Evan Centopani proved to be the best of the best at the 2007 NPC National Championships November 17, as he earned the super-heavyweight and overall crown in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Dallas.

In the super-heavyweight class, Centopani held off all challengers, taking the big step from second a year ago (behind 2006 overall champ Desmond Miller) to first. The Trumbull, Connecticut, resident enters the IFBB ranks needing some refinements to his back and legs (the latter of which are already improved significantly in the past year) to successfully rumble with the pros, but at a youthful 25 years old, has plenty of time to mature into a force to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, runner-up Grigori Atoyan, the 2007 USA super-heavy second-place finisher, could only equal his best-ever showing at the Nationals (in 2004, he was runner-up as a heavyweight).

Speaking of heavyweights, Adorthus Cherry finally tasted victory after a number of near misses, the most recent at the 2006 Nationals, where Lionel Brown edged him out in this division. Cherry, who has battled personal demons in the form of alcohol addiction (a fight which he continues to win thanks to bodybuilding), was able to fend off a young phenom, 2007 USA heavyweight runner-up Brandon Curry. A relatively new face on the national level, Curry may not have fulfilled his goal on this night, but he seems destined for the IFBB in short order with his potent blend of classic lines and impressive muscularity.

The light-heavyweight class was a row between 2005 and 2006 Nationals light-heavy runner-up Charles Dixon of Piedmont, South Carolina, and Knoxville, Tennessee’s Peter Putnam, with the former coming out on top. Both combatants displayed ample condition, but the thick muscularity of Dixon was perhaps the difference in the judges’ eyes over the refined lines of Putnam. If the 2007 USA heavyweight champion can take any solace in this five-point loss, it’s that often a gut-wrenching defeat at the National level might mean he has officially paid his dues, and heads into next year’s season as a favorite to earn a pro card.

The middleweights were ruled by a familiar name in NPC lore. Woburn, Massachusetts’ Jose Raymond added the 2007 NPC Nationals middleweight title to his list of accomplishments, which also include the 2007 USA middleweight, the 2005 Nationals welterweight and the 2005 Team Universe overall crowns.

In the lighter classes, Carlo Filippone of Fort Lee, New Jersey, won in welterweights, Leonardo Ortiz of Puerto Rico earned top honors among lightweights, and a familiar face, 2007 USA bantamweight runner-up David Candy, took the bantams.

In women’s bodybuilding, Beni Lopez (lightweight), Tina Chandler (middleweight), Kristy Hawkins (light heavyweight) and Beverly DiRenzo (heavyweight) each took home their respective divisions and earned pro cards. Hawkins, who is currently getting her PhD at Cal Tech in chemical engineering, won the overall after finishing third in the light-heavy class in the 2006 Nationals and fourth in 2005.

In fitness, Alexandria, Virginia’s Tina Durkin won the overall over the short class champ Kristina Rojas and the tall class victor Tanya Merryman, adding the trophy to the 2007 Junior Nationals fitness overall she claimed earlier this year. All three, along with second-place finishers in each division — Tonya Burkhardt in short, Siene Silva in medium, and Traci Redding in tall — are now eligible to turn pro. Thanks and accolades go out to Steve Karel, whose team put together a well-oiled (literally and figuratively) event. Next year, the Nationals move to Atlanta, Georgia, in their usual mid-November timeframe that caps off the competitive bodybuilding season.

2007 NPC National Championships Final Results (Top 5 in each class) Dallas, Texas.

Mens Bodybuilding Note: Winner in each class earns pro card.

Overall: Evan Centopani
Super-Heavyweight
1 Evan Centopani
2 Grigori Atoyan
3 Real Johnson
4 Stephen Frazier
5 Edward Nunn

Heavyweight
1 Adorthus Cherry
2 Brandon Curry
3 Lee Banks
4 Abbas Khatami
5 Darrell Terrell

Light-Heavyweight
1 Charles J. Dixon
2 Peter Putnam
3 Al Auguste
4 Monty Mabry
5 Manny Torres

Middleweight
1 Jose Raymond
2 Gaetano Cisternino
3 Alan Bailey
4 Devon Bender
5 Lorenzo Jones

Welterweight
1 Carlo Filippone
2 Stoil Stoilov
3 Tommie Robertson
4 Jocelyn Jean
5 Victor DelCampo

Lightweight
1 Leonardo Ortiz
2 Travis Rogers
3 Jeffrey Olcsvary
4 James Williams
5 Leonardo Pacheco

Bantamweight
1 Dave Candy
2 Fernando Abaco
3 John McKnight IV
4 Art Santellan
5 Andre Hill

Womens Bodybuilding Note: Winner in each class earns pro card

Overall: Kristi Hawkins (light-heavyweight)

Heavyweight
1 Beverly DiRenzo
2 Nekole Hamrick
3 Michele Neil
4 Kris Murrell
5 Gale Frankie

Light-Heavyweight
1 Kristy Hawkins
2 Britt Ashley Miller
3 Karen Choat
4 Elena Seiple
5 Amy Neal

Middleweight
1 Tina Chandler
2 Yasha (no last name given)
3 Janet Kaufman
4 Julia Korfhage
5 Terri Harris

Lightweight
1 Beni Lopez
2 Galina Serchtsev
3 Tammy Patnode
4 Tera Guzman
5 Kirsten Anne Haratyk

Fitness Note: Top two in each class earn pro card.

