In the world of American bodybuilding, the end of July has become synonymous with the coming of the NPC USA Championships. And although the USA contest has been held throughout the country over the past 30 years, Las Vegas has become the permanent 
home of this gargantuan event ever since the turn of the millennium.
Staged again this year on July 31st and once again held at Artemus Ham Hall on the campus of the University of Nevada/ Las Vegas, Jon Lindsay and his production staff once again proved they were up to the task of providing an outstanding event for a huge field of athletes.
With 44 contestants competing in the women's bodybuilding competition (one more than last year's total of 43 at this event), the four weight classes were evenly distributed with 9 lightweights, 13 middleweights, 12 light-heavyweights, and 10 heavyweights.
In a city that is built on those who are willing to take a chance, the collective field was a competitive one featuring a slew of newcomers, several who had been down this road before, and even a sprinkling of past weight class champions looking to hedge a bet that they might just flex their way to qualification for IFBB pro status. All had one thing in common and that was to take their best shot - a chance - at winning it all. One (and possibly two) in the ‘Fab 44' would reach that goal.
O'Connell Crushes LW Class
Leave it to the lightweights to kick off the muscular portion of the evening with a distinguished group of women who, collectively, put on quite a show. To begin with this division featured not one, but two former USA lightweight winners in Barbara Fletcher and Claire O'Connell. It was clear at the outset that one of these Californians would become a two-time winner - an achievement only Tonia Villalobos (1997 and 1999 and Clifta Coulter in 1991 and 1996) had accomplished in the past. It was also the first time two former USA class winners returned to compete against each other.
With the first pre-judging call-out bringing O'Connell to the middle of the first group, her superior conditioning and overall structural balance was clear. She was devastating.
Chasing O'Connell was Marina Lopez and Denise Dinger, while another Californian Brenda Beitia was in the mix with Barbara Fletcher.
Four years ago when O'Connell first won this class she was part of the foursome of class winners in 2006 that included MW Tina Chandler, LtHW Angie Salvagno, and HW and overall winner Heather Policky-Armbrust. Except for O'Connell the trio of other winners that night all became pros. O'Connell hoped this night she would make it four.
As for Barbara Fletcher, her LW win in 2005 seemed - for some unknown reason - much further back in time than O'Connell's victory. At 4-9, she was still the shortest contestant in the class this year, and at 101 pounds she was the lightest USA entrant - just as she was in 2005 when she weighed a mere 93 pounds. Here, however, she was in a much more competitive field and the going was far tougher this time around.
Freshly crowned as the 2010 NPC Junior National overall winner last month, Marina Lopez was dazzling with her exceptional stage presence and fine-lined structure while making her USA debut. Her placing here was a long way from the 16th-place finish she had endured at the 2008 NPC Junior Nationals. At 5-2, Lopez seemed tall by comparison in a class that included Brenda Beitia at 5-0, Denise Dinger at 4-11, Anne Marie Kam at 4-11 ½, O'Connell checking in at 4-11 ¾, and Fletcher.
With the final tallies in, O'Connell's victory was of little surprise and giving cause for wonder if she might make a serious run at pro status. Quite simply, she was chiseled from head to toe. With O'Connell's victory, Lopez became the runner-up in her first USA, and future events at this level will find her in the mix every time.
Denise Dinger dropped a notch from the 2009 USA where she lost to Margaret Negrete by one point, so her third-place finish here further pointed to just how competitive this class was.
Matching her fourth-place finish at the 2009 USA was Brenda Beitia finishing in front of fifth-placed Barbara Fletcher.
The Top Five
1-Claire O'Connell, California
2-Marina Lopez, Colorado
3-Denise Dinger, Nevada
4-Brenda Beitia, California
5-Barbara Fletcher, California
Murray Becomes the Unknown Entity in MW's
It would be doubtful to find anyone who would bet against the fact that at every national-level contest the competition will inevitably produce at least one competitor who comes out of the woodwork, flying right under the radar to rain on a weight class parade. There's really nothing negative about that fact - but it certainly manages to create a buzz in the bodybuilding community immediately upon said competitor's arrival. This year Arizona's Marla Murray became that entity with only a 2009 NPC Western Regional qualifying event to be found on her contest resume. And there's really nothing negative about that fact either as the Grand Canyon State has, in no uncertain terms, re-emerged as a locale with some muscular clout in women's bodybuilding. At 122 pounds, Murray seemed to fit the bill for the judges of this weight division, and unlike the lightweight division where Claire O'Connell left little doubt as to her superiority, the door was left ajar in the MW class with a bright, shiny new title for the taking. As Dave Palumbo pointed out in his play-by-play of this class, Murray showed better symmetry than her fellow contestants and exhibited a ‘Wow' factor that drew the judges' attention that helped carry her to the top spot.
