Articles The Wennerstrom Report 2013 NPC USA Physique Wennerstrom Report: Penteado Pins Down Overall Physique Title At USA
2013 NPC USA Physique Wennerstrom Report
Penteado Pins Down Overall Physique Title At USA
By Steve Wennerstrom, IFBB Women's Historian
As always, the NPC USA brings multiple levels of curiosity and anticipation for fans interested in every division, and the Women's Physique division – now in its third year – creates its own level of notice with the inevitable evolution that comes with a new criteria for assessing the female physique. In this case it's the judging dilemma that exists with a division that fits somewhere between Figure and Bodybuilding and the look competitors are bringing to the stage changing with each passing year.
The 2013 edition of the Women’s Physique division totaled 43 contestants within the four height classes (9 in class 'A', 8 in class 'B', 13 in class 'C', and 13 in class 'D'). Those numbers were a surprise to many considering the fact that 59 contestants entered the first NPC USA Women’s Physique event in 2011, followed by 55 last year. A possible explanation might be that former Figure and Bodybuilding competitors have found it more difficult than they first realized to fit comfortably in the new division.
For those with a short memory, the previous overall winners were Sheilahe Brown in 2011, and Samantha Hill in 2012 – both have competed twice this year in the pro ranks. Who would follow in their footsteps?
Katrinka Captures 'A' Class
The first Women’s Physique division class to be conteste
d at this year's USA turned into a very competitive struggle between Katrinka Chapek and Jennifer Jaques-Conn. Both had plenty of prior experience as Figure contestants as far back as 2008, but Jaques-Conn was given a pre-contest edge due to her very active past entries at the national level – especially in the Women’s Physique division. The final results would show that only three points separated the two, but it was Katrinka Chapek that got the nod of approval.
Chapek, from Henderson, Nevada, may be better remembered as Katrinka Danielson from her past Figure competitions at the NPC Emerald Cup where she won her class in 2009 and competed in that event on multiple occasions. At 5-2 and weighing in the vicinity of 122 pounds, a runner-up Women’s Physique class placing at the 2012 Emerald Cup helped make that division her focus.
This year Chapek began the
year with an overall win at the NPC San Jose, followed by a third-place finish in the Over-35 class at the NPC Masters Nationals, narrowly missing a qualifying spot as a pro. She sealed the deal at this event with her USA Class 'A' victory.
The second-place spot went Californian Jennifer Jaques-Conn. At 5-0, she gave away some height to Chapek, but her overall structure and bodylines were very good. Competing at the USA on three previous occasions (once in Figure and twice in Women’s Physique), she made a major jump in improvement as a Women’s Physique competitor. In 2011 she finished 10th, and last year she moved up to 8th. But her move to the runner-up spot not only rated as one of the most notable improvements in the entire Women’s Physique division, it also earned her a pro card in the process.
South Carolina's Laura Foster laid claim to the third-place spot, and with a strong level of stage presence she can easily move up in future placings. In 2012 Foster was the overall Figure winner at the NPC South Carolina, but found herself tied for 16th at the NPC Nationals later in the year due to what was considered an excessive level of muscle. She won't need to worry about that in the upcoming events as she carries her muscle very well on a streamlined 5-2 frame.
Outside The Top Three:
4- Jennifer LaGuardia, Sterling, Virginia 19
5- Kate Warren, Tucson, Arizona 24
6- Margaret Negrete, El Paso, Texas 33
7- Yolanda Glaeser, Pleasanton, California 35
8- Danielle Carmickle, Tucson, Arizona 36
9- Moira McCormack, Venice, California 39
Baker Bests the 'B' Class
Fresh from her win in the Women’s Physique division at the NPC Washington State Championships this year, 29-year-old Ally Baker made significant improvement from 2012 when she placed fifth in her class at the NPC Nationals. A former Figure competitor (does that begin to sound like a broken record), Baker made the switch to both bodybuilding and physique competitions in 2012 before settling
on the Women’s Physique division.
