This post is technically a review of 16.4 but realistically...aren't we all just thinking about 16.5? What do guys think it will be? Probably thrusters...but what else?Anyway, we'll talk about 16.5 later. Let's look back at 16.4 and see what the standings look like heading into the final week of competition.
The top five spots are separated by just 8 points and anything is possible in 16.5
The top of the leaderboard is about as close as close gets. Paige moved into a tie with Jess at the top thanks to winning 16.4 by JUST 2 SECONDS. Paige got off the rower at 12:48 while Jess was off at 12:50. Becca Harris took third but missed winning the WOD by only about 12 seconds. And, just as I predicted, there were heavy deadlifts and the Becca's made up some ground. So, here is what it boils down to with one WOD left. Either Paige or Jess needs to finish one spot ahead of the other, at least 3 spots ahead of Becky to clinch the top spot. But...if Becky wins 16.5 and Paige or Jess finish in 5th or below, Becky takes the title in 2016. P.S. - I know that the Open is about testing yourself and your fitness but I just love a good sports story and our top five ladies are crafting a great one!P.P.S. - Ya'll should hear Whitney talk around the office about how much she would be dominating the women AND the men if she was at full-strength. It's weird to hear Whit be so cocky but she's non-stop about it...
Right now Russell has a pretty commanding lead at the top of the Men's Leaderboard thanks to some "as expected" consistency. He hasn't finished lower than third in any WOD and missed out on second place in 16.4 via the tiebreaker time.
I judged Russell on his 16.4 re-do and he and Edsel were going rep-for-rep for the entire 13 minutes. Edsel got off the rower about 10 seconds faster but they both finished with 18 HSPU. It was really terrific watching them chase each other during that WOD. Now, Russ just needs to finish in the top four to clinch the title of Fittest Man at Renew. The race for second is going to be awesome as well. Gosh I can't wait for Friday...I would be remiss if I didn't specifically point out two athletes: Justin Hroch and Michael Watson. Hroch absolutely murdered this WOD with 221 reps. That's a full round plus 1 HSPU and it put him at 24oth in the South Central Region and at 3199 worldwide for the WOD. Not too shabby my friend...Watson set the score to beat in the very first heat on Friday night with 12 HSPU. Then he just chilled the whole night and had a couple of beers and a few laughs. Russell might win the Open but Michael has figured out how your really do the Open...
Austin and Paige Jones have graciously offered us their home for our 16.5 Post Party. Turns out Austin is quite the cook and has an industrial size pizza oven at his house. So, after 16.5 destroys us all, we are going to recover with pizza and drinks at their house IMMEDIATELY AFTER the final heat of 16.5.PLEASE RSVP HERE. SPOUSES AND KIDS MORE THAN WELCOME!IMPORTANT NOTE: We will have some cocktails available at the party but this is BYOB so make sure you bring your favorite beer for yourself and others.This has, without question, been our best Open ever. Let's finish the WODs strong and finish the Open even stronger by celebrating with the Jones's on Friday night!