Overall: Tina Durkin (Class B)

Class A (short)
1 Kristina Rojas
2 Tonya Burkhardt
3 Breean Robinson
4 Mary Stockbridge
5 Victoria Larvie

Class B (medium)
1 Tina Durkin
2 Siene Silva
3 Lishia Dean
4 Jessica Clay
5 Colleen Baldwin

Class C (tall)
1 Tanya Merryman
2 Traci Redding
3 Jo Marriner
4 Violet Mundy
5 Pamela Drury-Graef

MEN’S PREJUDGING GALLERY LINKS:

Bantamweights Prejudging Gallery

Lightweights Prejudging Gallery

Welterweights Prejudging Gallery

Middleweights Prejudging Gallery

Light-Heavyweights Prejudging Gallery

Heavyweights Prejudging Gallery

Super-Heavyweights Prejudging Gallery

WOMANS SATURDAY NIGHT GALLERY LINKS:

Women’s Fitness 1 Piece

Women’s Fitness 2 Piece

Women’s Light Weight Bodybuilding

Women’s Middle Weight Bodybuilding

Women’s Light Heavy Weight Bodybuilding

Women’s Heavy Weight Bodybuilding

Fitness Class A

1 Victoria Larvie
2 Kristina Rojas
3 Cicely Kyle
4 Stephanie Irick
5 Babette Mulford
6 Breean Robinson
7 Angela Reineck
8 Tonya Burkhardt
9 Mary Stockbridge

Fitness Class B

10 Liz Ressequie
11 Siene Silva
12 Jessica Clay
13 Lishia Dean
14 Colleen Baldwin
15 Tina Durkin
16 Wendy Wolbert
17 Venus Ramos
18 Abby Rhoades
19 Tyler Marie Powers

Fitness Class C

20 Betsy McNally Harris
21 Alissa Carpio
22 Pamela Drury-Graef
23 Jo Marriner
24 Leigh Koester
25 Amanda Marinelli
26 Traci Redding
27 Sara Krajnik
28 Sandi Stuart
29 Deidra Wesley
30 Celeste Turner
31 Tanya Merryman
32 Violet Mundy

Womens Bodybuilding Lightweight

35 Beni Lopez
36 Kirsten Anne Haratyk
37 Claire Rohrbacker
38 Pamela Ty
39 Galina Serchtsev
40 Anne Marie Kam
41 Barbara Fletcher
42 Suzanne Germano
43 Tera Guzman
44 Tammy Patnode
45 Kristen Mundo
46 Cassie Faussett

Womens Bodybuilding Middleweight

48 Julia Korfhage
49 Denise McMahon
50 Janet Kaufman
51 Tina Chandler
52 Michelle Morrison
53 Lindsay Mulinazzi
54 Tammi Burdelski
55 Pam Shealy
56 Carolyn Bryant
57 Ellen Woodley
58 Yasha
59 Annette Costa
60 Kate Cooper
61 Patricia Houston
62 Yahaiva Agosto Vives
63 Terri Harris

Womens Bodybuilding Light-Heavyweight

65 Amy Neal
66 Karen Choat
67 Kristy Hawkins
68 Myra Adams
69 Cheryl Faust
70 Britt Ashley Miller
71 Elena Seiple
72 Devon Keeth
73 Anna-Lisa Morris
74 Brenda “Bee” Smith
75 Jenetta Thompson
76 Christina Rhodes
77 Lisa Burton
78 Janelle Gallo
79 Sylvia Cowan
80 Deborah Reboynas
81 Akila Pervis

Womens Bodybuilding Heavyweight

83 Debbie Baker
84 Julia Stamper
85 Beverly DiRenzo
86 Jennifer Gutierrez
87 Yamila Marraro
88 Sheilah Brown
89 Gale Frankie
90 Nekole Hamrick
91 Kris Murrell
92 Julie Peavey
93 Tammy Jones
94 Shelly Fields
95 Lucy Wilson
96 Ellen Torrence
97 Michele Neil
98 Jaime Kocher

