Articles The Wennerstrom Report Wilson and Thompson Win NPC Junior USA Women's Bodybuilding and Physique Crowns
Charleston, South Carolina, May 19th: It was nearly a year ago to the day on May 21st last year when promoter Tres Bennett hosted the NPC Junior USA that featured the first-ever women's Physique division competition. That day 44 contestants entered with 22 women in each of two divisions competing for top spots that would qualify for IFBB pro status. Pennsylvania's Dana Linn Bailey won the short class, with Amanda Harris taking the tall class. Bailey also took home top honors as the overall winner earning herself a permanent place in the history books, and the new division was off to a flying start.
This year, Bennett once again welcomed a Physique division field that was a carbon copy of 2011 as 44 contestants (21 short and 23 tall) again took aim on the top spots that would offer the opportunity to turn pro.
In the class A division Trina Thompson utilized a good level of stage experience and a well-balanced overall muscular structure to emerge as the winner of this field of 21 contestants. A former figure contestant with runner-up finishes at the 2007 NPC Southern States and 2008 NPC Pittsburgh, it was at the 2008 NPC Junior USA where she placed eighth in her figure class and the reality that her level of muscularity would become an issue to gain higher placings at the national level events. With the coming of the Physique division in 2011, she returned to the Junior USA and placed 11th in that inaugural event. Later in the year, however, she added a very respectable fourth-place showing at the NPC Junior Nationals and knew she was on the right track. Returning to the Junior USA this year, the third time was a charm and her class victory and the eventual overall win capped a very successful start to the 2012 competitive season. No longer too muscular for figure events, she was now qualified to enter the pro ranks as a Physique competitor. With lots of adjectives such as sultry, alluring and just plain sexy floating through the Charleston Auditorium in describing this new champion, she'll no doubt use them to her best advantage as her date with a pro debut draws nearer.
Placing second to Thompson was Maryland's Rachel Baker. A former gymnast, she began competing in figure events in 2009 and continued in that division until 2011 when she placed sixth at the Arnold Amateur Classic. At that point she made the switch to the Physique division and she spent the year competing in four major national-level events. Baker began by taking the runner-up spot to Dana LinnBailey at the inaugural Jr. USA Physique event where she outpointed the likes of Ayonna Carroll, Tracy Bodnar, and Trina Thompson among others. Over the remainder of 2011 she finished second at the NPC Junior Nationals, and third at both the NPC Team Universe and NPC Nationals – all as a Physique competitor. So, to begin 2012 she continues to hover around the top placings in the hopes she'll come out on top sometime this year.
Third went to Washington's Shauna Lewis. Competing as both a Figure and Physique competitor in 2011 and into this year, her finishes at top events have been consistent and encouraging. Placing fifth at the 2011 IFBB North American in Physique, she added a victory – again in Physique at the NPC Pittsburgh this year. As a Figure contestant in 2012 Lewis has also won her class at the the NPC Tanji Johnson Figure Classic, to go with a runner-up finish at the Emerald Cup.
Placing fourth was Colorado's Lauren Lessnau. A recent selection as the NPC Athlete of the Month for April, the 21-year-old Lessnau is a newbie to Physique – and weight training for that matter. At 5-2 and 120 pounds, she began training last December with the intentions of entering a Bikini contest but soon found herself beyond the muscular level of that division. A former track & field competitor and soccer player her athletic look fits well in the Physique division. In her first Physique contest, she won the NPC Northern Colorado. Her strong placings here bodes well for future national-level events.
Rounding out the top five was Evangeline Belton. An over-50 Masters competitor Belton has shown she can fight the aging process with good success. In 2011 she placed seventh at the IFBB North American in Physique and followed up with an eighth-place finish at the NPC Nationals.
