Who to Watch in Cookeville: 2026 Mayhem Classic Preview
The Semifinal stage of the CrossFit season officially kicks off this weekend with the Mayhem Classic, April 17-19.
- While Rich Froning and the Mayhem team are still holding back on some event details, they’ve already shared a handful of workouts, the prize purse, and the roster of athletes.
The top three men and women will be the first of the season to qualify for the CrossFit Games.
The Workouts
Leading up to the competition, the Mayhem team teased out a number of programming possibilities, but at this point, all the workouts have been announced.
Workout 1: The weekend will kick off with a 5K run, but the social post removed additional details about the event. Will athletes wear a weight vest? Will there be obstacles? We’ll find out Friday morning.
Workout 2: “Gwen” is one of CrossFit Main Site’s “girl benchmarks,” and consists of 21-15-9 clean and jerks at 135 pounds/95 pounds. The reps must be done unbroken, with athletes only resting between the three sets.
Workout 3: “The Dirty 30s” consists of 30 reps of the following movements: sandbag squats, ring muscle-ups, sandbag squats, bar muscle-ups, and sandbag squats. (For women, muscle-up reps drop to 24 instead of 30.)
Workout 4: “Midline Century” is an assault on the core – a mix of ski calories, GHD sit-ups, and max toe-to-bar, completed in 3-3-3-4 intervals until 100 reps are reached.
- We spoke to a handful of male athletes who have tested the workout, and we predict that many of them will complete it in three rounds.
Workout 5: “Froning’s Benchmark” was just announced on Tuesday and is six rounds for time of legless rope climbs, handstand walk obstacles, and front squats.
Workout 6: “The Final Toll” is the sixth and final workout of the competition, and consists of 30 dumbbell bench press, 200 double-unders and 100-foot dumbbell farmer lunges.
Prize Purse
Payouts extend from first place down to fifth, with both men’s and women’s winners earning $12,000. Here’s the full breakdown:
- $12,000
- $8,000
- $6,000
- $2,000
- $1500
Who to Watch
While Mayhem announced their competition leaderboard in mid-February with confirmed athletes, there have been several roster changes.
- Originally, Arielle Loewen, Erica Folo, Lexi Neely, and Manon Angonese were scheduled to compete, but their spots have been filled by Rebecca Fuselier, Caroline Stanley, Olivia Geisthardt, and Maddi Foutz.
Last year’s female winner, Fee Saghafi, is not competing, but fellow qualifier Abbie Domit (who tied with Saghafi in points) is, as is Emily Rolfe, who took third. Lucy Campbell is in the mix this year, coming off a win at Gymreapers Wodapalooza.
Other athletes to watch are Haley Adams and Paige Rodgers, both of whom have home-court advantage.
- Rodgers is coming off her best Quarterfinals performance to date, having finished 6th worldwide. If she qualifies for the Games, this will be her first time back since 2023 and since having her child.
All eyes were on Gabi Migala at Gymreapers Wodapalooza in March, and she’ll take the floor this weekend for the second time since her Achilles injury and recovery.
Kyra Milligan is another one to watch, having won the Quarterfinals just weeks ago. We predict Workout 3: “The Dirty 30s” is hers for the taking.
Here is the full women’s roster, provided to us by the competition organizers, as of last week:
- Gabi Migala
- Emma Lawson
- Emily Rolfe
- Lucy Campbell
- Olivia Kerstetter
- Haley Adams
- Abbie Domit
- Claudia Gluck
- Paige Rodgers
- Lucy McGonigle
- Hattie Kanyo
- Christin Kolenbrander
- Reese Littlewood
- Kyra Milligan
- Caitlin Bernadin
- Elizabeth Wishart
- Olivia Geisthardt
- Maddi Foutz
- Rebecca Fuselier
- Caroline Stanley
On the men’s side, the changes involved the withdrawals of Chris Ibarra and Connor Voltz, with their spots backfilled by Noah Wilson and RJ Mestre. The fight for the three qualifying spots will be fierce, with Jeff Adler, Roman Khrennikov, Jayson Hopper, Austin Hatfield, and Colten Mertens battling it out.
- Saxon Panchik and Nick Mathew could also hit some home runs and derail the leaderboard.
Last year, Mayhem athlete Hatfield won the competition, with Mertens right on his heels and Khrennikov in third. Adler did not compete in Cookeville last year, so his presence will challenge the Mayhem veterans, especially in the 5K run. But when we think 90 sandbag squats (Workout 3), we think Mertens.
Here is the full men’s roster, provided to us by the competition organizers, as of last week:
- Jeff Adler
- Roman Khrennikov
- Jayson Hopper
- Austin Hatfield
- Colten Mertens
- Saxon Panchik
- Nick Mathew
- Jack Rozema
- Calum Clements
- Victor Hoffer
- Toby Buckland
- Alex Vigneault
- Tiago Luzes
- Enrico Zenoni
- Quinn Robinson
- RJ Mestre
- Sam DeMeester
- Mason Griffin
- Seth Stoval
- Noah Wilson
The competition will be livestreamed on Mayhem’s YouTube channel.
