It's Las Vegas. It's late July. It's 110 degrees. And once again for the 15th consecutive year since the turn of the millennium, Jon Lindsay Productions is staging the enormous NPC USA Championships at the Artemus Ham Concert Hall on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas. As the sister contest to the NPC Nationals, the NPC USA is one of the two most anticipated events on the NPC competitive schedule annually.
Stars are made at this event. And when it comes to women's bodybuilding, the tradition is impressive. Iris Kyle launched her remarkable competitive career after winning the overall 1998 NPC USA, and yes, that contest was also held in Las Vegas. Last year a modest field of 19 bodybuilding women came to Las Vegas with Margie Martin and Shannon Courtney earning pro status for their efforts. And coincidentally, another 19 contestants entered the bodybuilding division this year with a pointed goal of reaching the pro ranks. The flex was on!
Owning 
a Show… Completely
If only famed bodybuilding scribe Dr. Al Thomas could have seen this heavyweight class before he passed to the big gym in the sky, he would have been rhapsodic about the personage of one Aleesha Young. He always had his special adjectives set aside for just such an occasion and he used them sparingly. I can hear him now as he gazed upon 'the Young one' for the first time. "What a magnificent Clydesdale filly" he would gush. "Just look at all that wonderful, voluminous female flesh. Shadow-casting muscle. Glorious in its ability to take up space."
Only Dr. Al could pontificate the special look that 'the Young one', brought to the stage. But he would have been right. Aleesha Young was very special on this night, and there was no missing her personage. She owned the joint.
If this is the first time you have become acquainted with the name Aleesha Young, chances are it won't be the last. With a relatively short competitive career that began with a HW and overall win at the 2007 NPC Utah, she competed once a year up to 2011. Her only other victory came in 2010 when she won another overall title at the NPC All-South Championship. But at the national level things were notably different.
The rap on Young was that she simply lacked the necessary conditioning to uncover what was a gifted genetic structure and muscle shapes that even a casual observer could see was carrying scary potential.
In 2008 she bottomed out at the NPC Nationals, placing 15th. And in two entries at the NPC USA she placed 7th in 2009 and 8th in 2011 – all the while teasing audiences with what she could achieve if only she peeled away some of the poundage that concealed her 'shadow casting muscle'.
For Young, the muscle was nothing new. If you were to ask her, she would admit that boys had asked her to flex her arms since she was six years old. So it's not surprising that nothing has changed. She's heard all the comments from both men and women – some are kind words of admiration, while others are thoughtless and unkind. But in front of a judging panel it's altogether different.
It is on stage (especially here and now) that sh
e is in her comfort zone. Bodybuilding crowds come to these big events to be entertained. They thirst for a mind-blowing look in the building of a physique that few can accomplish. For Aleesha Young, on this night, she was a people pleaser, and it would be difficult to imagine that there has been a more fulfilling moment related in her years of effort to create something magical in the world of physical culture.
And then there are the sidelines to her special night. At 29, she's still considered young by competitive career standards. Next comes the experience of competing as a pro – and probably much sooner than later. Her 149 pounds are beautifully distributed and she's not particularly big as heavyweights go… but at 5’3”, she's an anomaly. At just 63 inches tall, she's the shortest NPC USA heavyweight ever to win that class of women – a class where the competitors are normally several inches taller. And from Lehi, Utah, she also stands alone as the only female bodybuilder from Utah to win any class at the USA let alone the overall crown.
Somewhere Dr. Al is smiling a wide smile as he gazes upon 'the Young one'… a very special young one.
Runner-up Joella Bernard brought a considerably more established contest resume to this USA and she gave it her best shot at challenging Aleesha Young. An active competitor at the national level since 2007, Bernard, from San Jose, had two previous entries at this event where she finished 7th HW in 2007 and 5th HW last year. Between those USA efforts Bernard has also had five trips to the NPC Nationals in consecutive years from 2008 to 2012. Her best finish was a runner-up placing in 2010 as a light-heavyweight.
Competing at this contest as a lean and well-conditioned 140 pounds, she could always be counted on to be competitive among the top 10 at a national level event. Along the way Bernard has been an overall winner at the NPC San Francisco and the NPC Orange County Muscle Classic. Here, her second-place finish was as unanimous as Young's first place result.
The Best of the Rest
3. Theresa Ivancik, Butler, Pennsylvania 15
4. Jessica Harmon, Excelsior Springs, Missouri 20
5. Mary Cain, Macon, Georgia 25
6. Kireen Ellis, Seattle, Washington 32
7. Lunette Johnson, Green Creek, Arizona 33
Lightweight Lite
For the sec
ond consecutive year, just two contestants entered the LW class. The reasons are easy to understand. First, this is a division where the maximum body weight allowance is 114 pounds. That said, the newer Physique division with height classes draws many of the competitors who would normally enter the bodybuilding LW class into the shorter Physique class, and with it less of an emphasis on the need to carry more muscle weight. Second, of course, is the ongoing effort to de-emphasize women's bodybuilding in general.
