The 2009 NPC Nationals is in the bag and Cedric McMillan is going to Disney Land or wherever else it is a bodybuilder would go after emerging victorious from perhaps the most deeply stacked field of national level competitors in history. There was a lot of talk going into this weekend about the depth of the competition, but n
o one had any idea just how stacked the field would be until the curtain went up. It was insane to see how many guys brought their A game. I have never seen a Nationals competition with such a remarkable assemblage of high end physiques. Just about every bodybuilding insider I spoke with this weekend had the same opinion. To win the Nationals any year is a crowning moment to be sure, but to win this year, you had to be a freak of epic proportions, and that's just what Cedric McMillan is. Not only is he freak, but no one even saw him coming. The guy virtually came out of nowhere and stole the show. Check out the Rx Muscle Contest Photo Database to see for yourself!
En route to the overall, Cedric first won the Super Heavyweight class. Despite all the pre-show hype, the supers were not as deep as the other classes. In second, Robert Burneilka was huge and probably the most conditioned guy in the class, but his lines just didn't flow like Cedric's did. Abbas Khatami in third had flawless condition, but lacked upper body mass. Kirk DeFrancesco in fourth both brought tons of muscle but lacked the detail and the hardness to beat the men in front of him. And, in fifth, Drew Jemmott brought great shape and muscle bellies, but just needed to be sharper on this night. I really don't think it was any shock that Cedric took the class; he just did it in a shocking way.
With 29 men in the Heavyweight class, it looked as long as it did deep. The top guys in this class were all incredible bodybuilders, but it was Jeff Long who dazzled the judges with an amazing degree of hard, striated, muscle. His cuts were so deep you could easily find loose change in them. As good as Long was, Lee Banks gave him a run for his money. I had picked Lee to win this class and any other year that would probably have happened. Lee brought incredible condition and superb balance, not to mention a really freaky look. It just wasn't enough to catch Jeff Long. It could probably have gone either way and no one would have argued, but this was Long's night and he walked away with his pro card. Third Place went to Fred "Biggie" Smalls who brought quite a bit of muscle to the stage. He has really freaky size and shape, but his condition needed work. He is a thick dude to be sure, but in this line up you had to be all that and some. Biggie just came up a tad short on his condition and it cost him the class. PD Devers rocked the house with a routine that was off the chain. He was in the best shape of his life and he finally showed us what he is capable of after about 20 years of competing at this level. PD is a pro waiting to happen, he just has to nail his condition on the head and he will reach his goal. Rounding out the top five was Anthoneil Champagnie; this guy has a lot going for him and could easily have placed higher if he had brought better condition.
The Light Heavies was supposed to be the Branden Ray show, but it ended up the Seth Feroce and Al Auguste show. Auguste was my pick for not only the class, but also the overall. I was so impressed with the way his lines flowed and his tiny waist. He is just a very interesting looking bodybuilder. And while he was still very well conditioned, Feroce's condition was deeper and more detailed. Tonight was Feroce's night and nothing was going to stop him. Tamer El-Gundy (3rd) had fantastic condition but not enough muscle to move in on the top two guys. However, it was more than enough to pull ahead of Branded Ray (4th) who just didn't bring the conditioning he needed to live up to the hype. There was a lot of pressure on Branden going into the show and maybe it got to him. Branden may well have cashed in the last of his implied greatness. If he comes back he's going to have to come back with a new and improved version of what he's got now. Vaughan Ettienne was good for 5th but no more. He brought a quality physique and just needs to add the polish the others had tonight.
The Middleweights were probably the toughest class of the evening. I think the entire top ten had striated glutes! Coming out on top was a shredded Nathan DeTracy. Nathan was a solid striated block of muscle and his legs were insane with probably the freakiest teardrop in the show. There was really nothing wrong with him. In second, Ronald Torres was no slouch either. He was all that Nathan was, just not as freaky hard. Todd Scott was also at the top of his game this weekend, as was Jason Joseph and Jeff Cook. Any of these three guys could have traded places from three to five and no one would have argued. It was a very close class that was stacked to the rafters with stellar talent. But you can only have one winner and tonight was Nathan's night.
The Welterweights were another huge and deep class with 28 competitors. At the conclusion of prejudging it 
looked like the battle was going to be between Dr. Victor Prisk and Shavis Higa. Higa has won (the USA's) as a bantamweight, lightweight, welterweight and placed as a middleweight. Shavis gave up several inches to Prisk in height and that gave Higa the illusion of much greater size. He looked thick, full, and shredded to the bone. Prisk was every bit has hard, but his height made him look a little stringy. Prisk has a very good back and might even have edged Higa in the back poses, but from the front Higa simply dominated. In third place was Victor Delcampo followed by Jesse Sabatar in fourth and Louis Santa in fifth.
The lightweight class was won Joe Vu, followed by Louis Santiago in second, Travis Rogers in third, Bill Lawrence in fourth, and Kelly Pettiford rounding things out in fifth. Many in attendance thought that Travis Rogers should have been a place or two higher but tonight was Joe Vu's win and the IFBB Pro card that come with that victory.
In the Bantamweight class, Bleu Taylor became the first male IFBB Pro of the night. He was followed in second place by Chris Darby; Martin Burer in third; Enrique Ortiz in fourth; and Andre Hill in fifth.
The entire show was well run and went off without a hitch. It was held in a very beautiful new resort in Hollywood Beach under a glorious blue sky and azure blue ocean. I don't think anyone could possibly have asked for a better show than the one we got this weekend. Major props to all involved and congratulations to the winners. Don't forget to check out all the contest coverage; photos, interviews and play-by-play on RX MUSCLE.COM.
