Celebrating the 25^th anniversary of this most prestigious of the NPC's premier national level contests for the women, the field presented one of the widely varying group of competitor this event had seen in years.  As per usual, judging decisions throughout the weight classes kept competitors and fans alike guessing with regard to a consistent line of just exactly what style of physique was the flavor of the day.

Beni Jets to the Lightweight Crown

The guessing games began in earnest in the lightweight class as 12 contestants and a solid group of quality physiques created surprises and joy for some with shock and disappointment for others.

   Topping the contingent was Texan Beni Lopez.  Weighing in at a miniscule 102, and distributing that poundage on an equally miniscule 4-11 frame, Lopez has a competitive background dating back to 1998, but her only events after 2000 had been in the figure realm. In fact, as late as this year she had only placed 12^th in the Masters class at the NPC Pittsburgh. Impressive in her overall look was the fact that she is 40 years old - and looking considerably younger - has been married 25 years and has three children of which one is 23 years old. Lopez's victory is her first at the national level, and as a pro she will immediately become one of the smallest pros in the history of the IFBB.

   Judges based their unanimous decision for Lopez on her clean fluid lines, excellent muscular balance, and crisply defined muscle groups throughout her physique.

   The runner-up spot went to recently crown NPC USA lightweight champion Galina Serdtsev. At 113 pounds with three inches of height advantage on Lopez, she managed to score a pair of first-place votes among the 11 judges. Serdtsev was highly defined, and the Floridian was as solid pick for second place. As the runner-up, Serdtsev moved up from her fourth-place NPC Nationals finish in 2006.

   Four points shy of Serdtsev's tally was New Yorker Tammy Patnode. A first timer at the NPC Nationals, this 5-0, 112-pound hairdresser styled herself a strong finish in her inaugural trip to this event. An overall winner earlier in the year at the NPC Junior USA, and a third-place finisher at the 2006 NPC Junior Nationals, Patnode will likely always remain competitive in this class due to her strong overall structural balance,  and a striking pair of diamond-shaped calves.

   Tracking Patnode closely was veteran lightweight Tera Guzman - another one of many Floridians who would populate to the top-five placings throughout the entire competition. Competing since 1997 Guzman has competed in five previous NPC Nationals placing as high as second in 2004, and was the NPC USA lightweight champion the same year. Weighing in at 114 pounds this year, she showed a muscular thickness that she had not displayed in the past. In filling out, judges saw her as less defined than those who finished in front of her, although she still managed to grab three runner-up votes from the panel.

 Illinois' Kirsten Haratyk claimed the final trophy position among the lightweights with 5-1, 112-pound physique that fit nicely among the top placers. Haratyk was the lightweight winner at the 2006 NPC Junior Nationals, and was making her debut at the NPC Nationals.

Chandler Gives Texas Its Second National Crown

Following in Beni Lopez's tracks, Houston's Tina Chandler gave Texas another National title with a unanimous decision in a middleweight class that top out at 16 contestants. For Chandler her victory was redemption after failing to repeat her 2005 NPC USA victory at that event this year.  Seemingly more comfortable in her home state, the 5-4, 125-pound massage therapist brought an overall dynamic look, which included outstanding skin-tone and a notable makeup application to put the finishing touches on her physique. In total, it earned her the victory - but it wasn't easy.

   At Thursday's early weigh-in, Chandler tipped the scales at 129.6. She returned Friday morning and just made the weight break-off at 125. As one of the largest middleweights, she accumulated all but two first-place ballots from the judges to score a convincing win.

   Yet another Texan with just one name - Yasha - was this division's most entertaining poser. A former figure competitor, the 5-2, 124-pound Dallas native was as convincing in her runner-up role as Chandler was in winning. Most recently, Yasha was the light-heavyweight and overall winner at the NPC Texas, so her drop down to the middleweight division gave her a tighter, for detailed overall look - and the judges were impressed.

   Idaho's Janet Kaufman was four points of Yasha's pace to garner the third place award.

