2011 ABA Natural Illinois Contest Report
The 2011 ABA Natural Illinois Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Championships continues to grow year after year. In only its fourth year, the Natural Illinois Championships has grown from 20 competitors in its first year to 81 competitors this year. The Novice Men, Open Men, Figure Open and Bikini Diva divisions were all very big classes with some great competition.
The competition took place at the beautiful Bolingbrook High School in Bolingbrook, IL on Saturday, April 9th, 2011. I was delighted that most of the 81 competitiors were competing for the first time in this competition and many were competing for the very first time.
The ABA Natural Illinois was sanctioned through the ABA/INBA organization and, for the first time, this contest offered pro cards to the winners of the Men's Open Bodybuilding, Women's Open Bodybuilding, Figure Open, Fitness and Masters Men's Bodybuilding divisions. All the winners from the Natural Illinois are now eligible to compete in the pretigious Natural Universe and Natural Olympia competitions that are held in the fall in California and Reno, Nevada, respectively.
The Fitness division was up first in the contest. Three competitors competed in this entertaining category and the winner was April Slapa from Elgin, Illinois. April also won the Natural North America last August and she dominated this category with her impressive routine as well as her well-developed physique. Laura Roesti was in second place followed by Kerin Martini in third.
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The Fitness Open winners, from left, April Slapa (1st place), Laura Roesti (2nd place) and Kerin Martini (3rd place). |
April Slapa (1st place) |
There was also a teen competitor in the Fitness division. Seventeen-year-old Carly Schmidt showed great promise in winning the Teen Fitness category and she will be a force to be reckoned with in this division in the years to come.
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Shannon Groening presents the Teenage Fitness trophy to Carly Schmidt. |
Carly Schmidt |
In The Men's Teenage Bodybuilding division, four young and promising competitors showed up to take home the winning tropy and sword. Ryan Tuliglowski received the majority of the judges' votes to win the title over Benjamin Hetfleisch. Ryan was more ripped but Ben showed great potential with the amount of thickness he displayed at such a young age. Third place went to the symmetrical AJ Soriano with Andrew Hess in fourth. All of these young men showed promise so I hope they will continue to compete and improve their physiques.
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Teen Mens Bodybuilding winners (from left to right) Benjamin Hetfleisch (2nd place), Ryan Tuliglowski (1st place), AJ Soriano (3rd place) and Andrew Hess (4th place). |
The Novice Women’s Bodybuilding division was won by Bojana Carey from Elmhurst, Illinois. Bojana has nice shape and she won the division uncontested. In the Masters Women Bodybuilding class, Tricia McLaughlin from nearby Frankfort, Illinois was the winner in another uncontested class. Unfortunately for women’s bodybuilding, most of the competitors in today’s competitions are in the bikini and figure classes.
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Laurie Ellis presents the Open Women Bodybuilding trophy to Bojana Carey. |
Bojana Carey won the Novice and Open Womens Bodybuilding divisions. |
Another division that was lightly contested this year is the Model Search category. Reigning Model Search winner Heather Nicole Frystak returned this year to take the title unopposed. Carly Schmidt, who showed off her talents in the Fitness category, competed in this division also and won the title of Teen Model Search.
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Heather Nicole Frystak won the Model Search division for the second year in a row. |
In the Jr. Masters Men bodybuilding (ages 35-39), two men, with completely opposite bodytypes, showed up to take the crown. Niles Eagerman was built like Franco Columbu, with his short thick musculature. Wyatt Foard, in direct contrast to Niles, was tall and very lean. Niles scored a unanimous victory due to his advanced size and thickness.
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Jr. Masters Men Bodybuilding (from left) Niles Eagerman (1st place) and Wyatt Foard (2nd place). |
The Masters Men Bodybuilding division (ages 40-49) was a much closer decision. Ed Castillo, at 49 years young, was hard and ripped with razor-sharp abs and good muscle mass. Last year’s Natural North America Masters overall winner, Larry Montgomery, was pushed down to the unfamiliar position of second place on this night. Larry has great shape and posing ability but was just a little off for this contest and that was enough to lose to a harder competitor like Castillo. In third place was 40 year old Brian Noe, who was much improved from last year after returning to competition from a long layoff.
