Success at the Kill Cliff East Coast Championship
Written by C.J. Martin
We just wrapped up a very successful two weeks for Invictus Athletes. Several of our athletes went from competing in Miami at WODapalooza last weekend, up to Boston for the Kill Cliff East Coast Championship. Despite the short turnaround between competitions, we had three athletes take on the stacked field of individuals at the ECC – Maddy Myers, Regan Huckaby and Rasmus Wisbech Andersen.
Last year’s Kill Cliff ECC was Maddy’s first CrossFit competition, so it was a fun barometer of how far she has come in a year. Last year she ranked 23rd, and this year she landed on the podium in second overall, just a few points behind Sara Sigmundsdottir. Her progress is a credit to her work ethic and consistency. Despite injuries and illnesses, and transitioning to her freshmen year of college in San Diego, Maddy has been undeterred and continued to make forward progress as an athlete. It’s awesome to see her hard work pay off.
Regan Huckaby, who teamed with Maddy and Val Voboril in Miami to win the Elite Female Team competition at WODapalooza, flew back from Miami to Oregon to work and spend time with her husband and two kids before jumping on another cross-country flight to make it to the ECC. Regan competed extremely well. She missed a clean that would have moved her into the final event, but learned the importance of believing in her abilities. She looks better than ever, and is poised for her best season yet.
Rasmus was competing at the ECC for his second year in a row. He took 8th in 2015, and improved on that to earn a 5th place finish this past weekend. A year ago, Rasmus clean and jerked 315 lbs in the spotlight event, and this year he cleaned 345 lbs. Rasmus placed in the top 9 in each event, a well-rounded performance against some phenomenal Games athletes.
Lauren Fisher participated as part of a team with her brother, Garrett, and also lifted alongside CJ Cummings on Saturday to kick off the spotlight Clean & Jerk event.
As a coach, I see WODapalooza and the Kill Cliff ECC as an opportunity for our athletes to have some fun and enjoy the benefits of the hard work they’ve put in during the offseason. It’s an opportunity for them to test themselves, and their results provide inspiration to get back to the gym and continue to work hard toward their goals as the official CrossFit Games season approaches.
I couldn’t be happier with how the off-season competitions went for all of our athletes, and I am as excited as ever for the 2016 CrossFit Games season. For all of our athletes, it’s time to get focused, stay in the gym and off social media, and get prepared for the Open in just over a month. Back to work.