And as a 2007 NPC Masters National middleweight winner, the 124-pounder is quietly moving up the ranks in the top five at national contests. Adding to her finish here,  Kaufman has finished fifth at the 2005 NPC Nationals and third at the 2005 NPC USA, and has the capacity to finish even higher in 2008 and beyond.

   Without sounding like a broken record, another Texan, Terri Harris, rounded out the top five. With Lone Star Staters taking three of the top five finishes in this class, Harris was the veteran of the group having competed since 1996. Along the way, she has also been a middleweight champion at the 2002 Junior Nationals, and an overall winner at the 2000 NPC Louisiana State Championships.

So Close in the Light-Heavyweights!

The pre-contest hubbub was all about just how competitive the light-heavyweight class would be, and with 17 able-bodied contestants, the battle did not disappoint.  Fittingly, the largest class brought the closest competition as Californian Kristy Hawkins and North Carolina's Britt Miller made it a free-for-all. With both women showing outstanding qualities unique unto their own physiques, it was Hawkins who edged Miller by a scant one point.

   For the 138-pound Hawkins, her climb to the top spot as a light-heavyweight took three years, but the third time this year was a charm.  Putting all the elements of what judges wanted to see in a made-for-the-pros physique, she showed eye-popping muscular definition and quad and glutial striations that were the talk of the class. Each bodypart Hawkins flexed showed clean crisp detail, while topping off the entire package with an almost angelic face.

  From Pasadena, Hawkins' Tournament of Roses parade came early this year, and after she edged past Britt Miller to capture the light-heavies, she quickly added the overall crown.

   Said a stunned Hawkins backstage as she leaned on her trophy to hold her upright, "My brain cells aren't really firing right now, you just never expect to end up as the overall winner at this contest."

   Admittedly shy of the fame that comes her way through bodybuilding, Hawkins knows something about brain cells as a student in the biochemical doctoral program at Cal Tech.  In other words, she's a genius level student, and it didn't take a genius to see she was ripe to capture a title or two on this night.  Hawkins will now move to the pro level, and immediately find herself capable of competing well in that group.

   Falling short by one point, Britt Miller is a 23-year-old registered nurse who is also destined for a position in the pro ranks. At 5-4 and weighing a beautifully distributed 132 pounds, Miller was flawless in her presentation and only lacked a similar level of detail in the same muscle groups as Hawkins to make the judge job of separating these two a total nightmare.  At past national-level events, Miller has posted a victory at the 2005 NPC USA as a middleweight and was the third-place finisher at the 2006 NPC Nationals last year - also in the middleweight category.  With youth on her side, she now only needs to improve one spot to move on to the pro ranks.

   A mega-chiseled Karen Choat jumped at a chance to claim the third place finish after notching at eighth-place finish at this contest last year.  From San Angelo, Texas, Choat's 138-pound physique showed among the most impressive hamstrings and calves in the class - which is a notable claim considering the qualities of the overall champion in those bodyparts. Also a nurse,  the 37-year-old Choat matched her third-place finish at the NPC USA earlier in the year, and will always be a threat as a light-heavyweight on the national level.

   Always a crowd favorite, newly transplanted Georgian Elena Seiple once again posted a top five finish in what was her seventh trip to the NPC Nationals. Here, she landed fourth, her lowest placing since 2002 when she was a middleweight.  Last year, and for three consecutive years, Seipel has been the runner-up as a light-heavyweight. In fact, she edged Kristy Hawkins by three points in the 2006 tilt.  This year, she was visibly off in her general condition lacking the needed detail overall to put the pressure on Hawkins., Miller, and Choate.

   Fifth went to Georgia's Amy Neal, and at 138 ½ pounds, she displayed a pair of impressive quads that would have been the envy of any heavyweight - very impressive. Neal's fifth-place finish equaled the same placement she earned at this event last year.

