The 25th Anniversary NPC USA Championships men's prejudging is now history and when all was said in done, the competition can be summed up by the single word, "darkhorse". It was the night of the "unknowns" rather than a contest of favorites and I think you'll find the final outcome to everything EXCEPT what you expected!

BANTAMWEIGHTS:

David Candy from Pittsburgh, PA was the class standout. His big, well-proportioned quads, and ripped physique made him the class favorite and my choice for 1^st place honors.

LIGHTWEIGHTS:

Two words—Shavis Higa! This guy won the welterweight and overall at last week’s NPC Los Angeles Championships. This week, he dropped down to lightweight and, although he wasn’t as hard as I would have liked to see him, he easily swept the class with the most complete, symmetrical, physique in the lineup.

WELTERWEIGHTS:

Jesse Sabater presented a true classic physique with great line and flawless conditioning. Sabater looked like a true “pro” out there. Look for him to do some serious damage at the NPC Nationals later in the year. George Thibault was a close second. If he adds a few more pounds of muscle in all the right places, look for this guy to be a serious threat in the future.

MIDDLEWEIGHTS:

Jose’ Raymond had to be the class favorite; coming off a victory in the welterweight class last year. Raymond seems to have missed his peak here; possibly over carbing or under depleting. Either way, he was holding way too much water to be considered a threat to win the class. Tamar El-Gundy dropped down from light heavyweight last year and presented a polished yet slightly “flat” package. I have him in 2^nd. The surprise of the class goes to Mandeep Singh, who should edge out the competition and take home the gold in this extremely competitive class.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS:

The pregame hype of Peter Putnam vs Manny Torres never materialized. Torres came in way too flat and water logged. He needs to regroup and reassess his gameplan for next time. Putnam, on the other hand, presented a symmetrical physique that flowed better than the rest of the class. When talking about muscle size and conditioning, however, a guy by the name of Al Auguste crawled out of the proverbial “woodwork” and dominated the competition. While Putnam had more momentum going into the show, in my mind, Auguste was just too overwhelming in the muscle and conditioning department (especially the glute/ham tie-in). Whether Auguste wins or not, he’s proven that he’s a competitor to be taken seriously. Mark Perry should finish in 3^rd. He brought his best package to date—hard, dense, working class muscle.

HEAVYWEIGHT:

When heavy pre-contest favorite Adorthus “AD” Cherry walked onstage I knew immediately that it wasn’t the Cherry we were used to seeing. That hard-muscled, well-conditioned, guy we’ve grown accustomed to seeing was nowhere in sight. Instead, a watery, flat, man took his place and, as a result, two other men were given the opportunity to steal his thunder. DeShaun Grimez dominated the heavyweight class with dense muscle, awesome shape, and pro-caliber conditioning. Grimez will definitely be a force to be reckoned with for the overall posedown. Newcomer Brandon Curry, brought a cool-looking, flawlessly symmetrical, package to Las Vegas this weekend. His uncanny resemblance to Richard Jones made it hard to take your eyes off his pretty physique. If this boy learns to pose and he works on his conditioning, you may see him standing in the winner’s circle next time around!

SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT:

The precontest hype for California Giant, Robert Hatch, fizzled the minute he stepped onstage and confirmed to the judges that his legs simply don’t match his upper body. Coupled with poor conditioning, Hatch may have dropped to as low as 3^rd or 4^th in the class. Dark horse competitor, Ben White, more than made up for Hatch’s lack of conditioning. As he so boldly predicted 2 weeks ago, White swept the class with a combination of superior mass, symmetry, and conditioning. He’s my pick to win the overall tomorrow night. Jerome “Hollywood” Ferguson, who looked great at the weigh in last night, looked overcarbed and bloated with excess fluid, tonight. I think Ferguson may have overshot his peak by 24 hours or so. Hopefully, next time around Ferguson will get his timing down pat and will walk home with that must deserved first place title. Filling out the top 5 was Kenny Milne of Midvale, UT and Grigori Atoyan of Sacramento, CA.