At the NPC Iron Mountain last year she won both the LW &overall titles in bodybuilding as well as capturing the overall win in the Women’s Physique division. With a seamless transition to the division, Baker's victory here now finds her qualified for the pro ranks with yet another transition to consider.
Lurking just two points behind Ally Baker in the final tallies, Californian Kristy Enos claimed the runner-up placing. Just a quarter inch taller than Baker at 5-3 ¼, Enos has had more of a bodybuilding background dating back to 2010. In 2011 she won the NPC Contra Costa followed by an overall victory at the longstanding NPC California Championships. Making the transition to Women’s Physique in 2012,Enos added a victory at the NPC Los Angeles before finishing fourth in her class at the NPC USA. Her runner-up placing here did come with a perk, however. She now qualifies for the ranks of pro Women’s Physique.
Third place went to Shauna Lynn Perry from Kapolei, Hawaii. At 5-3, she carried more muscular volume than any other competitor in this class. Most prognosticators were torn between Perry and eventual fourth-placer Tiffany Heilaneh, and the final scores reflected the difficulty in making a final decision. Perry's score was just one point in front of Heilaneh – 17 to 18.
Outside The Top Three:
4- Tiffany Heilaneh, Highland Village, Texas 18
5- Jodi Marchuck, Fountain Valley, California 25
6- May Hughes, St. Johns, Florida 33
7- Lani Kawasaki, Mililani, Hawaii 34
8- Lisa Koehn, Hilo, Hawaii 39
'C' Class: Oh, Those Brazilians!
It would be understandable to realize that Maria Rita Pendeado endured the toughest road to earn her pro status and the overall NPC USA Women’s Physique division title. She can honestly say she earned it, and few will argue the point. To begin with, it's only been in the past six months that she was granted her US citizenship, otherwise she wouldn't have even been on stage.
Born in Brazil, Penteado is yet another of those exotic women from that South American country that seems to mass produce women with wondrous physiques, that magical stage presence, and a Brazilian aura that makes their look even more captivating. She now joins countrymates Juliana Malacarne, Patricia Mello, and Karina Nascimento, and Jane Prado among others. Quite a group– and growing.
A more direct challenge came from runner-up LaDawn McDay who fell only a point shy of catching Penteado in her run for the class victory and eventual overall crown. For Penteado, her victory came at a beautifully balanced 129 pounds on her 5-4 ½ frame, and making the experience that much more special, she won the USA on her first try.
For Penteado, the road to her pro status was peppered with entries at many NPC events just below the national level due to her citizenship as a Brazilian. But among those contests, she won several – many of which included the overall titles – and they included the 2009 NPC Atlantic States, the NPC East Coast, the 2010 NPC Battle of Champions, the 2010 NPC Atlantic States, and the 2011 NPC Eastern USA. There were actually nine victories – all as a bodybuilder.
She has also entered the Arnold Amateur Classic on three occasions, finishing second in the tall Women’s Physique class this year. Throughout her amateur efforts she weighed between 118 and 140 pounds and experienced the LW, MW and HW divisions. So if there is such a thing as 'paying dues', Penteado has more than paid her fair share in US dollars and maybe even a few Brazilian Reals thrown in!
Now living in Glen Head, New York, and perhaps not coincidentally the same town (on the same block!) where Juliana Malacarne resides, Penteado just might decide to make a beeline to one of the remaining pro qualifiers for this year's Ms.Olympia Physique Showdown – both of which will be held this month in Tampa and Dallas. Either way, she won't have to wait long, the Tampa event is scheduled for August 9-10 next week.
Running second to Penteado was the very familiar personage of Detroit's LaDawn McDay who has been a solid competitor in bodybuilding dating back to 2005. In recent years McDay has been a successful placer in the HW and LtHW classes that included a runner-up LtHW finish at the NPC USA in 2010, and an overall winner at the 2012 NPC Junior Nationals. Also last year she finished fifth at the NPC USA as a HW.