This year's winner was Lisa Lum from Tualitan, Oregon. Lum has been competing as far back as 2002 when she finished third in the LW class of the NPC Emerald Cup. Last year, she strung together four victories leading up to her entry in the USA this year. Competing primarily in the Pacific Northwest, she has been a two-time winner of the NPC Northern Classic.
Historically, her finish in the USA is significa
nt. Lum is the first-ever competitor from Oregon to win the NPC USA Lightweight class, and only two other Oregonians – Shelley Beattie in 1990 and Mah-Ann Mendoza in 2001 – won their respective weight classes as well as the overall USA titles in those years. Both moved on to eventually compete in the Ms. Olympia. That's pretty good company.
Finishing second was Sandie Dubois from Alta Loma, California. Dubois has had previous experience at the USA and specifically in this class as she matched her runner-up LW class finish from last year. In 2012, Dubois learned about the difference in the Bodybuilding and Physique divisions first-hand when she placed 10th in the Physique division. Earlier this year she finished third at the NPC Legends Classic leading up to the USA.
The Middleweights - Also Lite
The middleweight class matched the lightweights in numbers of contestants – two. It was the smallest ever middleweight class at the NPC USA. For the same reasons in this class, many of those who would normally enter this weight group have opted instead to give the Physique division height classes a try.
Winning this class was Maria Lomax from Henderson, Nevada. A former NPC Nevada state winner in 2011, Lomax placed eighth – as a Physique competitor – at the NPC USA before returning for another try as a bodybuilder at the national level. Presto, she's the USA middleweight champion, and the first-ever competitor from Nevada to win the middleweight class at this event.
Lomax, who weighed in at a lean 121 pounds, was forced to earn her victory even though she had just one challenger. The difficulty in winning her title came by way of runner-up Cassie Bates. From Frisco, Texas, Bates is no stranger to the national level and this class in particular. With a runner-up MW finish at the 2012 NPC Nationals to go with a third-place MW finish at the Nationals last year, Bates also came into this event as the defending champion. No doubt it was a tough pill to swallow, finishing second with just one other competitor to flex against.
As a small consolation in her finish, Bates can claim one of the strongest contest resumes among those who have yet to enter the pro ranks. But now, the heart-breaking part… the final judging tallies went 7 for Lomax and 8 for Bates. She missed being a two-time USA champion by a single point against a single challenger. Hide all sharp objects!
The Light-Heavies
Eight contestants flexed this year for this always competitive class. Last year Shannon Courtney added her brand of WOW factor to win this weight group and emerge as a certifiable rising star. In 2010, Jennifer Abshire won this class and last year entered her first Ms. Olympia.
And there was Angela Salvagno, who had to win the USA light-heavy title three times (2006, '07, and '09) before taking the overall 2009 USA crown to finally turn pro. The light-heavyweight class has always produced physiques of the highest quality with a pleasing degree of visual appeal. And once again this year the class offered a level of quality to the point where winner Laura Richards was awarded the additional pro card by the judges.
From Thornton, Colorado, Laura Richards has been to the rodeo once or twice competitively. In 2005 – nearly a decade ago – Richards was at this same NPC USA competing in the Figure class and placing a forgettable 10th. Fortunately for her, she didn't go away. As years passed, Richards competed in the Fitness division and Physique before settling on the light-heavyweight class in bodybuilding.
The realization of her potential didn't come right away, however. At last year's NPC Nationals she placed 11th in the HW class. But again, she didn't go away. What she did do was tightened down her over
all look – a look that featured a great structural balance and a physique that used nice biceps shape to go with perfectly shaped calves. So, from head to toe she had everything working harmoniously on her 132-pound frame.
The result was a victory in her class and an invite to join the pro division. Richards is just one more graphic example of why it's so important to 'stick around' – especially when the genetics merit the perseverance needed.
Running second to Richards was Californian Susanna Hand. Deserving a hand for making the competitiveness of this class real, Hand, at 5’3’, 135 lbs. looked balanced and well-conditioned. She pushed Richards all the way. Originally from New Jersey, the 33-year-old Rutgers grad, with a Master’s in Spanish, has been teaching Spanish since 2003. Now living in Sherman Oaks, Hand is on the right track to reach her full potential. In two previous entries at the NPC USA, she placed 9th in the LHW class in 2012 and 4th as a HW last year. In reality, Hand is still a newbie on the national level, but everything considered, next year she only needs to improve one place at this contest to reach the pro level. She'll be difficult to bet against.
The Rest of the Best
3. Rachael Pecoraro, Elkridge, Maryland 14
4. Brandi Akers, Las Vegas, Nevada 20
5. Tram Nguyen, Westminster, California 27
6. Jennifer Tejada, Bay Point, California 30
7. Lynn McKinnie, Temecula, California 36
8. Allison Chaidez, Santee, California 37
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