In the runner-up position Middletown, Ohio's Amy Sibcy was the antithesis of Murray showing the best sheer muscle in the class. At 125 pounds Sibcy displayed a vascular system running through her physique that would be the envy of Mapquest. A middleweight winner at the 2009 IFBB North American Championships as a MW, Sibcy showed impressive muscle separation in her quads, calves and delts. Not surprisingly, she has also enjoyed several strong showings in Masters contests, and with this being her first entry at the USA, she has the capacity to further entrench herself as a major player at major level contests such as the NPC Nationals.
Third placer is another of the many figure competitors at this event who have successfully made the transition to bodybuilding. Also from Arizona, Jenkins made the most of her 120-pound physique with poise and notable stage presence. With a 2010 NPC Desert Classic overall victory to go with her third-place finish here, Jenkins has already made a solid impact on the MW class nationally.
Illinois' Gail Auerbach has been quietly compiling a strong contest resume that includes an overall win at the 2009 NPC Junior USA and a runner-up spot at the recent NPC Junior Nationals. Here, she stacked up solidly as a fourth-place finisher. Distributing 124 pounds on her 5-3 frame, Auerbach only needs to continue learning the ropes of dieting and contest prep to nail down higher placings.
From Honolulu, Hawaii, Mia Howard filled out the top five in the fifth position. Weighing in last year at this event as a 133-pound light-heavyweight, she finished an unheralded 15th. What a difference her wise decision made in stripping off some excess weight. Her jump from 15th to fifth ranks as one of the biggest improvements of the entire contest.
As a final note in this class, it is the third successive year the winner has come from Arizona with Diana Tinnelle earning the title in 2008, and Akila Pervis winning in 2009.
The Top Five
1-Marla Murray, Arizona
2-Amy Sibcy, Ohio
3-Lucy Jenkins, Arizona
4-Gail Auerbach, Illinois
5-Mia Howard, Hawaii
Scarpetta and Ariel Figure Out the Light-Heavyweights
It would be enough to say how impressive is it that two former figure competitors flexed their way to the top two placings at the NPC USA - in the light-heavyweight class yet. But that is exactly what Jennifer Scarpetta and Natalie Ariel did as both made their first trip to Las Vegas for the NPC USA. What makes their story even more compelling is the fact that both women are from Illinois - and both are from Chicago. Never before in the history of the NPC USA has that kind of 1-2 finish ever occurred in the past. Although the duo showed somewhat different physique types, they still managed to nail down the top two spots in this class. At 5-7, Ariel, who works as a Cook County Correctional officer, was the most tightly conditioned competitor in this division, while Scarpetta showed judges a structural quality that fit what they were looking for in this group of contestants. Most recently and most appropriately, Scarpetta won the HW class at the 2010 NPC Junior Nationals - in where else but Chicago.
As an added perk, and a major one at that, Scarpetta was chosen to receive the second pro card qualification by decision of the judges.
Third went to La Dawn McDay. It is a finish she is familiar with as she also placed third at this same event and class in 2009. Also last year she was the runner-up at the NPC Nationals at 138 pounds - a weight she brought to this event. From Detroit, McDay will most assuredly still have her day as she continues to cultivate her very pleasing structural qualities and muscle shapes.
Another in the legion of Arizona's troops was fourth-placed Kate Cooper. At 137 pounds Cooper has no trouble displaying maximal muscle on her frame and her finish here will carry a much better feel considering she placed 16th in this class at the 2005 NPC USA. Competing often since 2001(including four trips to the NPC Nationals), Cooper most recently placed third in the Over-35 light-heavyweight class at the 2010 NPC Masters Nationals.
Rounding out the top five was Jacqueline Horan from Bountiful, Utah. Horan has made dynamic changes in her overall look with the understanding that she placed ninth at the 2008 NPC USA as a 111-pound lightweight. Now, two years later she is much more bountiful as a 128-pound light-heavyweight, and the results have vaulted her into a top five national-level placing.
