Mello Doubles Up Twice: Defends Show Of Champions Title
by Steve Wennerstrom, IFBB Women's Historian
“It's a Brazilian thing!” That's a phrase that has bec
ome more and more familiar when a Pro Physique division event is held. In this fledgling division's inaugural season last year Karina Nascimento, Juliana Malacarne and Patricia Mello proudly carried the Brazilian colors as the trio combined to win four contests in 2012. So far this year, the South American magic is off to another strong start. For those who sat in the audience of the 2012 Show of Champions, they watched as Patricia Mello won the event in unanimous fashion. She was back in 2013 to defend her crown.
Staged once again as a two-day event at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, on April 19-20, promoters Ed & Betty Pariso saw the Pro Physique portion of the weekend grow from a field of 21 in 2012 to 26 this year. The event drew contestants from 16 states and two countries – Brazil and Australia. Surprisingly, no competitors drifted down from Canada, but is conceivable the Canadians are waiting for the Toronto Super Show on June 1st. The purse for this event was $3,500 with $2,000 going to the winner. $1,000 for second and $500 for third.
MELLO DOUBLES UP
There is a an old saying that goes, 'the more things change, the more things stay the same'. As that phrase applies to this year's Show of Champions, the answer would be a definitive 'yes and no'. And within the first two placers in this contest, there was a definitive yes and a definitive no.
First, Patricia Mello was on hand again this year after winning the 2012 event in unanimous fashion. And once again this year she had her Brazilian mojo working as she used her statuesque 5-9 frame and stirring stage presence to draw judging attention her way. Fresh from winning the season opener L.A. Grand Prix a week earlier, Mello was again a sight to behold. And once again she won in unanimous fashion. Her appearance at the Show of Champions could have had a dual meaning for Mello. First, she may have simply wanted to return to defend her title from last year. Or second and more realistically, she contracted for this event in case she missed winning the LA Grand Prix. Now, of course, she is qualified for the Physique Olympia and will presumably concentrate on preparing to compete in the inaugural Olympia event in September. Her $2,000 in prize money will no doubt lend a hand in the cost of the prep.
Finishing second to Mello was Chicag
o's colorful Mikaila Soto. Her stunning turnaround was a stark antithesis to Mello's double victory. Last year at this contest Soto wasn't just overlooked, she was buried in a tie for 19th place with two other contestants. That's NINETEENTH! An about face of that level is seldom seen and to be admired when it comes to perseverance. It's true that Soto began her climb from the depths of the 2012 Show of Champions last year when she finished second at both the Wings of Strength in her hometown of Chicago and the Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Tampa Pro, but any competitor can carry a level of uncertainty when the judging of a new division can, at times, be inconsistent. She was, after all, eighth in a field of nine at the Greater Gulf States just two weeks before her Wings placing. If there is such a thing as 'paying dues', she more than did so having competed in no less than six Pro Physique events in 2012. So, clearly, she wanted to leave little doubt she was on top of her game in 2013. And she was. Her placing gave her valuable points towards an Olympia qualification, and she'll no doubt have her eagle eye on a return to that Wings of Strength in August with a desire to win that event and sew up an automatic Olympia qualification. Here, she pocketed the $1,000 runner-up cash prize. In her case at this competition, the more she changed, the more she didn't stay the same. And that's a good thing !
Both Mello and Soto tallied unanimous scores in the final placements.
Last year Patricia Mello and Mikaila Soto combined to enter a total of nine Pro Physique contests between them. And speaking of an antithesis to the aforementioned, not only had third-place finisher Amanda Dunbar not stepped on stage last year, she hadn't competed at all since 2005 when she earned her pro status as the overall winner of the NPC USA. The biggest question in virtually everyone's mind was whether she would be able to shake the dust off what was a devastatingly sound physique that had led her to the top of that USA eight years earlier. Comebacks are tough enough over a period of inactivity for two or three years, but Dunbar's return was gutsy to put it mildly. Did she feel she was at her best? “No, no way,” laughed Dunbar. “I was nervous. The anxiety from being away from competition so long and coming back was crushing.. It's a new division. I wasn't sure what to expect. I was smaller than what I was when I won the USA. The compulsory poses were different than what I used to in bodybuilding, and I still need to get comfortable with them. I didn't know most of the competitors, and many of them didn't know what my background was. It was a strange feeling to be bac
k on stage, definitely an adrenalin rush.”
