February in Phoenix can be a mixed bag of weather. You can enjoy anything from summer-like warm days, to rains falling so hard and fast it causes flash floods - even nights around the freezing mark aren't out of the question. But on this February 20th day there was more than the ordinary levels of heat emanating from the Mesa Arts Center stage in the southeastern Phoenix suburb of Mesa.
For bodybuilding fans from the Grand Canyon state, this contest was a welcome relief from the usual long treks for a muscle fix while living in the middle of the Sonoran desert. Pro bodybuilding was being brought to their own backyard complements of promoter Stryker Salmon. This pro event was a first for Arizona, and the show became the first pro contest of the New Year in the absence of the Ironman Classic. Another plus for fans here was the fact that this first Phoenix Pro event included women's bodybuilding, and with an even dozen women entering this inaugural affair, the quality was anything but second rate. On the contrary, the field was loaded with competitors sporting very impressive contest resumes.
Local Arizona pros Diana Tinnelle, Akila Pervis, and Gayle Moher gave the hometown crowd something to shout about, while no fewer than seven women in this contingent had previous experience at the Ms. Olympia. With Yaxeni Oriquen, Betty Pariso, Jeannie Paparone, Dena Westerfield, Antoinette Thompson, Colette Nelson, and Moher, there was plenty of high-end muscle to be displayed - along with opportunities for a select few to make a mark in kicking off the competitive season.
Pre-contest buzz had what anyone would consider a gourmet serving platter of obvious choices to score well in this field.
Yaxeni Oriquen had to rate as a favorite going in. As a former Ms. Olympia winner who, at 5-8, 170 pounds gains notice in any lineup, she would be challenged by another veteran competitor in Texan Betty Pariso. Between them, this remarkable duo has competed at the Ms. Olympia 19 times, and both are well versed in the duties of preparing for a contest. Both were also preparing for the Ms. International in two weeks and each brought a strong level of contest readiness to this event.
Although Oriquen's overall look has changed little over the past five years, the presence she brings to the stage is palpable. She carries a level of grace and style that fits well with her brand of physique. Having competed now in over 40 pro contests in her career, she is "weathering well" in a sport that places dramatic demands on the body both through rigorous training and stringent dieting. At this event she brought a look that was not only good enough to win, but also gave the impression that she may well be even better at the Ms. International. For her efforts, Oriquen did win the Phoenix Pro, but not before out-pointing a pair of strong aspirants to the title. Her victory here marked the ninth time over a 16-year pro career that she has taken home top honors.
Had there been an award for ‘Most Muscular' in this division, ageless Betty Pariso was a hands down favorite. In fact, she has never looked more muscular in her career than at this contest. Sporting a wild side chest pose with muscular size and vascularity throughout, along with great quad separations and feathered glutes, Pariso was in notably better shape than when she won the Tampa Pro contest last year. Even more impressive was the fact that her back (which has always been one her strengths) was more densely developed than ever before. In short, if she can hold this condition for another two weeks, she will put pressure on the top combatants in Columbus. The effort here put her in the runner-up position.
Much of the pre-contest hype for this contest came by way of Canadian Zoa Linsey. About as far away from flying under the radar as possible, there was much chatter about making her pro debut at this event in addition to an invitation to the upcoming Ms. International. Linsey's larger-than-life 5-9 ½, 180-pound frame made for an immediate notice in this and most probably any future lineup where she is present. An overall winner at the IFBB North American Championships last year, Linsey is bringing a strongly-balanced, well-conditioned physique to the pro level, and it can be competitive at any level within the pro ranks right away - a reality that is difficult to capture in these 
days of veteran competitors with many years of training and experience behind them. Like Pariso and Oriquen, Linsey now faces the challenge of maintaining her conditioning level over the next two weeks - a feat that Linsey was able to conquer last year when she entered the Canadian Championships and North American with very little time in between. Linsey's third-place finish here also earned her a coveted qualification spot to the Ms. Olympia in September. Not a bad evening's work!
Fourth-place finisher Jeannie Paparone is a stalwart competitor who can always be counted on to bring a level of muscular conditioning that will keep her competitive. And that was the case at this event. Paparone, who competed in the 2008 Ms. Olympia in her hometown of Las Vegas, is also on track for entry at the upcoming Ms. International and based on her overall look here, it could be said that she will be notably tighter in two weeks. Having placed in the top-ten at the Ms. O, a peak condition in Columbus could propel her to a top-ten position there also.