View the entire 2012 JR USA Contest Gallery
With 23 contestants chasing the Junior USA title in this class, it was 28 year-old Sheena Ohlig who put the hammer down in this group. At 5-7, 148-pounds, Ohlig used the athleticism she had gained from her days as a scholarship track & field hurdler at the University of Memphis. Another recent NPC Athlete of the Month in March, Ohlig spent two years competing in Figure events before striking the victory chord with a win in the Physique division at the NPC Steve Stone Metropolitan. A native of Camden, New Jersey, Ohlig now finds herself qualifying for IFBB pro status, and presumably, with a new outlook on how to proceed in future competitions.
Runner-up to Ohlig was Minnesota's Jen Ann Louwegie, followed by third-placer Heather Henslee. Henslee was the overall 
Figure winner at the NPC Alabama in 2006, but found higher placings difficult to come by at the national level. Then in 2011 with the new Physique division offered she once again entered the NPC Alabama and won the Physique division. From there she placed fourth at the IFBB North American Championships, and kicked off the 2012 competitive season with a solid third-place finish here.
Fourth went to Tracy Weller. Another convert from Figure contests, Weller was the 2011 NPC Georgia winner in her class before switching to Physique at this event. Her fourth-place finish at a national-level event should be sufficient motivation to press on to another contest of this magnitude. And if you doubt her athleticism, check out her abilities in repelling at TracyWellerFit.com. Impressive, to say the least.
Jill Dearmin filled out the top five as another former figure competitor with too much muscle found sanctuary in the Physique division. After a 16th-place finish at the 2011 NPC Team Universe in Figure, Dearmin made the switch to Physique and promptly placed fourth at the NPC Nationals in Physique. Her fifth-place position here along with the Nationals finish puts her squarely in the hunt for future high placings in this fast-growing division.
View the entire 2012 JR USA Contest Gallery
With 11 bodybuilding contestants split into two weight classes, Georgia's Cassandra Wilson put on an impressive muscle display to top the heavyweight class. In 2004 she finished second at the NPC Georgia as a middleweight. Then, in 2005 she won the overall at the Atlantic USA. By 2010 she won her class at the NPC Excalibur in South Carolina before placing eighth in the light-heavyweight class at the NPC Nationals that year. Last year Wilson placed second in the HW class of this event, so her return could be considered 'taking care of unfinished business' as the HW and overall champion. There was little doubt she was a convincing winner.
The results following Wilson among the heavyweights included second placed Shirl Castro, followed by Kasha Winston in third, Carrie Rapp in fourth, Melanie Wiggins fifth, and Lisa Hamm sixth.
With little question the most intriguing competitor in this class was six-footer Carrie Rapp. Her entry in this contest is significant considering she used to weight over 300 pounds. In fact, in April 2009 she weighed 303 pounds with a bodyfat level of 51%. But by September 2010 she had chiseled herself down to 195 with a bodyfat level of 17%. Competitively, Rapp has placed third at the 2010 Natural Indiana, third at the NPC Hoosier Classic, and second at the NPC Indiana. In a way, all those placings are victories and so impressive when considering the effort she put forth. Her fourth place finish at this event will hopefully edge her along to continue this very special physical journey.
In the lightweight group of five, New Yorker Melanie Landry out-flexed and out-muscled her quartet of challengers. With an interesting sequence of progressive contests leading up to the Junior USA, Landry placed third at the Jay Cutler Classic as a MW in 2010, then returned to that event in 2011 to win the LW class. This year she began the season placing sixth at the Arnold Amateur Classic as a HW. Here, showing a dense level of thick muscularity, she handled her class with relative ease.
Standing on either side of Landry in the first prejudging call-out was eventual runner-up Tiffany Delano and Elizabeth Crenshaw. For Crenshaw, she has been a quick bodybuilding study. Last year at the NPC Junior Nationals she placed a distant 15th. But to begin the 2012 season she won the NPC Lansing Grand Prix followed by her fourth-place finish here. As for Tiffany Delano, she showed creditable conditioning and as last year's NPC North Carolina LW Masters winner and runner-up in the open class she has plenty of gas left in the tank to place strongly in future national-level events.
Rounding out the top five was North Carolina's Ceyonne Jones in fourth and South Carolina's Amy Sutter fifth.
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