2018 Black & Red Open Recap!
Team EJBB @ BROpen 2019!
By: Marcos Hernandez
In case you hadn't heard, our in-house Weightlifting Team, El Jefe Barbell, competed this past weekend at the Black & Red Open in Tyson's Corner, VA. This meant that your beloved CrossFit coaches had to throw on their Barbell hats and spandex for the day and coach/lift the team to victory!
The day began with Christian Villalas on the platform bright and early at 8:00am. For those who aren't aware, an 8:00am start time means a 6:00am weigh-in... the lighter guys have it tough! Christian had a tough day and couldn't put the pieces together on the platform to hit his lifts, but valuable lessons were learned. Always a good sport, he stuck around to help our lifters in the the next session.
The 10:00am session was a busy one for EJBB. Katie Weddle and Nivana Campos were on the "Red" platform and, at the same time on the "Black" platform, Marshall Knight, Justin Jeng, Marcos Hernandez, and Lukas Hernandez were all lifting. That's six (6!) athletes at once. Thank goodness Josh and Chris were able to keep control of the situation because, out of this time slot, the team came away with three medals. Katie and Marcos each got gold and Lukas received the silver medal for their weight classes. Katie and Marcos also came away with third place finishes in the entire meet!
Honorable mention to both Justin and Marshall who went 6/6, not missing a single lift. This achievement is remarkable! With a crowd of people all watching, they hit big personal records on both the Snatch, Clean & Jerk, and Total, and had their best competitions to date. Make sure to congratulate them the next time you see them!
After wearing himself out coaching six lifters it was Josh Dempsey's turn to show what he could put together. Going against the top two lifters in the entire meet (adjusted for bodyweight) he came away with the bronze medal, the team's fourth medal of the day.
Last but not least it was Caitlin Seaton's turn to go lift something heavy. She had been dealing with a tweaked shoulder but was able to fight through it and adjust her technique enough to come away with a personal record in both lifts! It just goes to show there is a lot left in her tank and it's only a matter of time until she brings home hardware for herself.
Thanks to everyone who came out to support the team! Your support means a lot and some of those lifts were only made because of how loud you cheered. Everyone knows the noise makes the bar lighter on gameday!