It was another great bodybuilding competition run by Gary Udit and Team. It moved from Cleveland to Pittsburgh this year, but it ran without a hitch. It's a great venue with lots of hotel room choices and tons of food options all within walking distance. But enough of that – let's get to the heart of the show!
The largest surprise of them all was the emergence of Dallas McCarver, an unknown newcomer, taking the Super Heavyweight class and the Overall for his Pro card at the ripe old age of 21 at his 3rd ever bodybuilding competition. Neither Cody Lewis nor Nick Trigili could have touched that! In fact, the last time this happened was in 1987 when Shawn Ray turned pro at the Nationals at the same age of 21.
A good friend of mine, the dedicated bodybuilder hailing from Wisconsin, Kevin Tomasini, took second. This would have been Kevin's show had the McCarver phenom not competed. More was expected of Nick Trigili but sometimes when there is too much pressure or high expectations, things may not go well. His conditioning wasn't quite on par with the USAs showing a month before, so it's back to the drawing board with extra rest. We may see Nick at the Nationals this year giving it one more go for the 2012 Bodybuilding season. However, Nick hung tight and did not give up – moving from second call-outs in prejudging to placing 5th in a very tough Super Heavyweight class.
The open heavyweight, in my opinion, is the toughest class next the light heavyweight in which to compete. Supers can drop down or crazy light heavyweights can move up. So congratulations to Joe Romine for a well deserved win in this class. I expected more from Rob Youells after his USAs showing but again, similar to Nick Trigili, expectations and pressure did not help Youells this weekend. There's still time to rest and recuperate for this year's Nationals but 3 competitions in one year may be tough. In my opinion, if Rob were to take a step back, rest up for 2013, Rob will be your next USA Overall winner.
Dan Decker took the 35 and Over. Another dedicated bodybuilder from Illinois who has been making his way up the ranks and proved himself this year. He's been knocking on the door for sometime, but being a taller bodybuilder, Decker had to bide his time as he added quality size to his tall frame. Matt Lowden, an MHP athlete, took the over 35 Heavyweight class with his spot on conditioning, but Matt still lacks the mass to compete in the open Heavyweight placing 6th behind the likes of Joe Romine, Josh Wade, Rafael Jaramillo, Robert Youells and Julius Page – All thick and heavy heavyweights.
Andrew 'Drew' Jemmott took the Over 40 with a well deserved pro card. Both at the Masters and the North Americans, the Over 40 competitors have been competing at the National Level for years and the top 5 all look like they could be professional bodybuilders with their mature muscle mass. Drew however, stood head and shoulders above the rest and took the heavyweight and the overall for a pro card.
The following is a list of all men who earned Pro Cards at the 2012 IFBB North Americans: Chris Przybyla, Joe Romine, Dan Decker, Dallas McCarver, Tim Johnson, and AnDrew Jemmott.
Special congratulations to all the Ladies that placed overall: Tammy Jones, Jill Rudison, Danielle Delikat, Sabrina Nicole, Sandra Lombardo, Terri Harris, Dawn Fernandez, Sabrina Nicole, and Iveth Carreon.
The open heavyweight, in my opinion, is the toughest class next the light heavyweight in which to compete. Supers can drop down or crazy light heavyweights can move up. So congratulations to Joe Romine for a well deserved win in this class. I expected more from Rob Youells after his USAs showing but again, similar to Nick Trigili, expectations and pressure did not help Youells this weekend. There's still time to rest and recuperate for this year's Nationals but 3 competitions in one year may be tough. In my opinion, if Rob were to take a step back, rest up for 2013, Rob will be your next USA Overall winner.