So would she consider entering another Physique event? The answer was a quick “yes”. “I know I can be a lot better right away just based on remembering the little things I didn't do,” says Dunbar with reflection. “I need another contest to really see what my potential is in this division.” If her third-place finish was a dry run given the outstanding structural genetics and muscular shapes she already possesses and showed, further polishing of her chassis will be interesting to watch as the year progresses. Said Dunbar of the immediate future, “I'm not much different in my goal than all the other girls who will compete this year. I'd really love to qualify for the Olympia. Now it's up to me to put in the work to get there.” For her effort, Dunbar picked up the remaining $500 in prize money for her placing.
Fourth-placer Frances Mendez was a question mark coming into this contest. A relative newcomer from Mobile, Alabama, her breakout year and pro debut came all at once in 2012. A winner at the NPC Panhandle Championships in Florida, and an overall winner at the NPC Eastern Seaboard – both in the Physique division, Mendez earned her pro status at the NPC Masters Nationals winning her Physique class. Then before the year was out she made her pro debut at the Valenti Gold Cup finishing a strong second. Here, Mendez was easily the most highly detailed and defined competitor which flies in the face of the criteria that has been set for this division. Still, the judges rated her as one of the best and, along with Mello, Soto and Dunbar made up the first prejudging call-out of four......a quartet that ended up claiming the top four placings. Her final score of 18 points was just one point off the pace set by Amanda Dunbar at 17.
Fifth went to Jillian Reville who can be considered another “veteran” of the fast-growing Pro Physique division. Reville was a third-place finisher at the inaugural Pro Physique division contest -the Desert Muscle Classic – in Arizona. Reville also competed at the Show of Champions last year finishing second to Patricia Mello. This year she found the sledding a bit tougher with a bigger field and more experience for all involved. That said, Reville made good improvements in her overall look and she can expect to get a look from judges as she continues her “work in progress”.
Rounding out the top six was yet another experienced Physique competitor in Tennessee's Jennifer Robinson. Her sixth-place finish here was the first time she had slipped out of the top five having finished fourth at the St. Louis Pro, third at the Greater Gulf States, fifth at the Wings of Strength and fifth at the Show of Champions last year. An overall Physique division winner at the 2011 NPC Junior Nationals, Robinson has also made notable improvements in a physique that showed broader shoulders and a rounder set of delts that were comparable to any other competitor in the top six. Her final score was 30 points.
OUTSIDE THE TOP SIX
7- Kristina Curci, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 38
8- Melissa DiBernardo, Poughkeepsie, New York. 41
9- Asha Hadley, Miami, Florida. 43
10- Janet Koehler, N. Lauderdale, Florida. 50
11- Alecia Rankovic, Phoenix, Arizona. 51
12- Leonie Rose, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. 55
13- Jill Rudison, Venice, California. 66
14- Rachel Baker, Lutherville, Maryland. 70
15- Jill Dearmin, Hobe Sound, Florida. 74
16- Candrea Adams, Jonesboro, Georgia. 80
16- Evangeline Belton, Elgin, South Carolina. 80
16- Cinzia Clapp, Eagle River
, Alaska. 80
16- Amanda Harris, Kinston, North Carolina. 80
16- Anne-Marie Lasserre, Queensland, Australia 80
16- Tiani Norman, Denville, New Jersey 80
16- Tammy Patnode, Lake Placid, New York. 80
16- Audrey Presson, Umatilla, Florida. 80
16- Danielle Reardon, Orlando, Florida. 80
16- Stacy McDowell, Blackwood, New Jersey 80
16- Danielle Soucek, Broadview Heights, Ohio 80
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