McDay's one other entry in the Women’s Physique division came in 2011 when she placed 7th at the USA. So based on that fact alone, she made significant improvement as a Women’s Physique competitor. Also, and most importantly, McDay's runner-up finish was just a single point behind Penteado – ONE point! Finishing that agonizingly close to the contestant who was the eventual overall winner can, indeed, 'get in your head'. The two were very close, in fact b
oth were the same height at 5-4 ½.
At this event McDay's minor downfall was that she simply wasn't quite up to the level of conditioning she needed to topple Penteado. With her runner-up finish, McDay now moves into the pro Physique ranks, and structurally she has all the physical tools she needs to fit in just fine.
The third and fourth place finishers were also separated by a single point as Caroline Williams of Las Vegas out-flexed fourth-placed New Yorker Jennifer Palazzo 18 to 19.
Outside The Top Three:
4- Jennifer Palazzo, Nesconset, New York 19
5- Andrea Lenihan, Olathe, Kansas 24
6- Jo Ellen Caldwell, Glendale, Arizona 27
7- Morgan Martin-Jarred, Las Vegas, Nevada 35
8- Lisa Stark, Beaverton, Oregon 41
9- Judy Miller-Lane, Chandler, Arizona 44
10- Dolly Lazarre, New York 52
11- Danielle Waechter, Scottsdale, Arizona 53
12- Ariel Gail, Wheat Ridge, Colorado 60
13- Celia Devers, Indiana 65
Class 'D
': What Makes RikkiTick
Rikki Smead is another example of how some competitors make a meteoric rise to the pro ranks. And she's the most recent. For Smead, her start came in the Bikini division in 2011 with a victory in the NPC Oregon. She also won the Figure division at the same contest. Then in 2012 she added a fourth-place finish at the NPC Emerald Cup in Figure, before returning to the same event to win the 'D' class of the Women’s Physique division in early May this year.
At 5-9 and weighing a streamlined 145 pounds, Smead brings her own brand of 'wow factor' to the stage as a Women’s Physique competitor. She has model good looks to go with a level of visual and actual athleticism that is a primary necessity for any future sports related television commercial. From Milwaukie, Oregon, Smead played volleyball and softball as past sports growing up and as a student while she attended the University of Oregon.
Now RikkiSmead is an IFBB pro, and at 5-9 she will join others of her height such as Patricia Mello, Tamee Marie and TycieCoppett. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Smead's win in this class was that she was the only class winner of the Women’s Physique division's four height classes that was a unanimous winner. She'll make a nice addition to the pro ranks.
Tammy Bleile from South Jordan, Utah, did her best to chase down RikkiSmead, and she did so by also finishing with a unanimous second-place finish. Most recently Bleile was the 2012 NPC Border States overall winner in Los Angeles, and ended the year with a strong third-place spot in her class at the NPC Nationals. In years past, the 5-7, 135-pound Bleile was a Figure competitor placing 9thin her class at the 2008 NPC Nationals.
It would be understandable that one of the better physiques in this class was Washington's Joanna Wilson. Like Bleile, she began as a Figure contestant in 2007 but compiled a less than earth-shattering contest resume until she made the switch to bodybuilding in 2010. At that point she won the MW and overall titles at the NPC Emerald Cup, followed by a 6th-place finish at the NPC Nationals as aLtHW. Making the switch once again to the Women’s Physique division in 2011, she has most definitely found her niche. In five national-level events from 2011 to this year's USA Wilson has never placed lower than sixth, and her third-place finish her
e shows she is ready to mix it up with those aspiring for the top spot in this division.
Outside The Top Three:
4- Brienne Eubanks, Lakewood, Washington 17
5- Stormy Weber, Phoenix, Arizona 25
6- Twana Barnett-Ferguson, Temecula, California 30
7- Melissa Shuster, Minneapolis, Minnesota 35
8- Kim Kosmas, Portland, Oregon 40
9- Shelly Fields, Antioch, California 45
10- Amanda Ptak, Mesa, Arizona 55
11- Nesha Ward, Stockton, California 55
12- Tina Freeze, Rio Rancho, New Mexico 57
13- Lindsey Rojas, Las Vegas, Nevada 58
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