DiRenzo Vaults to Victory in Heavyweights

Florida's Bev DiRenzo has been what anyone would call a relentless improver when it comes to contest entries.  A former overall NPC Florida champion in 2000, her climb up the national ladder has been steady and always in an upward direction.  At a pair of NPC USA contests in 2002 and 2003 the gymnastics instructor earned two unheralded ninth-place finishes.  Taking 2004 off, she returned in 2005 with a creditable sixth-place heavyweight spot at the NPC Nationals.  Fast forward to 2007 - her year has been a busy one. At the NPC USA she placed fourth in the light-heavyweight class, followed by a runner-up finish at the IFBB North American Championships as a heavyweight.  Obviously, ecstatic over her finish here in Dallas, DiRenzo ended the year by winning a class of 15 contestants and earning her pro status.

   Fellow Floridian Nekole Hamrick scored what judges deemed a solid runner-up placing to Di Renzo.  With DiRenzo weighing 149 pounds at a height of 5-6, Hamrick projected a more statuesque structure and muscular line at 5-9, 161 pounds. With several observers comparing Hamrick to Cory Everson early in her career, Hamrick is an inch taller and fully ten pounds heavier than Everson at any time as Ms. Olympia.  Deceptively large, Hamrick is a future pro waiting to be uncovered.

   Without question, the most controversial decision of the entire contest came by way of Oklahoma's Michele Neil. At 145 pounds, Neil was shrink-wrapped from head to toe. Her muscular detail was without parallel in the entire contest.  After winning the NPC USA heavyweight class in late July with virtually the same physique, she was demoted to third here.  At just 5-4, Neil presents a strikingly muscular package and shows no weaknesses in a given bodypart - especially when they are so visible and easy to observe. A physician and sports medicine doctor, Neil is at the top of her game on the amateur level, so it would stand to reason that her only destiny would be to win a contest where pro status brings to her to the level of the pros.  Her decision was the only one of the evening where the audience expressed a marked level of disapproval with the result.

   As the antithesis to Michele Neil's high level of definition fourth place finisher Kris Murrell - the third Floridian to score a top five finish in this class - was a notably smoother and much more voluminous style of physique.  At 5-6 and weighing in at 176 pounds, Murrell is a fan favorite for those who identify with the beauty of large round, shapely muscle groups. As an added highlight in Murrell's physical offering, she is an accomplished poser who possesses an entertaining level of body awareness for a woman of her size. In a class of outstanding posing performances she rated as one of the very finest. At a point in time when she learns to dial in her contest prep and diet, the pro ranks await.

   Georgia's Gale Frankie claimed the final trophy in this class, and the placing is familiar to her. At an impressively muscled 158 pounds, Frankie was fourth at this contest in 2006, and fifth as a light-heavyweight at the 2005 NPC Nationals. Any frontal style pose Frankie hits during a her routines are crowd pleasers, and she has the ability and potential to move into a top three position with further detailing in her overall physique.

The NPC NATIONALS OVERALL WINNERS

1980-Rachel McLish, Texas*

1981-Carla Dunlap, New Jersey

1982-Carla Dunlap, New Jersey

1983-Lori Bowen, Texas

1984-Cory Everson, California

1985-Diana Dennis, California

1986-Cathey Palyo, California

1987-Charla Sedacca, Georgia

1988-Laura Beaudry, California

1989-Susan Myers, Maryland

1990-Nikki Fuller, Oregon

1991-Kim King, Pennsylvania

1992-Drorit Kernes, California

1993-Sue Price, California

1994-Michele Ralabate, Pennsylvania

1995-Paula Suzuki, Hawaii

1996-Gayle Moher, Ohio

1997-Nicole Bass, New York

1998-Brenda Raganot, Washington

1999-Vilma Caez, New Jersey

2000-Heather Foster, New York

2001-Beth Roberts, Pennsylvania

2002-Sarah Dunlap, Pennsylvania

2003-Annie Rivieccio, Georgia

2004-Gina Davis, Texas

2005-Mimi Jabalee

2006-Lora Ottenad

2007-Kristy Hawkins 

*In 1980 there were no weight classes

Compiled by Steve Wennerstrom, IFBB Women’s Historian