Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge Individual and Team Rosters Announced
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The Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge has finalized its elite division rosters for the Sanctional on April 17-19. A field of 40 male and female individuals as well as 40 teams will take the competition floor at the historic DC Armory in Washington, DC for the chance to secure an invitation to the 2020 CrossFit Games.
Women’s division: There is no shortage of elite competition experience in the women’s field as 34 of the 40 athletes have Games or Regionals experience. Currently four of the women have secured invitations to this year’s Games.
Notable athletes:
- Carol-Ann Reason-Thibault repeated as the national champion of Canada through the Open to secure her sixth-straight Games invitation. Last year she placed 16th at the Games; her fourth time in the top-20.
- Meg Reardon returns as the defending champion at the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge (MACC) where she earned her invite to the 2019 Games and placed 23rd. This year she earned her third invitation to the Games after finishing 31st in the Open.
- MaryKay Dreisilker received her first career Games invitation this year after finishing 35th in the Open.
- Kelsey Kiel is the fourth athlete in the field who has punched her ticket to the 2020 Games so far this season. She earned her invite after placing fifth at Strength in Depth.
- Colleen Fotsch is a two-times CrossFit Games athlete, who helped NorCal CrossFit Redwood City to a fourth-place finish in 2017. Last season she made the Games as an individual when she placed 27th in the Worldwide Open. She just missed securing the Games invite at Wodapalooza as she finished 11th in a stacked field.
- Paige Semenza is a three-time Games qualifier, competing twice as an individual including last year when she placed 30th overall. She received her invite through a Sanctional when she placed second at the Brazil CrossFit Championship. Last year she competed at the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge (MACC) where she placed fifth.
- Amanda Goodman is a three-time individual Games athlete placing as high as 10th at the 2015 Games.
- Nicole Holcomb has appeared at the Games three times, twice as an individual. Last season she was a member of the Central Beasts team that placed fifth.
- Christine Kolenbrander has made two Games appearances all with CrossFit 417. This year as an individual she placed 47th in the Open.
- Rachel Garibay is a two-time Games athlete who made her first appearance as an individual last year after earning the invite through a stacked field at the Rogue Invitational. She placed 40th at the 2019 Games. This year she finished 40th in the Open and is the next athlete in line to receive an invite to the Games if any of the athletes who finished ahead of her in the Open decline their invitation.
- Tammy Wildgoose returns to compete at the MACC after finishing 11th last year. The four-time Regional athlete has two Games appearances as a member of CrossFit Invictus.
- Alexis Raptis has two Games appearances in the 16-17 teen division, finishing second in 2016. Last year she placed eighth at the MACC.
- Alison Scudds will make her fourth Sanctional appearance of the season at MACC. The four-time Regional athlete has competed at Pandaland CrossFit Challenge and Strength in Depth earlier this season and is scheduled to compete at the West Coast Classic later this month.
- Other athletes to keep an eye on include Paige Henry (60th in the Open), Kelly Stone (60th in the Open), Alison Stall (63rd in the Open), Caroline Dardini (77th in the Open), Breona Wallin (82nd in the Open), Nicole Burke (89th in the Open), Leah Irons (98th in the Open), Emma Ferreira (won MACC online qualifier), Jordan Adcock, Tori Dyson and Hilary Steele.
Men’s division: The men’s division has 28 athletes with Regionals experience including six with Games experience as either individuals or on a team. Only one athlete in the field currently holds a 2020 Games invitation, so the battle for the coveted ticket to Madison will be intense.
Notable athletes:
- Tola Morakinyo has his first individual Games invitation in hand after finishing ninth at the Dubai CrossFit Championship in December. He has three Games appearances on a team including last season with Invictus Boston, a team that included his training partner and fellow first-time individual Games qualifier Kelsey Kiel.
- George Sterner has made two appearances at the Games including last year when he placed 32nd overall. In 2016 he placed second at the Games in the teen 16-17 division.
- Marquan Jones has made one appearance at the Games as an individual in 2018. The three-time Regional athlete finished 40th in the Open this year. Last year he placed fourth at the MACC.
- John-Paul Hethcock joins Meg Reardon in defending his MACC title from last year. The two-time Regional athlete earned his first Games appearance with that victory last year, finishing 46th.
- Owen Bernstein has made the Games twice as a member of a team.
- Nicholas Flannery appeared at the 2018 Games as a team member on Superhero CrossFit. He has two Regional appearances on a team.
- Denis Samsonov is a two-time Regional qualifier and repeated as the national champion for Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan does not currently have a national champion Games invitation.
- Nycolas Joyal won the MACC online qualifier. The two-time Regional athlete finished 50th in the Open.
- Jake Berman, a four-time Regional competitor, placed 52nd in the Open this year.
- Jacob Pfaff is a two-time Regional athlete who is also a member of the US Army Warrior Fitness Team. Last year he qualified for the Rogue Invitational.
- Dane Smith is the youngest brother of Ben and Alec Smith. The three-time Regional athlete is looking to become the third Smith sibling to compete at the Games.
- Other athletes to watch for at the Sanctional are Nik Hecht (three-time Regional athlete and 44th in the Open), Nick Mathew (59th in the Open), Chase Smith (six-time Regional athlete and 79th in the Open), Dylan Martin (three-time Regional athlete and 69th in the Open), Tyler Eggiman and Stephen Wallace.
Team division: This year’s teams roster features some known Games teams and teams with perennial Games athletes on them. The winner of the division will get the 15th invite to the 2020 Games.
Notable teams:
- CrossFit Invictus headlines the teams competing at the MACC. Invictus finished third last year at the Games and returns Lauren Fisher, Rasmus Andersen and Regan Huckaby. They added Eric Carmody in December and competed at the SouthFit CrossFit Challenge, finishing second.
- RPM looks to battle for the Games invite. The team has a wealth of Games experience at the team level. Raphael Durand, Jeff Patzer, Kaitlyn Kassis and Chelsey Grigsby have at least one Game’s appearance on a team each and Patzer also competed as an individual at the 2017 Games.
- Team JST Compete competed at the Games last season finishing tenth, but this year’s team features a completely different roster. The team from the United Kingdom features Mikey Steele, Reggie Fasa, Ella Wilkinson and Evie Hollis.
- OC3 Black is another team with a familiar name but some different faces. Joe Piersanti and Colin Cartee are the lone holdovers from the team that finished fourth last year at the Games and four-straight top-ten finishes at the Games. Elizabeth Parry competed at the 2018 Games with CrossFit Balance, finishing seventh. Zoe Pond-McPherson was also a member of that Balance team and served as an alternate for Don’t Stop last year.
- The US Army Warrior Fitness Team had an encouraging performance at Wodapalooza finishing eighth. For the MACC they will add Chandler Smith to their roster that also includes fellow US Army captains Brian Harris, Rachel Schreiber and Ashley Shepard.
- Other teams to watch include home grown team 12 Labours Lions, team online qualifier winner The Hogs and Team Stay Strong.
The Morning Chalk Up will continue to provide exclusive in-depth coverage, analysis, and features of the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge as part of our media partnership with the Sanctional.
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