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2007 NPCAlaska Crystal Cup Keeps Alaska
Shining Brightly
By
Mark Mason
Take the 1997 teen
national champ. Add the 1997 masters champion. Put them in the nicest
venue north of the 54^ 40’ line. Mix in the cream of the crop of Alaskan
NPC competitors and throw in Ms. Olympia Valentina Chepiga and
soon-to-be Mr. Olympia Victor “The Big VZ” Martinez. What do you have? A
Garry Lodoen and Philip Bradfield bodybuilding extravaganza at the
William A. Egan Center in downtown Anchorage.
Over 200 fans packed the
Egan Center to cheer on their favorites and get a peek at some of the
best guest posing that Alaska has seen in a decade. In addition to
Chepiga and Martinez, David Bierra gave his best interpretation of
several Michael Jackson classics and the internationally acclaimed
Chugiak Choir performed as well.
Adding to the event were
nearly twenty health and fitness vendors from around the town and around
the country providing a great atmosphere as well and bagfuls of free
goodies.
Back in Anchorage was
the irrepressible MC Kim “Kong” Farrison. If Kong was reluctant to
return after his stare down with a bull moose on the loose during his
visit in April, it wasn’t evident.
The battle of the open
men was one of the high points of the evening. Each class had great
physiques across the board. The shapely lightweight Ed Bailey
demonstrated a spirited posing routine that brought the already excited
fans to near-pandemonium.
Light-heavyweights
Joshua Bridgeman and Rob Crews slugged it out so long and hard that the
stage wasn’t big enough for the both of them, or either of them. The
battle spilled into the audience and almost out the back door.
If you thought it
couldn’t get any better after the Bridgeman/Crews brouhaha you would
have been wrong. Not to be outdone heavyweights Nicholas Pilch and
Chris Howard’s posedown also moved from the stage to floor. Several
pleas from Kim Farrison for Pilch and Howard to return to the stage fell
on deaf ears. It took a personal escort from none other than IFBB Pro
Victor Martinez to get the lads back on stage.
After head judge Tim
Kirby took the group through the symmetry and mandatory rounds it was
the shredded Rob Crews who was declared the overall winner.
Former boxer Britt Britt
moved from the squared circle on to the bodybuilding stage and won the
masters division. Stephen Fidler took the teenage trophy unopposed but
that didn’t deter him from giving a performance that would have made
local legend Chilkoot Charlie proud.
The teenage figure
winner, Zlata Suschik, has made considerable improvements in her
physique as well as her presentation since her earlier NPC showing this
year.
In the women’s figure
Debbie Fowler took under 5’ 4” class and by evenings end the overall
award too. Second place Charity Blanchett was a crowd favorite and with
continued training should do well in the future.
The tall class winner,
Heidi Shepard, displayed a confidence and maturity that belied her
youth. Shepard is just one of the many untapped talents that Alaska has
to offer. Look for her in the future.
The lone contestant in
the women’s bodybuilding was Stephanie Figarelle. Figarelle has made
remarkable improvements in her conditioning since the NPC Last Frontier
show this past April. Figarelle also must get the award for biggest fan
club of the show. It was downright bedlam every time she appeared on
stage.
Not one to be bound by
tradition, AlaskaFit Productions added new novelty award for the best
“trophy presenter”. Four fashionably dressed young ladies paraded in
front of the capacity crowd throughout the evening delivering trophies
to the competitors. At evenings end Farrison judged the quartet by
using the time tested “cheer of the crowd” meter. Paola Terry was all
smiles as she was given her first place award.
After the night was done
and calm was restored one could almost feel the Egan Center’s sigh of
relief as Anchorage returned to normal. Normal, that is, until April 5th,
2008, when the NPC brings the muscle mob back bigger and brighter at the
Last Frontier Championships.
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