Vancouver Show Doubles Down in 2010

Text and Photos by Mark Mason

Frank Bohm and Tanji Johnson proved the age-old axiom good things come in pairs. First, the Dynamic Duo brought together a couple of contrasts. Guest posers Cathy LeFrancios and multi Olympian Iris Kyle doubled up for a roof rattling presentation. If that wasn’t enough Victor Martinez, who possesses one of the most balanced physiques since Steve Reeves, and Stan “the White Rhino” Efferding, whose brute strength is what legends are made of, graced the Skyview High stage bringing the over-capacity crowd to near riotous proportions. But the big deuce was that the 2010 VanNat DOUBLED in competitors from the previous year. That’s right two times the competitors, double the fun and twice the excitement.

In the open bodybuilding division light heavyweight Justin Palmer took home the overall title defeating crowd favorite middleweight Bobby McDonough and a totally shredded bantamweight Fred Varang. Palmer had some competition in the light heavies with a much-improved Tyler Leenknecht. Lightweight Donovan Paracuelles possessed just enough size and symmetry to edge past Jeremy Santos and Rusty Guico.

If Women’s overall champ Cindy Goodrich is getting used to the winner’s circle one wouldn’t know it. Goodrich continues to bring in a package with improvements in size and conditioning each show. Heavyweight Peggy Willis missed her mark as far as conditioning but has brought her shoulders and back up considerably. If Willis ever dials in everything at once she will be hard to beat. Susie Thorpe led the middleweight taking first over Christina Pahlman with Jolynn Morris rounding out the top three.

The NPC Bikini Division continues to grow. The Vancouver boasted over fifty young women in four height classes. Tall class winner Jill Lane has comfortably made the transition from figure to bikini. She won a decisive victory over second place Trista Fenske and number three girl the lovely Diane Rudholm. At the end of prejudging Fenske and Rudholm were actually tied with Fenske eeking out the second place trophy by nightfall.

The blond beauty Kate Weber garnered a near perfect score in the bikini under 5’6” class. Kelsey Green slipped past Kierston Stone taking home the second place award. Stone presented well and should be a force in future shows.

Three points separated under 5’ 4” winner Melissa Chomos and Dana Strandemo. Vancouver Natural bikini veteran Mennen Perez had to be satisfied with the third place award.

In the under 5’ 2” class Maria Partida and Nicole Peralia gave the judges quite a challenge. After several rounds of half turns both competitors were tied with nine points. In the end Partida took the nod for first and gained the right to compete in the overall. A very impressive Cassandra LaMadrid took third with Janelle Friedrich in fourth.

As head judge Sandy Williamson lined up the four bikini winners for comparisons the Skyview auditorium threatened to bust at the seems. To say bikini is popular would be an understatement. Pandemonium pushed towards total chaos during bikini finals.

After several long rounds of comparisons, rotations and walkabouts Melissa Chomos was declared the overall bikini winner.

In the novice men division a very impressive George Mumford took a near perfect score in novice middleweight class and went on to win the overall award beating out heavyweight Paul Grigo and lightweight Alyn Lane. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Mumford squeaked by middleweight number two man Randy Lloyd by three points as did lightweight Lane over second place Sean Lucas. Of the three class winners it was heavyweight Grigo who won his class by a ten point spread over Randall Davis and Jay Sandmann respectively.

What would a Tanji Johnson show be without fitness? In Tanji’s efforts to keep fitness alive the Vancouver Natural is one of the few shows in the country to offer a Jr. Fitness division. Five budding fitness girls showed up to flaunt their dance, gymnastic and strength skills.

Kenzi Henricks won the seven to ten year old class with Milan Page in second, Slammin’ Samantha Grubbs third and Taylor Knight fourth. Unopposed in the eleven to thirteen class was Tonya Dhevaphalin.

The open women fitness classes were some of the most entertaining in recent memory. Tall class winner Angelica Lewis came out like a shot and never slowed down. Her high-energy routine got the first place nod from six of the seven judges. Karli Brock is a gal with a future in fitness. Her physique and routine were both very solid. Time is Brock’s friend and experience and confidence will reveal her true fitness potential.

In the short class Viko Newman finally got her due winning both the fitness round and physique round and eventually the overall fitness award.

The darling of the fitness classes was Sara Bankemper. Her unbridled energy in the routine round was enough to light up the Portland/Vancouver area and then some. Her aerial assaults were well received by the audience and the judges alike. If Bankemper’s physique ever catches up with her routine she could go national. The hardest working girl in fitness has to go to third place winner Jenn Willms. Willms took her class in figure last year and decided to step it up a few notches and compete in fitness. Her hard work and determination paid off in spades, as she was only one thin point behind Bankemper.

