Women Rock Vegas!

Promoter Jon Lindsay tossed another of his now familiar NPC USA bashes at Artemus Ham Hall on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas on the weekend of July 27-28. And on the women’s side of this monster event 53 contestants from border-to-border made a beeline for the four weight class titles and the treasured overall crown as the NPC USA champion.

With what anyone would consider the widest variety of physiques competing in virtually every weight class, judges found themselves in deep dilemmas with regard to just how to arrive at a consistency in the top placers of each class. Put simply it was a mixed bag of results, but that fact also made for what every bodybuilding fan loves - questioning the judging decisions. With no shortage of buzz, emanating throughout the auditorium and well into the lobby, the final results fueled more than enough fire to create spirited chatter as to what the idyllic look of a winning female bodybuilder should be – an argument that is as old as the sport itself.

FULL WOMENS BODYBUILDING PHOTO GALLERY

The Lightweights

A field of nine contestants presented the first challenge for judges when no two competitors bared even the slightest resemblance in their physical comparisons. Physiques ranged from lean and slender to thick, ripped, and highly defined. What to do?

Florida’s Galina Serdtsev helped the judges make their final choice a unanimous one for the top spot by combining clean bodylines, evenly developed muscularity and a distinctively eastern European stage presence that was classy and at the same time mesmerizing. That captivating combination proved to be just the ticket for Serdtsev’s claim on the lightweight crown.

From Orlando, Florida, Serdtsev’s family roots trace back to Siberia, a reality that helped contribute much to her beautifully choreographed and executed posing routine. Last year at the NPC Nationals in Miami, the 5-2, 113-pound physician’s assistant made her initial impact on the national scene with a top five lightweight placing - so her victory here was not a total surprise.

Fellow Floridian Beth Wachter chased Serdtsev to her win with a unanimous nod from the judges as the runner-up. From North Palm Beach, the 115-pound Wachter was highly defined with deep muscle separations. A veteran competitor, Wachter has been a class winner at both the NPC Florida and NPC Junior Nationals in the past.

Arizona’s Tracy Witherspoon used her background in gymnastics and rodeo to lasso the third place spot as the judges gave the 5-1, 112-pounder a matching trophy to go with the same third-place position she captured at this event in 2006.

The Results

1-Galina Serdtsev, Florida 5

2-Beth Wachter, Florida 10

3-Tracy Witherspoon, Arizona 15

4-Melinda Williamson, Texas 20

5-Tricia Travis, Arizona 26

6-Sharon Garrett, North Carolina 28

7-Melissa Alvarado, Arizona 37

8-Connie Everton, Colorado 38

9-Natalie Barnett, Kentucky 45

The Middleweights

Texan Jennifer Sedia brought one goal to Las Vegas for this year’s USA. She wanted to improve one place on her runner-up finish in this same class at last year’s USA. Mission accomplished. Using a greatly improved level of general appearance and stage presence to go with her evenly balanced physique and clean posing routine, Sedia topped the class gaining all 11 judging ballots. In doing so Sedia became the fourth Texan to win the USA middleweight class following in the capable footsteps of Dinah Anderson (1983), Vickie Gates (1993), and Tina Chandler (who won this class in 2006).

Overjoyed with her victory, the best was yet to come for this 34-year-old environmental specialist from Lubbock.

Running second to Sedia was Arizona dazzler Diana Tinnelle. Like Sedia, Tinnelle also improved one place from the 2006 event when she placed third in the MW class. A former figure competitor, Tinelle was exotic and displayed confidence with a hot, sassy routine. With more experience in her dieting prep as it applies to bodybuilding, she is a strong bet as a future national-level winner.

Third went to Californian Kelly Dobbins. Continuing her outstanding comeback efforts after last competing in 1998 when she won her class at the NPC California, the 5-2, 121-pound gym owner added her showing here to a string of victories that included the NPC Emerald Cup and NPC California middleweight wins and an overall victory at the NPC Contra Costa. Dobbins showed excellent conditioning and nice muscular detail to earn her placing.

The Results

1-Jennifer Sedia, Texas 5

2-Diana Tinelle, Arizona 10

3-Kelly Dobbins, California 15

4-Sally Taylor, Arizona 20

5-Holly Robey, Nevada 25

6-Heidi Bagwell, South Carolina 32

7-Rebecca Greaig, Arizona 32

The Light-Heavyweights

Transplanted Californian Angie Salvagno, who now makes Port St. Lucie, Florida home, became something of a rarity with her victory in this year’s light-heavyweight class. Salvagno repeated her win in this class from 2006, and in doing so became only the second competitor in the 25-year history of the NPC USA to win a weight class in two consecutive years (the other being Colette Nelson as the HW USA champion in 2001 and ’02).

But Salvagno’s win did come easily. Her margin of victory was based on a countback of the judges due to her being tied on points with eventual runner-up Star Blaylock. Both contestants totaled 10 points each. Among the 11 judges, four named Salvagno as the winner, while Blaylock received three nods for the top spot. It doesn’t get any closer than that. To Salvagno’s credit she repeated her solid conditioning from a year earlier, and she needed every bit of that muscle quality to top Blaylock.

From Dallas, Texas, Star Blaylock gave Salvagno all she could handle with a beautifully balanced 5-4, 140 pound physique. Outweighing Salvagno by five pounds, the added size gave Blaylock an impressive look during comparisons. On the down side, the added weight may have cost her the title as she lacked enough visible detail in her quad and hamstrings to challenge Salvagno in the lower body. Blaylock’s stage presence and first-rate posing routine, however, are destined to carry her to the pro ranks when she goes the extra mile to cardio herself into ‘total’ shape.

