Hugo Open draws largest crowd ever

 

The No Excuses CrossFit community came together on Saturday, Aug. 25 for its annual in-house competition — the Hugo Open, now in its fifth year.

The event drew 70 athletes, the largest ever, on 14 teams in one division. Each team featured advanced, intermediate, and beginner athletes.

Head Busters won the 2018 Hugo Open (Abram Duke, Trevor Ezzell, Leslie Brigman, Mike Jones, Ashley Williams)

Head Busters won the competition and featured Abram Duke, Trevor Ezzell, Ashley Williams, Leslie Brigman, and Mike Jones.

“(Coach) Chris (Fischer) called us the ‘sleeper team,’ so I assumed he knew something I didn’t,” Head Busters teammate Ashley Williams said. “I believed we’d come in top five.”

Added Trevor: “I thought we would do well. I was not expecting to do as well as we did.”

Head Busters members also praised the Hugo Open format. “The WODs were amazing, and I really liked that our teams were picked for us,” Williams said. “It gave me the opportunity to work with people I wouldn’t have thought about.”

The team called #glenpatrickgreganniemiriam was the second-place finisher, and were excited to meet new people and have fun at the event. The team included Glen Wilkins, Patrick Hoydar, Greg Hayes, Annie Berryhill, and Miriam Urbina.

The team called #glenpatrickgreganniemiriam placed second at the Hugo Open. (Glen Wilkins, Annie Berryhill, Patrick Hoydar, Miriam Urbina, Greg Hayes)

“I actually thought we had a pretty solid team and that we’d be competitive for sure,” teammate Annie Berryhill said. “I did not know Miriam (Urbina), so I wasn’t sure of her experience and skills and she turned out to be an animal! Personally, I had not really thought about winning, just about having fun as a team and performing well.”

Judy and the Beasts finished third place in the competition, and included Judy Nam, Justin Flowers, Mario Macrina, Dimy Jeannot, and Leo Ngyun. “I really enjoyed this competition. I liked the format and I know with anything there are pros and cons, and some people may not like it, but overall I thought the Hugo was more competitive and many teams had a chance to podium,” teammate Justin Flowers said. “It was also fun to work out the strategy with your team, and specifically for us, everyone contributed to our score. There wasn’t one person who didn’t set up to help our team. It was fun to watch, and it seems the same of the other teams.”

Judy and the beasts placed third at the Hugo Open (Judy Nam, Justin Flowers, Mario Macrina, Leo Ngyun. Not pictured Dimy Jeannot)

They did have some feedback for the competition. “At First I was not happy about the handstand walk part, and the fact that there were some challenging elements to the first WOD, but afterwards I really thought it was a great idea,” Flowers said. “I am sure it didn’t matter what element you did, you had to work hard and I am sure that almost everyone PR’d their movement. In other words Judy on our team did 60 kettlebell swings during the practice, but did 67 in the WOD, I heard others teams had a similar experience. I think the competitions that allow you to do well at one part, and challenge yourself in another will always be successful, and I feel like this Hugo did that for a lot of people.”

Judy and the beasts also took home the title of Best Team Name, while Reese’s Peepses won Best Team Outfit. The captain of the Reeses’ Peepses, Adam Reese, was named Hugo Open MVP. Eli Bousarkis was crowned Most Spirited and Cameron Weeks was named Best Volunteer.

Sponsors and vendors for the event included Advance Rehab, Taco Mac, Kill Cliff, Ascent Protein, Progenex, SFH, BB&T, Mute Sports Equipment, PTS Promotional, HealthSource, Lynx Barbell.

We really appreciate our volunteers for donating their time: Cameron Weeks, Lee MacDonald, Barbara Parsons, Nate Rushin, Matt Ziesmer, Amy Hood, and Tyler Botts.