact that she plans to come in as shredded as she can this time – with the help of 2004’s “most peeled” competitor Robin Parker. This show will also be the first time that Amanda will be competing alongside the woman that inspired her to start bodybuilding, her former gymnastics coach Beverly DiRenzo. Bev last competed at Nationals in Miami in 2003, where she placed fourth in the middleweights. She’ll be prepped by Chad Nicholls again, so expect her to be shredded as well.

An extremely interesting addition to the class will be Isabelle Turell, who made her national level debut in Dallas at 170 pounds and placed ninth in the heavyweights, and is now dropping down a class. Isabelle has been busy opening a new gym in Orlando alongside prepping for this show, and promises to come in in the kind of condition she was in at the Excalibur in 2003. If she dials it in, she should be top five. [Editor's note: Isabelle has had to pull out of the USAs according to Bill Dobbins.]


Nicole Berg of Washington state, who won the Emerald Cup and Contra Costa in 2004, will be making her national-level debut in Vegas after going to watch the show the past few years. Nicole has spent the last year training with Gerri Deach (see below), focusing on adding size and thickness to her physique to bring it up to national level standards, while struggling with a few minor injuries. “I have no idea what they will be looking for this year,” she says. “I'm just concentrating on getting my conditioning where it needs to be.”

And the list of light-heavyweights goes on and on: Melissa Dettwiller, who placed an impressive second in the light-heavyweights at Junior Nationals; Star Blaylock, who made an impressive national level debut in Dallas last November, placing 10th; Holly Geersen of Colorado; and California’s Angie Salvagno.


Heavyweights
The big news in the heavyweight class is that Heather Policky is back. Heather hasn’t competed since placing fifth in this show exactly two years ago, and she will be making her long-awaited return to competition in Vegas a week after her 28th birthday. “I have always said that Heather has a pro card waiting on her when she finally dials it all in,” Gina Davis says. “I saw some pics of her at around 10 weeks out and the girl seems to be getting it right this time.”
She will have to get it right, because she’ll be up against Sherry Smith, who won the heavyweight class at the USA last year but lost the overall to the light-heavyweight winner, her best friend Carri Ledford. The word from Oklahoma City is that Sherry is looking good. Gina Davis, who won the heavyweight class at last year’s Nationals, saw her recently and was impressed. “She was very lean for as far out as she was, so I expect that she will come in pretty hard and conditioned at the show,” Gina says.

Gerri Deach, who was 4th last year, will be doing the Masters in Pittsburgh the week before the USA as well. She’s spent the last 12 months focusing on bringing up her upper body more while keeping her balance, and she says she’s improved her shoulders and her upper body density. “I feel like I've worked hard this past year, and truly hope to improve my placing over last year. I guess the judges will let me know if they feel I have truly improved!”

Meanwhile Anne Sheehan of New Jersey says she’s added five pounds of muscle mass since placing fifth in this show last year, and plans to come in at around 155 pounds (compared to 150 last year) at 5-foot-3. She says she’ll also have a better v-taper and be harder than last time, with more separation in her legs. “I'm very happy with the way I look right now,” she says. “I am a complete bodybuilder, finally. I think the fans will agree!”
Other heavyweights that we know of who are doing the USA are 2004 Masters winner Deniz Odar, who also placed 9th at the USA last year, and Mary Elizabeth Hobbs of Texas, who placed 8th last year.

(Additional reporting by Gene X Hwang)

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So there you have it!
Like I said, place your bets now!!!!!!!

I have to run, but I leave you with some more pics of the day! Of me and my best friend, the soon to be winner of the USA's!!!! Enjoy! And of course, these are all from the members section~plus LOTS more!!!(Can you say over 7000 more shots!?!?!?)

'Till next time,
Keep pumpin' hard!!!
XOXO
Heather Lee