Yet another Texan captured the third-place spot in this class as San Angelo’s Karen Choat crept into the top three for the first time at the national level. As a light-heavyweight last year Choat (who competed here at 5-3, 137 ¼), bounced upward from an eighth-place NPC National finish, and a fifth-place NPC USA in 2006, to a well-deserved finish among the top five. The former track & field competitor also owned the best calves in 18-contestant field.

As a final note as to just how competitive this class was, Karen Choat’s final point total was 18 points. Fourth placer Bev DiRenzo checked in at 19, and fifth-placed Holly Geerson talied 20!

The Results

1-Angie Salvagno, Florida 10

2-Star Blaylock, Texas 10

3-Karen Choat, Texas 18

4-Beverly DiRenzo, Florida 19

5-Holly Geerson, Colorado 20

6-Christine Sabo, Arizona 27

7-Kimberly Ferrell, Indiana 38

8-Gina Spengler, Nevada 39

9-Diana Cook, Florida 46

10-Tina Zampa, California 50

11-Casey Daugherty, Florida 53

12-Theresa Hendricks, Virginia 63

13-Courtney Shar, Texas 66

14-Roxanne Edwards, New York 74

15-Akila Pervis, Arizona 75

Non-Placers

Jennifer Benda, California

Diana Feather, California

Julie Williams, Arizona

The Heavyweights

If there was a weight class at this year’s USA that caused considerable head scratching, consternation, and confusion over the old bugaboo of judging inconsistency it was the heavyweight class – and as fate would have it, the largest category with 19 contestants.

Within this muscle-laden group lurked a host of impressively developed competitors, many of whom were dramatically different in their overall general appearance.

And no better example of this yoking of opposites existed than between eventual winner Michele Neil, and runner-up Sheila Bleck. First, Neil packs 145 ½ pounds on her 5-4 frame, while Bleck at 5-7, weighed in at 157 pounds. From Tulsa, Oklahoma, Neil was shrink-wrapped from head to toe. The term bodyfat does not exist in her vocabulary. Bleck on the other hand, while still muscular, possesses a more aesthetic overall look and is a professional level poser. Side-by-side they were about as different as could be imagined - both excellent in their own right. And when all was said and done by way of scores, Neil topped Bleck by two points to win the class. For Bleck, who has moved to Florida from Oregon, she crept ever closer to her goal of reaching the pro ranks after a pair of third-place finishes at the USA and Nationals in 2006. Neil has also been on a great run with a recent HW win at the 2007 NPC Masters Nationals, to go with her runner-up HW finish at last year’s USA. It could be said that both are good enough to enter the pro ranks at this point, but only Neil got the chance to advance in the posedown. If Bleck remains strong mentally and repeats her efforts in Dallas, she will be a strong favorite to reach the pros. More on Neil in a minute.

Meanwhile in third place Indiana’s Julia Stamper had a firm grip on her trophy – and with good reason. Working as a police officer, Stamper can also qualify as the poster girl for victims of judging inconsistencies. A year earlier at the NPC Junior Nationals, Stamper found herself dusted to a last place finish in the heavyweight class – not looking all that different from her impressive 5-4, 144-pound look at this event. Obviously, she was ecstatic over her finish, and accepted it gleefully, but the question remains, could her overall look at the ’06 Junior Nationals really have been so bad as to warrant finishing last? More fodder for buzz in the chatrooms, no doubt.

The Results

1-Michele Neil, Oklahoma 7

2-Sheila Bleck, Florida 9

3-Julia Stamper, Indiana 11

4-Candy Canary, Oklahoma 22

5-Dianne Solomons, California 23

6-Bettina Kadet, Massachusetts 36

7-Joella Bernard, California 40

8-Kimm Winn, California 41

9-Gerri Deach, Washington 42

10-Gabrielle Nicander, California 44

11-Bonnie Pappas, Massachusetts 61

12-Rose Kasallis, Nevada 62

13-Cindy Johnson, California 65

14-Guilia Divina, California 67

15-Robyn Mentgen, Illinois 72

Non-Placers

Tammy Jackson, California

Jody May, Texas

Yamile Marrero, Florida

Brenda King, Tennessee

They Pose For the Pros

So, four competitors earned the right to posedown for the single pro card available, and once again the quartet engaging one another in their effort to win an overall title came down to four markedly different physiques – each with their own particular qualities. With a range that included the sleek lightweight lines of Galina Serdstev to Michele ‘Hard as Nails’ Neil. Not to mention the two-time light-heavyweight USA winner Angie Salvagno and that middleweight Texan –Jennifer Sedia – ready to unwittingly play giant killer in the biggest posedown of her bodybuilding career.

The final decision? Jennifer Sedia - a winner among four competitors whose most evident traits were their dramatic physical differences. One observer who gazed at the foursome as they gathered their breath after the posedown said, “that middleweight winner has what I would call ‘a quiet quality to her physique’”. Maybe.

Jennifer Sedia’s mother reveled in the moment. “You know,” she aid with a wide smile, “Jennifer has wanted to be like Rachel McLish since she was 13 years old.” Now Jennifer Sedia is the 2007 NPC USA overall champion. In 1980 Rachel McLish won the first United States Women’s Bodybuilding Championships – an event that would become today’s NPC USA.

Sedia found it difficult to speak after her victory, a little like the observer said, “she has a quiet quality”. But her victory on this night spoke louder than words.