NPC USA CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: MEN’S LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT BODYBUILDING!
July 25, 2011
FLEXONLINE.COM
Last year’s USA light-heavy champ Al Auguste jumped into the IFBB Pro League’s 202 this year and won his debut, and Troy Alves (who later won the USA heavy class), Johnnie Jackson and Mark Dugdale are among the USA light-heavy champs who’ve posed in the Olympia. Is there a future pro title contender in this year’s USA light-heavy division? Here’s 5 possibilities.
PETE CICCONE National Level History: 2010 USA, light-heavy, 2nd; 2009 USA, light-heavy, 5th; 2008 USA, light-heavy, 6th Our Take: After over 15 years of competing, San Diego’s Cicccone took a huge leap forward last year with his second in this class. If he can match last year’s condition but bring more upper body density, he’ll join training partner Derek Farnsworth in the big league.
TAMER EL-GUINDY National Level History: 2009 Nationals, light-heavy, 3rd; 2009 USA, light-heavy, 1st; 2008 USA, light-heavy, 4th; 2007 USA, middleweight, 2nd Our Take: As befits his nickname, “Razor” always brings the cuts, but El-Guindy, who won this class two years ago, previously lacked enough fullness to earn a pro card. We’ll see if two years of growing allowed him to fill in his 5’8″ frame.
LORENZO JONES National Level History: 2010 Nationals, light-heavy, 4th; 2009 Nationals, light-heavy, 6th; 2008 Nationals, middleweight, 4th Our Take: After six Nationals dating back to 2002, two North Americans (he won the middleweight class in ‘04), and his overall victory at last year’s Junior USA, this is Jones’ first stab at the USA. Expect the 44-year-old Texan to be in the mix again.
LENYN NUNEZ National Level History: none Our Take: At this May’s California Championships, New Yorker Nunez (now living in Los Angeles) carried home the light-heavy and overall trophies. Amazingly, it was his first open contest, and his only other show was as a teen. Can the 29-year-old have a similarly shocking impact at the USA?
KYLE WITHERSPOON National Level History: 2010 USA, light-heavy, 7th Our Take: Sporting one of the most symmetrical physiques in the class, this Arizonan made his mark with a seventh here last year. Now the 5’6″, 33-year-old is looking to move into title contention.
Check out FLEXonline all week for the most in-depth coverage of the NPC USA Championships on July 29-30 in Las Vegas! FLEXonline is the only place you’ll see backstage coverage during the entire contest. The previews will continue all week until we are live from Las Vegas (next Thursday) with exclusive weigh-in photos!
WHAT: 2011 NPC USA Championships WHERE: Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall at UNLV, Las Vegas, NV WHEN: Friday & Saturday, July 29-30, 2011 TIME: Prejudging at 4:30pm on Friday & 9:00am on Saturday; All Finals at 6:00pm Saturday!!! FOR MORE INFO: Go here