Mens Bodybuilding Bantamweight

100 Jose Vargas
101 Alphonso Jones Jr.
102 Jerry Bell Jr.
103 Dave Candy
104 Paul Gillison
105 Fernando Abaco
106 Steven Bell
107 Rafael Campuzano
108 Michael Echevarria
109 Chris Darby
110 Tom Silavanh
111 Andre Hill
112 Timoney Fernandez
113 Richie Langit
114 Art Santellan
115 John Mcknight IV
116 John Fama
117 Calvin Choy
118 Tim Sahr

Mens Bodybuilding Lightweight

119 Alex Azarian
120 Jeffrey Olcsary
121 Kob Yan
122 James Miles
123 Travis Rogers
124 Chris Norton
125 James Williams
126 Leonardo Ortiz
127 Tim Ward
128 Wills Francois
129 130 Timothy Holder
131 Greg Cosentino
132 Michael Tyndall
133 Rafael Gonzalez
134 Chris Groetsch
135 Ray Douglas
136 Pernell Garrison
137 Leonardo Pacheco
138 Joshua Olmeda
139 John Carraccio
140 Otis Anderson

Mens Bodybuilding Welterweight

141 Omar Ventura
142 Perry McRae
143 Robert E. Lee
144 Daniel Stern
145 Jocelyn Jean
146 Victor DelCampo
147 John Kalalitis
148 Albert Diaz
149 Ryan Walters
150 Jesse Sabater
151 Kenyatta Wilson
152 Brenton Robinson
153 Carlo Filippone
154 Tommie Robertson
155 Mark Harris
156 Mohammed Shiraz
157 Jesus Cabrera
158 Jason Croce
159 Ray Bessette
160 James Seger
161 Stoil Stoilov

Mens Bodybuilding Middleweight

164 Blas Montalvo
165 Theodore Atkins
166 Jeremiah Graham
167 Wilbert Lock
168 Jose Raymond
169 Arleigh Bumanglag
170 Curtis Montgomery
171 Marcos Teixeira
172 Ronald Torres
173 Gaetano Cisternino
174 Brian Nipper
175 Alan Bailey
176 William Powell
177 Craig A. Torres
178 Scott Trout
179 Robert Kreider
180 Lorenzo Jones
181 Daniel Sampeck
182 Julius Rumingan
183 Mark Murray
184 Nos Racoma
185 Devon Bender
186 Guillermo Escalante
187 Darron Glenn

Mens Bodybuilding Light-Heavyweight

190 Manny Torres
191 Joshua Fred
192 William Ayoubi
193 Anthony DeAngelis
194 Miguel Neil
195 Anthony Todd
196 Prince Fontenot
197 Eric Underwood
198 Al Auguste
199 Curtis McGovert
200 Christopher Donaldson
201 Chris Nardoni
202 Justin Dees
203 Danny Samaniego
204 Neko Roberson
205 Brett Becker
206 Lance M. Johnson
207 Dario Ferrer
208 Peter Putnam
209 Charles J. Dixon
210 Mike Yablon
211 Kert McLean
212 Shaun Lasley
213 Stephen Connally
214 Norberto Rivera
215 Joe McRee
216 T.J. Hewitt
217 Jason Wojo
218 John Dural
219 Monty Mabry

Mens Bodybuilding Heavyweight

221 Marvin Harper Jr.
222 Shaun Crump
223 Randy Moore
224 Jeff Schwartzer
225 Jack Colten
226 George Asmus
227 Steven Preza
228 Tab Hunter
229 Abbas Khatami
230 Curtis Bryant
231 Marion Benton
232 Darrell Terrell
233 Mark W. Smith
234 Eric Perkins
235 Adorthus Cherry
236 Mark Erpelding
237 David Fenty
238 Anthoneil Champagne
239 Ralph Garcia
240 Chulsey Graham
241 Lee Banks
242 Brandon Curry
243 Nate Brock
244 Michael Moore
245 Louie Magnone
246 Fred S. Smalls
247 Eric Shannon
248 Marvin Phillips Jr.
249 Brandon Lowe
250 David Hughes
251 Sean Calder
252 Chad Martin
253 Henry Everette

Mens Bodybuilding Super-Heavyweight

254 Allen Fortney

255 Edward Nunn
256 Phil McDowell
257 Ambrose Middleton
258 Evan Centopani
259 Gabriel Latifi
260 Toby Slusher
261 Maik Ismeal
262 Joe Barker
263 Johnny McCarver
264 Victor Tringali
265 Grigori Atoyan
266 Andy Snyder
267 Wondell Leflore
268 Real Johnson
269 Micah Hooker
270 Bryan Barth
271 Stephen Frazier
272 Jeff Long
273 Arkadiy Makurov
274 Zinjun Croon
275 Ron Stevens
276 Adam Young
277 Daryl Jones