Women's Nationals Bodybuilding Prejudging

2009 NPC Nationals

Womens’s Bodybuilding Judging

By Ron Harris

Lightweight

Some of the classes were not clear-cut in terms of who will win, and this was one of them. California’s Barbara Fletcher was both the shortest and the lightest female bodybuilder at this year’s Nationals, but she had a very nice combination of size, shape, and condition with her shape being set off by a truly tiny waist. Stacy Pillari from South Carolina had an X-frame marked by great shoulder and quad development, and Kirsten Haratyk from Florida was in excellent condition. Lori Steele from New Hampshire was also in fantastic shape. I was really puzzled as to why Dr. Margaret Negrete from Texas wasn’t in the first callout of four competitors, as she looked to me like she might push for this class win. Margaret was ripped and had a pro-caliber physique all around.

Middleweight

The next heaviest division had several standouts, including Suzanne Germano, Terri Harris, and Angie Robertson. But to my eyes it came down to two women. Idaho’s Janet Kaufmann was shredded all over including the glutes, and had tremendous back thickness and detail. Lisette Acevedo from New Jersey had a better overall shape and structure, with a wider back and shoulders. No idea what the judges will do here, and I don’t envy their task this whole weekend.

Light-Heavyweight

The light-heavies, a class that didn’t even exist for women until a few years ago, had the most competitors at 21. Once more I was scratching my head wondering why two of the women I thought were going to vie for the class win, Jennifer Gutierrez and Joella Bernard, weren’t in the initial group of four to be called out and compared. But as I said, sorting this many top-notch physiques out quickly and fairly is a true challenge. Detroit’s LaDawn Toniko McDay stood out with great back and leg development, as did Nicole Berg with her wide wingspan and gifted structure. Chicago’s Anita Nikolich is also clearly in the mix, with a balanced physique and perhaps the best condition in the class.

Heavyweight

Finally, in the last class, I was able to say with confidence that I know who will win with 99.9% certainty. That would be Pennsylvania’s Amber DeFrancisco, wife of men’s super heavy finalist Kirk DeFrancisco. Amber worked with George Farah for this show and he brought her in sliced and diced, with quad separation deep and more clear than most of the men I saw compete last night. She’s got a total package and gave off an aura of a champ. That isn’t to say that nobody is close to her. California’s Kris Murrell actually has equal shape and superior mass, and had she been in the same condition as Amber I don’t know how Amber would have done. Actually, until the awards are given out tonight, there are no guarantees anyway! Monique Jones also looked really good, and so did Tina Zampa and Sarah Hayes. Sarah was the subject of a recent MD video, as she made the switch from fitness to bodybuilding this year. As for Tina, she should have been in the first callout as far as I’m concerned, and might have made up enough ground once the judges got a better look at her to make a run for the top three.