IFBB North American Championships 2008 Analysis

Competition Analyst Marijan Lipsinic

 

by Marijan Lipsinic,

Gary Udit's promotions are among the most anticipated each year that are enjoyable for the athletes and spectators. This year's IFBB North American was no exception.

Canadian Marc Lavoie emerged as a double overall winner at 2008 IFBB North American Championships, winning both Men's Masters and Men's Open divisions this past weekend in Cleveland, OH. Women's overall champion was 50 year young Teresa Paschal. Congratulations to Teresa and Mark on their accomplishments and good luck in IFBB pro ranks.

 

Men's Bodybuilding

MEN'S OPEN
 
Super Heavyweight
 
Super heavyweight class at this year's NA had some real quality bodybuilders. Yes, and they were big, too, specially the winner, Big Kirk DeFrancesco. Kirk displayed incredible combination of size, nice symmetry and good balance. For the man that size his body parts flow very nicely together. Second was Ben Pakulski, big Canadian hope. He is definitely a pro material, no doubt about it. His leg development is probably one of the best in the world. I don't think they get any better than that. Legs are still overpowering his already excellent upper body. Ben has some great delts, too. They look like boulders. Watch out for Ben Pakulski! He'll turn pro very soon. Third place went to veteran Stokely Palmer. Great arms, like always. This time he was lacking conditioning though, to be more competitive in this lineup. Another monster in this class, Keith Williams was fourth. He had very good conditioning, size and symmetry. In my opinion he could have been placed a little higher. If fifth placed Andrew Jemmott came in conditioned, he would have been in the contention for the top spot. He has an amazing physique and should be considered major threat in a future.
 
Heavyweight
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1. Marc Lavoie - Men's Open Overall Winner
2. Lee Banks 
3. Darrell Terrell 
4. Jason Huh 
5. Victor Dean 
6. Shaun Crump 
7. Shiloe Steinmetz 
8. Erubey Espinoza 
9. PJ Braun 
10. Mark Erpelding 
11. Grigori Atoyan 
12. Tad Inoue 
13. Sean Harris 
14. Mike Strutz 
15. Mark Richman
 
Heavyweight class was stacked with quality athletes. Marc Lavoie of Canada took this class. Nobody expected Marc to win before the competition got underway on Friday night. He showed up in a great shape. Very muscular with spot on conditioning, Marc dominated heavyweight class. Floridian Lee Banks was second. Another pro caliber who missed his peak. Lee  has a great structure, full muscle bellies, small waist and I think it is just a matter of time before he turns pro. Third placed Darrell Terrell, came in a great shape. Looked great from the rear, specially hamstring and glutes tie ins. Detailed back, but he needs more shoulder and back width to win heavyweight class. Excellent bodybuilder, though.
Former Teen champion Jason Hugh was fourth. I think Jason looked very good. Awesome arms, small waist, looked better from the front. Needed more conditioning, specially back and hamstrings. Jason Hugh has a great potential to be successful in a future. Victor Dean rounder top 5. His conditioning was very good so was his overall look. Victor left behind some big name bodybuilders like Shaun Crump, Mark Erpelding, Grigori Atoyan, PJ Braun.
 
Light Heavyweight
 
Chulsey Graham won light heavyweight class with a combination of size and very good conditioning. Chulsey dropped down to light heavyweight class from heavyweights where he usually competes. Young Jo Son was second. He presented a great physique with dense muscle and excellent conditioning. He was one of contenders to win a class, but Chulsey's sheer size was just too much for everyone in this class. Well conditioned Chris Prazybyla came in third. Big quads with great conditioning all over, Chris deserved  high placing. Michael Pariso in fourth place, looked very good, too. He just needed more details in his back and hamstrings to be more competitive. He looked better from the front.
Durlan Castro took a fifth place. Master competitor was shredded, with freaky lower body. It was very impressive showing for Durlan.

 

Middleweight
 
In the middleweights, it was a battle between Mexican competitors Hugo Ortiz and Pedro Barron. Both bodybuilders looked good and judges gave a nod to Hugo Ortiz who had more pleasing physique. Master's competitor Jamie Ibone took third, Blas Montavlo was fourth and Todd Scott took a fifth place finish.
 