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Masters Men Bodybuilding (from left) Larry Montgomery (2nd place), Ed Castillo (1st place) and Brian Noe (3rd place). |
Before the intermission, the audience was treated to a guest posing by one of the future stars in the Natural Bodybuilding world. Thomas Anderson, two-time Natural Mr. North America and a class winner at the Natural Olympia, showed off his thick and symmetrical physique dressed as Zeus, “The Father of the Gods”. Thomas will be competing again this year so he should rack up some more titles with all of his potential
After the intermission, some salsa dancers from Studio Viva! in Palatine, Illinois entertained the audience with their incredible athleticism and dancing ability. I like bringing in fitness oriented acts that don’t necessarily have to do with bodybuilding but still display great physical talent and fitness.
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Thomas Anderson guest posing as Zeus. |
Thomas Anderson guest poser. |
The salsa dancers from Studio Viva entertained the audience. |
The Novice Men’s Bodybuilding class was up next and it was the biggest division of the night. We had to split this class into three different height classes because of the large number of competitors. Many of these bodybuilders were competing for the first time ever and they all gave it their best effort.
In the short class, Anthony “Flex” Williams battled it out with Jon-Carlo Astorino for first place. Both of these guys were ripped and ready but “Flex” ended up with the winning trophy after displaying deep, ripped abs and supreme confidence onstage. Jon-Carlo was also super ripped and if he can add some more quality muscle to his frame while maintaining that level of conditioning, his competitive future looks very bright. Third place went to Dr. Adam Hutton, a chiropractor from Deer Park, Illinois. He was followed by the ripped Adam Barrett in fourth place and Alex Martinez in fifth. All five of these guys were ripped and in top shape in this class.
The Novice Medium Class was won with a perfect score by Joe Perez from nearby Joliet, Illinois. Joe had good size and balance and he combined that size with good conditioning to take first place. Massive Ben Haag was in second place with some of the best size in the whole contest. When Big Ben shows up a little harder, he’s going to be a nightmare for the rest of the competitors. Third place went to Adam Schauer from Chicago. Adam has a very promising physique with great balance and excellent conditioning. He just needs to be a little darker and add some more quality size to take that first place trophy home. Teen Men winner Ryan Tuliglowski did well in placing fourth and Vince Bertolini landed in fifth.
The Tall Class in the Novice Men’s division was won with unanimous first place votes by Rhown Levy from Lansing, Illinois. Rhown had very good size and proportion combined with very good conditioning. Ryan Matuszewski from Joliet, Illinois also had good muscle mass with good definition to take the runner-up spot. Dan Noe traveled from Cambridge, Iowa to take third place with his ripped physique. William Ryan was not the biggest guy in the class but he was ripped with excellent separation in his quads along with striated glutes so he took the fourth place spot followed by the very ripped Matt Fernandez in fifth.
For the overall, the judges had to decide between the ripped physique of Anthony “Flex” Williams, the massive Joe Perez or the proportionate Rhown Levy. The decision went to the big and ripped physique of Joe Perez. Joe was overjoyed at winning his first overall decision in this very tough Novice division.
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Novice Men Bodybuilding - Short Class (from left) Adam Barrett (4th place), Jon-Carlo Astorino (2nd place), Anthony "Flex" Williams (1st place), Dr. Adam Hutton (3rd place) and Alex Martinez (5th place). |
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Novice Men Bodybuilding - Medium Class (from left) Ryan Tuliglowski (4th place), Ben Haag (2nd place), Joe Perez (1st place), Adam Schauer (3rd place) and Vince Bertolini (5th place). |
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Novice Men Bodybuilding - Tall Class (from left) William Ryan (4th place), Ryan Matsuzewski (2nd place), Rhown Levy (1st place), Dan Noe (3rd place) and Matt Fernandez (5th place). |
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Novice Men Bodybuilding - Medium Class pose down! |
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Novice Men Bodybuilding - Posing for the Overall title. |
Joe Perez wins the Novice Men's Overall! |
The ever-growing Bikini Diva division was up next. Normally contested in one class, this year the Bikini division was held in two classes. In the short class, Alexis King won a close decision over Kelli Green. Kelly Marie Christiansen from Elgin, Illinois was in third place followed by Dina Castillo in fourth and Kim Sheppard in fifth.
The tall class was won by first time competitor Andrea Stec from Wheaton, Illinois. Andrea had great shape along with a lean, curvy physique. Tiffany Klein was in second place followed by Ashley Johnson in third. Andrea Otten from Brookfield, Illinois was in fourth and Niki Bryant rounded out the top five.
