2012 Titan Grand Prix: Taylor Tops Titanic Titan Field In LA !

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2012 Titan Grand Prix: Taylor Tops Titanic Titan Field In LA !

Details: Published on Thursday, 25 October 2012 18:48; Written by Steve Wennerstrom, IFBB Women's Historian

12 Titan Grand Prix: Taylor Tops Titanic Titan in Field in LA!

Culver City, California, October 20th: The Titan Grand Prix was the 13th IFBB Pro Physique division event of the year and promoter Jon Lindsay offered up a very competitive field that featured a dizzying array of dynamic physiques that included entrants from six countries including the USA. Included in this group were eight contestants who were making their Pro Physique division debuts. Staged at the Veteran's Auditorium – a longtime home of Lindsay Production events - the contest tied for the third largest Pro Physique competition of the year behind the New York Pro (29), the Show of Champions (21), and PBW Tampa Pro (20). But it was the depth of quality that really took the spotlight as well as those who finished in the top spots. Total prize money for the top three was $3,500.

A Continuing Evolution

To say that Sabrina Taylor was overjoyed in winning the Titan Grand Prix would be an understatement of monumental proportions. And there are solid reasons as to why. First, it was her first victory since turning pro back in 2005. Second she was in a level of condition that was right in line with the criteria for the new Pro Physique division standards. Third, and perhaps without her even realizing it at first, the victory was her first in eight years dating back to her win at the 2004 NPC USA when she captured the overall fitness title....a win the set her on a path into the pro ranks.

In winning, Taylor distributed a well-balanced and tightly conditioned 121 pounds on her 5-2 frame. And at 5-2 she became the shortest (along with Juliana Malacarne) to win a Pro Physique division event this year. The victory came in her second entry in the Pro Physique division after she finished a strong third at the LA Grand Prix behind winner Sarah Hurrle and runner-up Patricia Mello.

The Pro Physique division appears to be a great fit for Taylor's physical makeup. And her two strong placings bear out that fact when considering she missed placing any higher than eighth in both fitness and figure events she entered over the course of the past eight years. Future competitions in this division should be much more fulfilling as the Camp Pendleton Marine Base gym manager from San Diego can now look with eager anticipation to the 2013 season when much more will be at stake with each passing contest. For her efforts here, she earned $2,000 in first-place prize money.

As the antithesis to Sabrina Taylor, runner-up Brazilian Patricia Mello stood majestic at 5-9 as she dazzled in her posing routine. As one of two previous winners of Pro Physique division events this year competing at this contest (Karin Kimura was the other), Mello was entering her third Physique event after winning the Show of Champions, and finishing second at the LA Grand Prix – both in April. Here, Mello was not at 100% due to illness on the day of the event that made it a challenge to negotiate the prejudging with her usual exotic flare. Still, her stage presence is striking, and with a win and two runner-up placings to show for this year's efforts, she stands as one of the division's most notable competitors headed for the 2013 season. As the runner-up, Mello accepted a check for $1,000.

If there had been an award for 'Most Improved' at this contest, Irvine's Venus Nguyen would have been the hands down winner. After earning her pro card at the 2010 Team Universe, Nguyen's two entries in pro fitness events in 2010 and 2011 did not produce a finish that cracked the top ten. And even this y IMG 0049 DCDVCPUAGI

ear when she made the switch to the Physique division, her 10th-place finish at the LA Grand Prix left her disappointed. But in the six months since that first Physique division effort, Nguyen made a stunning transformation. From her hairstyle, to conditioning level and general stage presence that exuded a strong level of confidence, her overall look rocketed her to a third-place finish. At 5-1 and weighing just 110 pounds, the former track & field standout in her high school and college days, has found a home in this division with the knowledge that she was a top-three placer in a large field that included so many noteworthy Physique competitors. Nguyen's first pro prize money winnings came to $500.

Of the eight contestants who were making their pro Physique debuts at this event, Canadian Keashia Wester made the strongest impression with a fourth-place finish. At 5-6, 136 pounds, Wester displayed an outstanding overall structure and great muscular proportions.....as well she should considering her father – who played for the NFL Cleveland Browns and BC Lions of the Canadian Football League – passed down a strong genetic base for her to work with. Beginning as a figure competitor in 2008, Wester won the 2012 British Columbia Provincial Championships followed by the Canadian Nationals to earn her pro card in the Physique division. With the 2013 season around the corner, Wester's stage presence and her memorable bone structure and fluid muscle shapes will be difficult to ignore in major contests at the pro level.