The Top Five
1-Jennifer Scarpetta, Illinois
2-Natalie Ariel, Illinois
3-LaDawn McDay, Michigan
4-Kate Cooper, Arizona
5-Jacqueline Horan, Utah
Hayes is Tops in Heavyweight Class
It was like déjà vu. There was Texan Sarah Hayes in a field of ten at the NPC USA looking for all the world like a throwback to Gina Davis when she won the heavyweight and overall titles at the 2004 NPC Nationals. They are sister-like in their resemblance with immense shoulders, rounded delts, big full arms, all topped off on a smallish waist that made her the popular choice of the judges - not only in the heavyweight class - but as the 2010 NPC USA overall champion.
With a relatively brief competitive career that saw her burst on the scene in 2009 by winning overall titles at the NPC Ronnie Coleman in April, the NPC Lone Star Classic in June, and the Europa Super Show in August, Hayes floated into the NPC Nationals with little pressure and literally no pre-contest hype. She caught the eye of many with her nice proportions, muscle shapes and cultivation beyond her years of involvement in bodybuilding. Projections for her were virtually all of a positive nature. Had there been a ‘Newcomer of the Year' award for 2009, it was hers hands down.
Now at 32, an age that is still considered young by bodybuilding standards, Hayes held on to her perspective during the off-season and instead of racing to put on more muscle, she trained with sanity, and entered the 2010 NPC USA at 156 pounds - three pounds under her weight at the Nationals last year. The effort worked in helping her continue to reach a level of tighter conditioning, a factor she will need as she moves into the pro ranks. As a prep event for the USA in 2010, Hayes was back on the winning track when she won the NPC Branch Warren event in her home state.
Placing second to Hayes was Mississippi's Angela Rayburn. At 5-8 and weighing 174 pounds, Rayburn was the door-prize winner as the contest's largest competitor, and she wore the poundage well. Competing steadily since 2002, Rayburn has also steadily made her way up the NPC USA placement ladder finishing sixth in 2008 and third last year. Her runner-up finish here now puts her on the doorstep to a national-level title.
Defending NPC USA heavyweight champion Holly Geersen slipped to third at this event falling short of the usual high level of conditioning that has made her physique so visually impacting in the past. In short, she was off. It happens. All the muscle was still there, it simply didn't make itself visible enough for judges to offer her a repeat performance - especially in a class where a high level of muscular definition was not the benchmark element for the placings in this class. As the close followers of the sport put it, "She left the door open".
Fourth went to Washington transplant Jennifer Gutierrez. A former NPC California champion, Gutierrez has also made slow but steady improvements in her physique and with it has come higher placings in major contests. In 2009 Gutierrez placed fifth at the NPC Nationals, but the 147-pound physique she brought to the USA was the best effort she has made in a career that has included many entries at the national level.
Florida's Kris Clark claimed the fifth position in a long competitive career that included at ninth-place HW finish at the NPC Nationals in 1997. Always paying a strong level of attention to her overall conditioning, Clark's 148-pound frame showed the same level of muscular detail that helped her to a runner-up finish in the Over-45 class at the 2010 NPC Masters Nationals, and a fifth-place finish at the 2009 NPC USA as a light-heavyweight.
The Top Five
1-Sarah Hayes, Texas
2-Angela Rayburn, Mississippi
3-Holly Geersen, Colorado
4-Jennifer Gutierrez, Washington
5-Kris Clark, Florida
The Posedown
It was predictable. The different styles of physiques that won the individual classes were inconsistent. Judges will say they simply judge what's on stage in a given class. But at a point when comparison's need to be made between the razor sharp, highly detailed physique of a lightweight - in this case Claire O'Connell, with the softer and highly aesthetic overall look of a heavyweight - Sarah Hayes - who outweighed O'Connell by 43 pounds, it becomes problematic. Unfortunately, it's a no win situation. Then factor into the equation the middleweight and light-heavyweight winners who fit in somewhere between O'Connell and Hayes and judges are forced to select what they feel are the competitors who are best prepared to move into the pro ranks that night. And with that decision brings disagreement as virtually no decision at a national-level women's bodybuilding event is ever universally accepted.
The final decision saw Sarah Hayes win the overall USA crown, with a second pro card going to LtHW winner Jennifer Scarpetta. With Claire O'Connell generally recognized as the best conditioned athlete on stage this night, and still short of snagging that elusive pro card....well, that will be the buzz for weeks to come, weeks that will lead to an NPC National contest where it will be hard to imagine another lightweight better than O'Connell. If she should happen to enter that contest, and happen to win her class, case closed. The 43-year-old will have reached a goal she has chased since her teen years. The question now will be how much gas does the mighty mite have left in the tank?
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