Women’s figure was huge. Over eighty competitors in five classes vied for top honors. 5’ 3” and under winner Inna Ableman came out on top of sixteen women. Kim Bell took second and former champ Julie Lee third.

Firefighter Victoria Stroud turned up the heat in the 5’ 4” class and won out over second place Shauna Stelzer. Jamie Wheeler took third place.

In the 5’ 5” class Joni Nelson brought in a textbook example of a figure physique. The judges gave her a unanimous victory in the class and later in the evening the overall award. Kim Goedon and Vanessa Nesheim split second and third by a point.

Rachel Murray took a comfortable win in 5’ 7’ class with the Polynesian sensation Juliana Ulluave-Gould winning second and the lovely Hillary Carey finishing third by a point.

In the over 5’ 7” class it was the leggy Kelly Haner in a unanimous first place victory with the ever smiling Kristina Tjernlund second and Theresa Mayberry two points behind in third.

By the final curtain nearly two hundred forty competitors had crossed the stage. For a one-day show that might have been a recipe for a disaster. Not so at this show. Frank Bohm and Tanji Johnson compiled one of the best judging panels in the country beginning with head judge Sandy Williamson. Another group of unsung heroes were the backstage crew lead by the irrepressible Bo Keepers. Rounding up the production talent was Sean Pitman and his team from the Skyview High.

2010 was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the VancouverUSA Championships. After a quarter century the show has finally hit its stride as the premier natural show in the country.

* DESIGNATES OVERALL WINNER

 

Junior Fitness

Under 7 to 10 yrs. old

  1. Kenzi Hendricks
  2. Milan Page
  3. Samantha Grubbs
  4. Taylor Knight

Under 11 to 13 yrs. old

  1. Tonya Dhevaphalin

Teen Men

  1. Travis Newton
  2. Joren Barraclough
  3. Adam Walton
  4. Lane Shockman
  5. Josh Davis

Women’s Fitness

5’3” & Under

  1. Viko Newman*
  2. Sara Bankemper
  3. Angelina Sylvas
  4. Jenn Willms
  5. Laurie Joslin

Over 5’3”

  1. Angelia Lewis
  2. Karli Brock
  3. Tamara Watt
  4. Leta Gorman

Masters Women’s Bodybuilding

Over 35
  1. Kathy McMahon

Masters Men's Bodybuilding

Men Over 40

  1. Mike Klettke
  2. Ray Bennett
  3. Pat McClintock
  4. Tony Quincy

Men Over 50

  1. David Patterson*
  2. Felton Campbell
  3. Jeff Welch
  4. Scott Smith
  5. Larry Gage
  6. Corky Gainsford
  7. Michael Williams

Women’s Figure

Over 5’7”

  1. Kelly Haner
  2. Kristina Tjernlund
  3. Theresa Mayberry
  4. Erin Yates
  5. Julie Michaelson

5’7” & under

  1. Rachel Murray
  2. Juliana Uluave-Gould
  3. Hillary Carey
  4. Zoe Lafrancois-Hanson
  5. Lauryn O’neal
  6. Courtney Covert
  7. Tricia Flaherty
  8. Heather Gregory
  9. Lauren Shulock
  10. Steffen Anderson
  11. Auyla McKinney

5’5” & under

  1. Joni Neilson*
  2. Kim Goeden
  3. Vanessa Naesheim
  4. Karli Brock
  5. Tiffany Strader
  6. Susan Pavel
  7. Diana Gere
  8. Tracy Knutson
  9. Cassie Gose
  10. Brenda Harner
  11. Nina Dhevaphalin

5’4” & under

  1. Victoria Stroud
  2. Shauna Stelzer
  3. Jamie Wheeler
  4. Angie Lewis
  5. Jessica Hopkins
  6. Heidi Martinez
  7. Kari Graham
  8. Jyl Stottenburg
  9. Janeen Whitehead
  10. Stephanie Fiorito
  11. Suzanne Matzat

5’3” & under

  1. Inna Ableman
  2. Kim Bell
  3. Julie Lee
  4. Viko Newman
  5. Cindy Cree
  6. Joy Fruehauf
  7. Raeanne Bettencort
  8. Jenn Willms
  9. Anna Persish
  10. Sarah Greenwood
  11. Megan Christenson
  12. Janice Zander
  13. Tamie Green
  14. Heather Young
  15. Sally Jones
  16. Samantha Myers