Californian Susan Graham - another of those who were making their pro Physique debut - captured the fifth-place spot. Originally from Wenatchee, Washington, Graham began her competitive efforts as a bodybuilder in 2005 winning the NPC Vancouver Natural novice class. In 2010 she followed up with an overall win at the popular NPC Orange County Muscle Classic. This year she won the NPC Musclecontest.Com Championship before earning her pro status at the 2012 NPC Team Universe where she placed third in her physique height class. With pleasing overall bodylines and a solid stage presence that brought her out in the first call-out of prejudging, her future in 2013 looks very favorable.

In what turned out to be a points battle for the sixth and seventh positions, Canadian Cea Anna Kerr – entering her fourth Pro Physique contest of the year – edged Karin Kimura by one point, 34-35. A veteran competitor with a contest resume dating back to 1993 as a lightweight bodybuilder, Kerr was also the runner-up at the 1998 Canadian National Aerobics Championships. Competing as a figure competitor since 2003, she turned pro at the 2007 Canadian Nationals winning the Masters figure division. Kerr's finish here should not come as a surprise as she possesses the 'goods' to remain competitive as witnessed by her second-place finish at the Toronto Super Show in early June.

Falling a point shy of the top six was Idaho's Karin Kimura in seventh. A winner of the California Governor's Cup in March to go with a runner-up finish at the Greater Gulf States in late June, the 5-5 Kimura once again presented a polished appearance in displaying her 122-pound frame. A veteran competitor dating back to 1990 when she won the NPC Idaho overall bodybuilding title, and in more recent years where she switched to figure events, Kimura reached the pro ranks with an overall win at the 2011 NPC Nationals in Physique. Her slip to seventh was another example of the stiff competition on hand for this contest.

And speaking of the elevated quality in this Titan field where the heights of the contestants ranged from Rita Rae at 4-11 to Mello and Nekole Hamrick at 5-9, the variation of placements for several of these contestants raised eyebrows. Two graphic examples came by way of Nekole Hamrick and Penpraghai Tiangngok. Both of these outstanding competitors had finished third in their last contest outings– Tiangngok at the huge New York Pro contest, and Hamrick most recently at the Valenti Gold Cup in September. Both women exude a high level of athleticism in their overall looks, but their fall from grace was surprising, to say the least. Tiangngok was sequestered to the third call-out in prejudging and was relegated to a final 11th-place finish. Her conditioning level compared to the New York show was admittedly softer here, and it begs to wonder if she felt or was advised that she needed to be careful about coming in too lean. Whatever the case, she suffered in the final tallies with a physique that is both exotic and beautifully put together.

In Hamrick's case, she may have simply been deemed too big.....a reality that she can do little about considering her 5-9, 158-pound frame. Structurally, she's sound with pleasing overall lines, and her years of bodybuilding experience have been kind in crafting a look that still exudes a strong feminine appeal even with a size that she will need to reconsider as she assesses her plans for future events in t DSC 2716 ABNEEGPPAE

he pro Physique division. Needless to say, her drop from third at the Valenti Gold Cup to a tie for 16th here was very surprising if not disheartening.

….and the remainder of the field

8- Cinzia Clapp, Eagle River, Alaska.      Another of the eight making her pro Physique debut after earning her pro status at the 2010 NPC Team Universe winning her class in Fitness.

9- Alti Bautista, Carlstadt, New Jersey. Nice to see Bautista back after several years away from competition. A class winner in Fitness at the 2001 NPC USA. More recently she competed in the 2007 Atlantic City Pro Figure Championships.

10- Nathalie Falk, Sachsen, Germany. A three-time German champion in bodybuilding and silver medalist at the World Amateur Championship in 2005 as a lightweight. Tied for 16th at the New York Pro Physique in May.

11- Penpraghai Tiangngok, Pattaya, Thailand. A 2011 winner of the IFBB Juliette Bergman Figure Classic. She also won the 2010 Thailand Nationals in Figure.   With a background in track & field as well as powerlifting, she entered this event at 5-6, 145 pounds. She also has a degree in Exercise Sports Science from Mahasarakarn University.

12-Nicole Carter, Bridgetown, Barbados. Made her pro Physique debut at this event. Was an 17th placer at the Europa Show of Champions in 2011. 5-4, 135 pounds.