The fifth-place spot went to Missouri's Dena Westerfield. A solid pro competitor who competed in the 2006 Ms. Olympia, she is the classic example of a work in progress. At 5-2, 141 pounds, always determined, always improving, Westerfield is a chiropractor always looking to crack the ceiling of the higher placings in events she chooses to enter. Another of the ‘Magnificent Seven' who has previous Ms. Olympia experience, Westerfield is also preparing for the journey to Columbus, and by the looks of her current conditioning, she's right on track to be at her best for the Ms. International.
Meanwhile, outside the top five a battle was waging between three additional former Ms. Olympia competitors with New Yorker Colette Nelson taking the sixth-place spot with a score of 33 points. The fact that Nelson (who competed at the 2006 Ms. O) even made it into this event was something of a triumph over adversity. Aside from recently relocating and beginning a new job, Nelson underwent a shoulder surgery in September of last year that she had been rehabilitating in the months leading up to the contest. Then when all seemed to be healing nicely, she began to experience severe tendonitis, and on January 2nd she ruptured a tendon that attached from the shoulder to the biceps. The repair and healing process of that setback was nothing short of miraculous and just seven weeks later she was standing in the Phoenix Pro contest lineup – and looking like she belonged there.
“I was really looking forward to being on stage again,” said Nelson. “I still enjoy performing. The posing element of a bodybuilding contest means so much to me, and after all the setbacks I just really needed the moment.” Although she was outside the top five, Nelson’s moment was remarkable considering she hadn’t been on stage since the Ms. International and New York Pro Championships early in 2008.
In a flat-footed tie for seventh Antoinette Thompson and Diana Stanback could not be separated by the judging panel. With dramatically different contest backgrounds, the two were strong competitors with individual strengths that kept them roped together through the competition. Stanback, who was entering only her second pro contest after making her pro debut at the 2009 New York Pro Championships, she continued to gain valuable stage experience at a hometown event where an audience warmed to her presence in the event.
At the other end of the spectrum, Tonie Thompson has been competing actively as a pro since 2003 with two previous entries at the Ms. Olympia in 2005 and 2007. Thompson was in excellent condition showing more muscular volume and detail than her last stage appearance at the 2009 New York Pro Championships where she placed 10th. Thompson will have another opportunity to improve on her 2010 look when she enters the Ms. International in two weeks. Both Thompson and Stanback totaled 36 points for the tie.
Another veteran of several years in the pro ranks, Gayle Moher finished up in the ninth position with a 47-point tally. Having competed in seven previous Ms. Internationals and five Ms. Olympia events, Moher, last saw stage action when she placed seventh at the Atlantic City Pro contest in 2009. Moher, like Nelson, was nursing herself back slowly from a fall she suffered at home in early 2008 when she broke her right fibula and spent 12 weeks in a cast and on crutches. Her return to top form continues.
Rounding out the top ten was another Arizonan – Akila Pervis. Making her pro debut at this event, Pervis was coming off her middleweight victory at the 2009 NPC USA. Just three points behind Moher, Pervis also used the hometown event to gain stage time that will benefit her in the future as she gets feedback from her performance here. As Pervis continues to work on balancing her overall structure (where added arm size will help balance the look of her upper body for example), she will earn more looks and better placings from judging panels.
The 11th and 12th-place finishes went to a pair of Mexican competitors – Myriam Bustamante and Maria Segura. Bustamante scored 54 points placing 11th, while Segura was a point behind totaling 55. Bustamante has been a pro level competitor since 2001 and last competed at the 2009 Tampa Bay Pro event where she placed seventh. Overall, this was Bustamante’s 13th pro contest in her nine-year pro career. Her previous best result was a third-place MW finish at the 2002 Southwest USA Pro Cup.
Segura, on the other hand, has only been at the pro level since last year when she made her pro debut placing 13th at the New York Pro Championships after winning overall titles in impressive fashion at the 2007 IFBB North American Championships and the 2008 Arnold Amateur Grand Prix.