 
Welterweight
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1. Travis French 
2. David Millan 
3. Jocelyn Jean 
4. Rafael Gonzalez 
5. Morris Pruett 
6. Cesar Vazquez 
7. Loren Dyck 
 
Lightweight
 
Bantamweight
*******************
1. David Williams 
2. Eugene Blakely

MEN'S MASTERS

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40+ Super Heavyweight
******************************
1. Eric Brugh
2. James Juge
3. James Bivens

40+ Heavyweight
**********************
1. Marc Lavoie - Masters 40+ Overall Winner
2. Everett Baker
3. Osiris
4. Gil Ansah 
5. Alex Ramirez
6. Jose Gonzalez 
7. Christopher Bohn 
8. Marvin Harper

40+ Light Heavyweight
****************************
1. Durlan Castro 
2. Lance Johnson
3. Stacy Seals 
4. Matt Grzeskowiak 
5. Victor Garcia 
6. Compton Austin 
7. Mark Gates

40+ MIddleweight
***********************
1. Jamie Ibone 
2. Blas Montalvo 
3. Gerardo Panchi
4. Stryker Salman 
5. Zuhir Gazawneh 

40+ Welterweight
***********************
1. Morris Pruett 
2. Loren Dyck

40+ Lightweight

********************
1. Bernabe Ramirez 
2. Chris Groetsch 
3. Jonathan Coker 
4. Steven Bell 
5. David Williams 
6. Eugene Blakely

 

50+ Super Heavyweight
*******************************
1. Dennis Dougherty

50+ Heavyweight
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1. Randy Reittinger
2. Leonard Crabtree
3. Mario Vuotto
4. Mick Lanzio

50+ Light Heavyweight
*****************************
1. Dale Hicks -Masters 50+ Overall Winner
2. John Lyons
3. James Mobley
4. Frank Stevenson

50+ Middleweight
***********************

Women's Bodybuilding

Heavyweight - Top 5
**************************
1. Teresa Paschal - Overall winner
2. Christine Sabo
3. Christina Rhodes
4. Tammy Jones
5. Janeen Lankowski
What a wonderful weekend for Heavyweight winner Teresa Paschal. After 8 years away from competitive bodybuilding 50 years young Alabama girl, decided to step on stage and prove that at that age it can be done. She won heavyweight class and overall, earning IFBB Pro card. Congratulations Teresa! Second place went to Christine Sabo. Christine has an amazing physique with beautiful feminine look. Her conditioning was little off, specially her glutes and hamstrings. Christina Rhodes in third, presented symmetrical physique with decent conditioning. Her lower body needed more details and she would have placed even higher. Another good competitor, Tammy Jones was fourth. She has nice lines with good muscle size. Little more conditioning would make her serious contender for a top spot on this level.
Janeen Lankowski was fifth. Good conditioning with nice muscularity, Janeen needed more shoulder width to place better in this lineup.

Light Heavyweight - Top 5
********************************
1. Jody Wald
2. Michelle Brent
3. Tracey Toth
4. Michelle Morrison
5. Janelle Miller

Jody Wald won light heavyweight class displaying great combination of symmetry, muscularity and conditioning. She had a fierce contender in Michelle Brent, who looked great. It was very close between Jody and Michelle, but judges decided to go with Jody. Tracy Toth in third presented nice package with an excellent back development. Fourth was Michelle Morrison with amazing shoulders, but lacked conditioning to place higher. When she dials in her conditioning, she'll be dangerous. Another good athlete, Janelle Miller, finished in fifth place.

Middleweight - Top 5
***************************
1. Cheryl Faust
2. Kimberely Ferrell
3. Johanna Dejager
4. Roseanne Desmarais
5. Cassandra Floyd

Cheryl Faust won middleweight class, although second placed Kimberly Ferrell was as good as Cheryl. It was close. Cheryl and Kimberly have different physiques, but I have to say both ladies looked excellent. Judges awarded Cheryl first place. Johanna Dejager in third, was very conditioned with nice arms and midsection. Roseanne Desmarais displayed excellent conditioning, but was little light in her lower body. Cassandra Floyd who has a nice lines, needed to be harder to place better. She finished in fifth place.

Lightweight - Top 3
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1. Lori Steele
2. Ana Sanchez
3. Maryann Glascock

Lori Steele was a clear winner of lightweight class. Her symmetrical physique and conditioning were just amazing. I'm very impressed with Lori. She should do Nationals in November to try to get her Pro card. Ana Sanchez and Maryann Glascock were fighting for second place. Judges awarded Ana with second place, leaving Maryann on third. It could have been the other way around.
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