13-Sandra Lombardo, Springville, New York. Turned pro at the 2012 IFBB North Americans winning the overall Physique division. 5-2 ½, 118 pounds. Was an overall winner at the 2002 NPC Buffalo Championships in her early years as an amateur. Has a background in gymnastics and track & field. Works as a medical sales rep.

14- Marilena Echohawk, Thornton, Colorado. 5-5, 125 pounds. Was the runner-up at the inaugural Desert Muscle Classic Pro Physique contest in February and finished 13th at the New York Pro. Turned pro at the 2011 NPC Team Universe winning her class in Physique.

15- Erin Lawson, Clarkston, Michigan. 5-3, 118 pounds. Works as a Psychologist. Accomplished in mixed martial arts (specializing in Escrima – a Philippine full contact stick fighting art). Turned pro at the 2011 NPC Junior Nationals winning her fitness class. Made her pro debut at the 2012 Valenti Gold Cup placing seventh.

Tied for 16th

Amanda Bendorf, Omaha, Nebraska. 5-4, 130 pounds. Turned pro at the 2012 NPC Junior Nationals winning her Physique class. Made her pro Physique debut at this event.

Laura Davies, Hamilton,Ontario, Canada. 5-5, 135 pounds. A historical anomaly. In bodybuilding, won the 1980 Ontario Provincial, the 1981 Canadian Championships MW, and competed in the 1982 MS. OLYMPIA.....30 years ago! A youngster at 52.

NeKole Hamrick, Orlando, Florida. A registered nurse for many years. In bodybuilding, she has been a two-time HW runner-up at the NPC Nationals (2007-'08), and won the HW class at the 2007 IFBB North American. Turned pro winning the tall class open and masters divisions at the 2012 IFBB North American Championships.

Rita Rae, Las Cruces, N DSC 0006 JHWZCSQUPQ

ew Mexico. A veteran competitor who first competed in 1991. In 2008 she distinguished herself by winning BOTH lightweight classes at the NPC USA and Nationals to earn pro status. A pro since 2009, Rae entered the 2012 Desert Muscle Classic Pro Physique contest placing eighth.

Alecia Rankovic, Phoenix, Arizona. 5-7, 130 pounds. With 18 years of ballet background and a former competitive diver, both demanding physical activities have contributed much to her overall athletic look. She turned pro at the 2012 NPC USA finishing second in her height class.

Culver City, California, October 20th: The Titan Grand Prix was the 13th IFBB Pro Physique division event of the year and promoter Jon Lindsay offered up a very competitive field that featured a dizzying array of dynamic physiques that included entrants from six countries including the USA. Included in this group were eight contestants who were making their Pro Physique division debuts. Staged at the Veteran's Auditorium – a longtime home of Lindsay Production events - the contest tied for the third largest Pro Physique competition of the year behind the New York Pro (29), the Show of Champions (21), and PBW Tampa Pro (20). But it was the depth of quality that really took the spotlight as well as those who finished in the top spots. Total prize money for the top three was $3,500.

A Continuing Evolution

To say that Sabrina Taylor was overjoyed in winning the Titan Grand Prix would be an understatement of monumental proportions. And there are solid reasons as to why. First, it was her first victory since turning pro back in 2005. Second she was in a level of condition that was right in line with the criteria for the new Pro Physique division standards. Third, and perhaps without her even realizing it at first, the victory was her first in eight years dating back to her win at the 2004 NPC USA when she captured the overall fitness title....a win the set her on a path into the pro ranks.

In winning, Taylor distributed a well-balanced and tightly conditioned 121 pounds on her 5-2 frame. And at 5-2 she became the shortest (along with Juliana Malacarne) to win a Pro Physique division event this year. The victory came in her second entry in the Pro Physique division after she finished a strong third at the LA Grand Prix behind winner Sarah Hurrle and runner-up Patricia Mello.

The Pro Physique division appears to be a great fit for Taylor's physical makeup. And her two strong placings bear out that fact when considering she missed placing any higher than eighth in both fitness and figure events she entered over the course of the past eight years. Future competitions in this division should be much more fulfilling as the Camp Pendleton Marine Base gym manager from San Diego can now look with eager anticipation to the 2013 season when much more will be at stake with each passing contest. For her efforts here, she earned $2,000 in first-place prize money.

