It has been 24 hours since the conclusion of the South Central Regionals. I have managed to make it back home and I still think I’m going to be waking up from a dream sometime soon. I wanted to give a quick summary of the madness of events that happened over the weekend and give my hats off to Jeff Germond for his epic performance.
This year’s regionals did not begin the way Jeff and I had imagined. While his 255# hang snatch was the number we were shooting for, I expected it to be a little higher-ranking than 9th. Furthermore we both expected him to walk on his hands a minimum of 200 feet. His fall at 115 feet, just 5 feet short of the turnaround mat, was the beginning of the hole Jeff dug for himself. To finish day one, Jeff found himself in a bind with the final set of muscle ups on Nasty Girls V2. In practice, Jeff was smooth and efficient all the way through finishing just under 8:30. However, that would not prove to be the case on day one. Jeff failed four muscle ups before completing his final one on his final round. The failed reps cost him a 27th place finish of 10:32. The massive accumulation of points on day one would land Jeff outside of the top 15 and looking at a very long road ahead of him even to get back to the men’s final heat. Jeff and I talked that evening a bit about his performances and both of us were a little disappointed and upset with how the first day turned out. We both expected day 1 to be his best day and for him to be sitting inside the top 7 maybe even the top 5 going into day 2. Jeff even commented to me that he always manages to mess up one work out that keeps him from the Games. The irony of that statement now is massive.
When Jeff and I looked at the weekend, we envisioned that each day would progressively be harder for Jeff to place well. Strict handstand push-ups and the legless rope sprint were not what we considered to be strengths. However, with a little help from the field, Jeff was able to sneak into the final men’s heat with a 7th and 15th place finish respectively. His execution on the strict handstand push-up workout was flawless and landed him a faster score then either one of us imagined.
This set Jeff up for what would prove to be a very dramatic ending on day three. He came into day three in ninth place with 74 points. While the South-Central region is known for the top three accumulating a high number of points and the competitiveness of the region across the board, beginning day 3 with 74 points was incredibly daunting.
However, Jeff stepped up to the plate in a big way. We both knew that event six would be his hardest event and I assumed his time in practice to be outside of the top five. Added to that stress, Jeff tweaked his quad tendon where it attaches at his knee in warmup. He picked up a wallball to practice and collapsed to the mat immediately in wrenching knee pain. I cut his warm-up off and helped get him to his feet to get him down to the Airosti therapist. Huge shout out to the Airosti therapists for their work on him in the precious 15 minutes before he began event five. The therapist in the athlete services area was able to get Jeff functional and squatting, despite immediate pain, and gave Jeff his best shot at event five. This proved to be all that Jeff needed. His pacing was perfect from start to finish. He did sets of five on the ring dips with a speed like I did not know he possessed. Furthermore, amidst some pretty immense pain, he made it through the second set of box jumps and back to the rower maintaining a consistent intensity throughout. Event five is a true test of willpower and aerobic threshold. Jeff proved that all of the training and focus we put into that over the past year was worth it. He would finish third overall on event six.
This third-place finish, combined with some help from the rest of the field, set Jeff and seventh place leading into the final work out. However he had accumulated only three points and his 77 points was only six points away from second-place and five points away from third. We knew this final workout could be just enough for Jeff to sneak into the top three. If the cards fell right and some of the man in the lower heats were able to excel, Jeff might be able to earn his first trip to Games. Up to this point Jeff had only performed a max set of pull-ups at 42 reps. We had originally planned to stop at 40 and ultimately break the pull-ups into three manageable sets. We both thought his best finish would be somewhere around 2:15-2:20. When I looked at the leaderboard going into the final head and watched some of his competitors wanting up, I knew that he would need to go sub 2:00 in order to put himself in a position to win and go to the Games. Jeff and I both agreed to not come off the pullup bar until absolutely necessary and complete a big, maximal effort first set in order to get to the bar as fast as possible. Jeff’s overhead position and overhead squat is, in my opinion, his strongest movement. I knew that if he could get the bar over his head it would stay there and he would complete all eight reps quickly and faster than those around him. We just had to get him to the barbell.