Masters 35 to 40

  1. Kristen Moffett
  2. Stephanie Jackson
  3. Chaseley Garcia
  4. Laurie Joslin
  5. Angela Iverson

Masters Over 40

  1. Keturah Knutson
  2. Heidi Hansen
  3. Ericka Lombardi
  4. Paisley Miller
  5. Monica Allison
  6. Monica Gallagher
  7. Rhonda Huynh
  8. Renee Watts
  9. Marcy McCaskey
  10. Bonnie Menesse
  11. Shallon Tagg
  12. Joan Smith
  13. Kristine Morimoto
  14. Janell Shaffer
  15. Bonita Gutierrez
  16. Leta Gorman
  17. Debra Haynie

Novice Women

Heavyweight

  1. Mary Barnwell*
  2. Jacklyn Johnson
  3. Mattie O’Neal

Lightweight

  1. Anna Yamada
  2. Marika Cialdella

Novice Men

Heavyweight

  1. Paul Grigo
  2. Randall Davis
  3. Jay Sandmann
  4. Garret Amerine
  5. Matthew Queral
  6. Todd Zielsdorf
  7. Daniel Rios
  8. Jordan Jamsson

Middleweight

  1. George Mumford*
  2. Randy Lloyd
  3. Brian Nations
  4. Isaac Andrews
  5. Kenneth Bartels
  6. Przemyslaw Preis
  7. Casey Smith
  8. Nick Fagan
  9. Nick Madden
  10. Eric Due

Lightweight

  1. Allyn Lane
  2. Sean Lucas
  3. Shawn Turner
  4. Troy Frei
  5. Nathan Holbrook
  6. Brad Wisniewski
  7. Edgordo Gonzalez
  8. Dev Nicholson
  9. Robert Applebaum

Open Women

Heavyweight

  1. Peggy Willis
  2. Mary Morrison

Middleweight

  1. Susie Thorpe
  2. Christa Pahlman
  3. Jolynn Morris

Lightweight

  1. Cindy Goodrich*
  2. Jennifer Rogers

Open Men

Heavyweight
  1. Travis Dougherty

Light Heavyweight

  1. Justin Palmer*
  2. Tyler Leenknecht
  3. Lionel Orji
  4. Jack Johns
  5. Garrett Cornatzer

Middleweight

  1. Bobby McDonough
  2. Pete Stokes
  3. David Johnston
  4. Torrance Cooper
  5. Frankie Rivera
  6. Nico Ramirez
  7. Marques Akana
  8. Skylar Hoyt

Lightweight

  1. Donovan Paracuelles
  2. Jeremy Santos
  3. Rusty Guico
  4. Jedidiah Emich
  5. Patrick Morris

Bantamweight

  1. Fred Varang

Bikini Division

Over 5’6”

  1. Jill Lane
  2. Trista Fenske
  3. Diane Rudholm
  4. Laura Heydrich
  5. Katherine Herman
  6. Amanda Wolak
  7. Andrea Boardman
  8. Jessica Scott
  9. Shereena Oden
  10. Shaylen Richards
  11. Katherine Dodge
  12. Stephanie Flowers
  13. Nicole Lynch
  14. Patrycja Amerline
  15. Caitlyn Loranger
  16. Sujata Desphande
  17. Karen Livermore

5’6” & under

  1. Kate Weber
  2. Kelsey Green
  3. Kiersten Stone
  4. Annie Sticher
  5. Tina Newton
  6. Ann Michele Quinard
  7. Honna Middleton
  8. Demaris Bodine
  9. Danielle Loa
  10. Linda Gleason
  11. Fawn Peterson
  12. Alexandra Yamazaki

5’4” & under

  1. Melissa Chomos*
  2. Dana Strandemo
  3. Mennen Perez
  4. Venus Ramos
  5. Kamila Fontanilla
  6. Diana Graham
  7. Kikki Wilson
  8. Jane Cerna
  9. Wendy Applegate
  10. Keely Newsom
  11. Michelle White

5’2” & under

  1. Maria Partida
  2. Nicole Peralia
  3. Cassie Lamadrid
  4. Janelle Friedrich
  5. Misty Graf
  6. Marika Rhee
  7. Erica Holiday
  8. Jill Burch
  9. Iris Mason
  10. Natasha Love
  11. Jasmine McCoshom
  12. Emily Studdard
  13. Tami Marinakis
  14. Melissa Schmitt
  15. Jessica Moore