As the antithesis to Sabrina Taylor, runner-up Brazilian Patricia Mello stood majestic at 5-9 as she dazzled in her posing routine. As one of two previous winners of Pro Physique division events this year competing at this contest (Karin Kimura was the other), Mello was entering her third Physique event after winning the Show of Champions, and finishing second at the LA Grand Prix – both in April. Here, Mello was not at 100% due to illness on the day of the event that made it a challenge to negotiate the prejudging with her usual exotic flare. Still, her stage presence is striking, and with a win and two runner-up placings to show for this year's efforts, she stands as one of the division's most notable competitors headed for the 2013 season. As the runner-up, Mello accepted a check for $1,000.

If there had been an award for 'Most Improved' at this contest, Irvine's Venus Nguyen would have been the hands down winner. After earning her pro card at the 2010 Team Universe, Nguyen's two entries in pro fitness events in 2010 and 2011 did not produce a finish that cracked the top ten. And even this year when she made the switch to the Physique division, her 10th-place finish at the LA Grand Prix left her disappointed. But in the six months since that first Physique division effort, Nguyen made a stunning transformation. From her hairstyle, to conditioning level and general stage presence that exuded a strong level of confidence, her overall look rocketed her to a third-place finish. At 5-1 and weighing just 110 pounds, the former track & field standout in her high school and college days, has found a home in this division with the knowledge that she was a top-three placer in a large field that included so many noteworthy Physique competitors. Nguyen's first pro prize money winnings came to $500.

Of the eight contestants who were making their pro Physique debuts at this event, Canadian Keashia Wester made the strongest impression with a fourth-place finish. At 5-6, 136 pounds, Wester displayed an outstanding overall structure and great muscular proportions.....as well she should consid IMG 6936 VSPTLZXFMY

ering her father – who played for the NFL Cleveland Browns and BC Lions of the Canadian Football League – passed down a strong genetic base for her to work with. Beginning as a figure competitor in 2008, Wester won the 2012 British Columbia Provincial Championships followed by the Canadian Nationals to earn her pro card in the Physique division. With the 2013 season around the corner, Wester's stage presence and her memorable bone structure and fluid muscle shapes will be difficult to ignore in major contests at the pro level.

Californian Susan Graham - another of those who were making their pro Physique debut - captured the fifth-place spot. Originally from Wenatchee, Washington, Graham began her competitive efforts as a bodybuilder in 2005 winning the NPC Vancouver Natural novice class. In 2010 she followed up with an overall win at the popular NPC Orange County Muscle Classic. This year she won the NPC Musclecontest.Com Championship before earning her pro status at the 2012 NPC Team Universe where she placed third in her physique height class. With pleasing overall bodylines and a solid stage presence that brought her out in the first call-out of prejudging, her future in 2013 looks very favorable.

In what turned out to be a points battle for the sixth and seventh positions, Canadian Cea Anna Kerr – entering her fourth Pro Physique contest of the year – edged Karin Kimura by one point, 34-35. A veteran competitor with a contest resume dating back to 1993 as a lightweight bodybuilder, Kerr was also the runner-up at the 1998 Canadian National Aerobics Championships. Competing as a figure competitor since 2003, she turned pro at the 2007 Canadian Nationals winning the Masters figure division. Kerr's finish here should not come as a surprise as she possesses the 'goods' to remain competitive as witnessed by her second-place finish at the Toronto Super Show in early June.

Falling a point shy of the top six was Idaho's Karin Kimura in seventh. A winner of the California Governor's Cup in March to go with a runner-up finish at the Greater Gulf States in late June, the 5-5 Kimura once again presented a polished appearance in displaying her 122-pound frame. A veteran competitor dating back to 1990 when she won the NPC Idaho overall bodybuilding title, and in more recent years where she switched to figure events, Kimura reached the pro ranks with an overall win at the 2011 NPC Nationals in Physique. Her slip to seventh was another example of the stiff competition on hand for this contest.

And speaking of the elevated quality in this Titan field where the heights of the contestants ranged from Rita Rae at 4-11 to Mello and Nekole Hamrick at 5-9, the variation of placements for several of these contestants raised eyebrows. Two graphic examples came by way of Nekole Hamrick and Penpraghai Tiangngok. Both of these outstanding competitors had finished third in their last contest outings– Tiangngok at the huge New York Pro contest, and Hamrick most recently at the Valenti Gold Cup in September. Both women exude a high level of athleticism in their overall looks, but their fall from grace was surprising, to say the least. Tiangngok was sequestered to the third call-out in prejudging and was relegated to a final 11th-place finish. Her conditioning level compared to the New York show was admittedly softer here, and it begs to wonder if she felt or was advised that she needed to be careful about coming in too lean. Whatever the case, she suffered in the final tallies with a physique that is both exotic and beautifully put together.