I have to give credit here to CJ Martin for a bit of advice he gave me in prep for the South-Central Regional. His athlete, Caroline Fryklund, found herself in a similar position as Jeff going into the final work out. He asked her to take a risk and perform the workout outside what she had practiced. His advice to me was if we found ourselves in the same situation that it is always better to go down swinging then it is to stay inside of what you’re comfortable with. While it did not work out for Caroline in Europe, this advice and strategy was exactly what Jeff needed. Jeff would complete 50 straight pull-ups (a PR) then finish the rest relatively quickly following that. He was the second athlete to the barbell and the first one to begin squatting. Despite missing the first clean in his attempt to get the bar overhead, he would immediately rebound and get the bar over his head and locked into place. He completed all eight squats in rapid succession. He crossed onto the finish mat in 1:58; 22 seconds faster than his best attempt in practice. His first place finish, along with some help from the boys in earlier heats, would land Jeff in second-place overall and seal his very first trip to Carson.
Jeff has been going to regionals for five straight years. He has progressively gotten better and better each year. Last year, one mistake kept him from being in the hunt for the podium. This year his resolve and his determination was not going to allow one or even a couple mistakes to prevent that again. I have worked with Jeff for the last two years on his programming and his remote coaching. I know very few
athletes in the world with the level of dedication and perseverance that Jeff exhibits. After Regionals last year, Jeff contemplated not coming back to try for the Games again. We decided we would give it another shot. 24 hours after his finish both of us are very glad that we did. Congrats Jeff Germond. You earned it.
I would be remiss to not mention many of the other incredible performances that happened over the weekend. Huge congrats to Team Deep from my home gym CrossFit Deep Ellum. One of our team members injured his shoulder in training just five days before the Regionals. This could have been devastating to the resolve and devastating to the results. However, the team was the model of consistency throughout the weekend. All of their placings were within 10 points of each other and they were consistently excelling beyond their expectations. Cat, Heather, Tara, Jeff, Chip, and Kevin you should be very proud of your performance and your 11th place finish. Like I have remarked already to some of you, y’all are the most well-rounded team we’ve ever put on the Regionals floor and easily the team with the most chemistry and unity. Congratulations on a great Regionals and a great finish.
I also have to give a massive shout out to CrossFit Central in Austin. My partner in crime and good friend Micheal Winchester spent the year sacrificing much of his own personal life to invest in coaching the team for CrossFit Central. There are multiple weekends over multiple months where Winchester refused to leave town or refused to travel in order to stay in Austin and train the team in preparation for Regionals. That dedication and focus was evident in their performance all weekend long. They were literally untouchable and led from start to finish. Congratulations to Ingrid, Chelsea, Lisa, Brandon, Jeremy, and Jeff. Also huge congrats to Winchester for a job well done. Enjoy your next two months in preparation for the Games.
I want to mention Audra LeBeau. Having watched Audra train and prepare for this weekend, I knew she was going to be in a perfect place to make a run for the podium. However, in training the week prior she injured her ankle coming down from a rope climb. This injury would prove to be enough of a detriment to her own health as well as her ability to perform that she was forced to withdraw. Trust me when I tell you that it took more than a couple people to convince Audra it was best for her to withdraw from the competition. Her fighting spirit and unwillingness to quit would have had her on crutches on the way to the competition floor if needed. While I do believe she made a wise decision to withdraw from the competition, everyone in South-Central should be keeping their eyes on her next year. This setback will serve as nothing more than motivation.
Lastly congrats to Crossfit EADO for their outstanding 5th place finish. They were exciting to watch all weekend. Huge congrats Jenn Jones for her excellent performance and congrats to Andrew in preparing her incredibly well for this Regional. I’m excited to see your first place finish in the region translate to a top-five finish at the Games.
Thank you to Michael Martinez and the crew at the South Central regionals. The judges volunteers and officials were spectacular. Great event.