In Hamrick's case, she may have simply been deemed too big.....a reality that she can do little about considering her 5-9, 158-pound frame. Structurally, she's sound with pleasing overall lines, and her years of bodybuilding experience have been kind in crafting a look that still exudes a strong feminine appeal even with a size that she will need to reconsider as she assesses her plans for future events in the pro Physique division. Needless to say, her drop from third at the Valenti Gold Cup to a tie for 16th here was very surprising if not disheartening.

….and the remainder of the field

8- Cinzia Clapp, Eagle River, Alaska.      Another of the eight making her pro Physique debut after earning her pro status at the 2010 NPC Team Universe winning her class in Fitness.

9- Alti Bautista, Carlstadt, New Jersey. Nice to see Bautista back after several years away from competition. A class winner in Fitness at the 2001 NPC USA. More recently she competed in the 2007 Atlantic City Pro Figure Championships.

10- Nathalie Falk, Sachsen, Germany. A three-time German champion in bodybuilding and silver medalist at the World Amateur Championship in 2005 as a lightweight. Tied for 16th at the New York Pro Physique in May.

11- Penpraghai Tiangngok, Pattaya, Thailand. A 2011 winner of the IFBB Juliette Bergman Figure Classic. She also won the 2010 Thailand Nationals in Figure.   With a background in track & field as well as powerlifting, she entered this event at 5-6, 145 pounds. She also has a degree in Exercise Sports Science from Mahasarakarn University.

12-Nicole Carter, Bridgetown, Barbados. Made her pro Physique debut at this event. Was an 17th placer at the Europa Show of Champions in 2011. 5-4, 135 pounds.

13-Sandra Lombardo, Springville, New York. Turned pro at the 2012 IFBB North Americans winning the overall Physique division. 5-2 ½, 118 pounds. Was an overall winner at the 2002 NPC Buffalo Championships in her early years as an amateur. Has a background in gymnastics and track & field. Works as a medical sales rep.

14- Marilena Echohawk, Thornton, Colorado. 5-5, 125 pounds. Was the runner-up at the inaugural Desert Muscle Classic Pro Physique contest in February and finished 13th at the New York Pro. Turned pro at the 2011 NPC Team Universe winning her class in Physique.

15- Erin Lawson, Clarkston, Michigan. 5-3, 118 pounds. Works as a Psychologist. Accomplished in mixed martial arts (specializing in Escrima – a Philippine full contact stick fighting art). Turned pro at the 2011 NPC Junior Nationals winning her fitness class. Made her pro debut at the 2012 Valenti Gold Cup placing seventh.

Tied for 16th

Amanda Bendorf, Omaha, Nebraska. 5-4, 130 pounds. Turned pro at the 2012 NPC Junior Nationals winning her Physique class. Made her pro Physique debut at this event.

Laura Davies, Hamilton,Ontario, Canada. 5-5, 135 pounds. A historical anomaly. In bodybuilding, won the 1980 Ontario Provincial, the 1981 Canadian Championships MW, and competed in the 1982 MS. OLYMPIA.....30 years ago! A youngster at 52.

NeKole Hamrick, Orlando, Florida. A registered nurse for many years. In bodybuilding, she has been a two-time HW runner-up at the NPC Nationals (2007-'08), and won the HW class at the 2007 IFBB North American. Turned pro winning the tall class open and masters divisions at the 2012 IFBB North American Championships.

Rita Rae, Las Cruces, New Mexico. A veteran competitor who first competed in 1991. In 2008 she distinguished herself by winning BOTH lightweight classes at the NPC USA and Nationals to earn pro status. A pro since 2009, Rae entered the 2012 Desert Muscle Classic Pro Physique contest placing eighth.

Alecia Rankovic, Phoenix, Arizona. 5-7, 130 pounds. With 18 years of ballet background and a former competitive diver, both demanding physical activities have contributed much to her overall athletic look. She turned pro at the 2012 NPC USA finishing second in her height class.

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