In the overall, two excellent winners from each class strutted their physiques onstage. In the end, the judges went with the tall class winner, Andrea Stec. Andrea was also featured in the Chicago Sun-Times a few days later with a full page color picture courtesy of sports writer Elliott Harris.
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Staci Boyer presents the Short Class awards in Bikini Diva division (from left) Alexis King (1st place), Kelli Green (2nd place), Kelly Marie Christiansen (3rd place), Dina Castillo (4th place), Kim Sheppard (5th place), Gabriela Christopher (6th place) and Josefina Monsevais (7th place). |
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The Bikini Diva Tall Class (from left) Andrea Stec (1st place), Tiffany Klein (2nd place), Ashley Johnson (3rd place), Andrea Otten (4th place), Niki Bryant (5th place), Lauren Simpson (6th place) and Kinga Kelly (7th place). |
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Andrea Stec wins the overall Bikini Diva title! |
Next up was the Masters Figure division for competitors 40-49 years old. Toni Moran from Lockport, Illinois scored a unanimous first place with the judges. She was followed by Kim Zelasko in second place and Rebin Roy in third.
There was only one competitor in the Grand Masters Figure division (age 50 and up) but she was something else. 65 year old Shirley Harrell showed what is possible with a fitness lifestyle as she displayed a physique that looked decades younger. The audience gave Shirley a well-deserved rousing reception for her incredible physique.
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Masters Figure winners (from left) Toni Moran (1st place), Kim Zelasko (2nd place) and Rebin Roy (3rd place). |
The amazing 65-year-old Shirley Harrell wins the Grand Masters Figure division. |
Toni Moran wins the overall Figure Masters division! |
The very competitive Figure Open division was up next. This category has really grown over the last few years and this year, 17 lovely ladies showed up to win the Victory Sword.
In the short class, the most inspirational competitor of the evening made her dream come true by winning first place. Kimmi Arnone, who has multiple sclerosis (MS) as well as cancer, trained and dieted for her first contest while undergoing various treatments of chemotherapy and corticosteroids. One can only imagine the courage and strength of character it took to battle through these illnesses while preparing for a competition but Kimmi did it and she looked fabulous onstage with her lean, muscular physique. Second place in the Figure Open Short Class went to Dr. Wendy Hutton, the wife of Novice Men’s competitor Adam Hutton. Kim Zelasko, who was runner-up in the Figure Masters class, took third place in the open division. The amazing 65-year-old Shirley Harrell was in fourth place followed by Alexis King in fifth.
In the Figure Open Medium Class, Kristin White from Macon, Illinois took all first place votes from the judges with her classical Figure physique including a small waist, wide shoulders and separated quadriceps. Tiffany Boshers was in second place followed by Aubrie Nelson in third. The Fitness Open winner, April Slapa, took fourth place in the Figure division and Jennifer Canales was in fifth.
The Figure Tall Class was won with another unanimous score by Ashley Lopez, the sister of the Bikini Short Class winner Alexis King. Amy Watson and Masters Figure winner Toni Moran were tied for second with Amy winning the tie breaker and landing in second. Fourth place went to Model Search winner Heather Frystak and the statuesque Victoria Singleton took a strong fifth place. Victoria is a potential winner in this division if she can come in a little harder to accentuate her great structure.
For the overall Figure Open division, it came down to Kimmi Arnone from the short class, Kristin White from the medium class and Ashley Lopez from the tall class. Kristen combined the overall shape with muscle development and conditioning to win the overall Figure Open.
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Figure Open Short Class (from left) Kimmi Arnone (1st place), Wendy Hutton (2nd place), Kim Zelasko (3rd place), Shirley Harrell (4th place), Alexis King (5th place) and Rebin Roy (6th place). |
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Figure Open Medium Class (from left) April Slapa (4th place), Tiffany Boshers (2nd place), Kristin White (1st place), Aubrie Nelson (3rd place) and Jennifer Canales (5th place). |
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Figure Open Tall Class (from left) Ashley Lopez (1st place), Amy Watson (2nd place), Toni Moran (3rd place), Heather Frystak (4th place), Victoria Singleton (5th place) and Mekenna Guarino (6th place). |
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Elliott Harris from the Chicago Sun-Times and 2010 Figure Open winner Maggie Pawalek present the Overall Figure Open Victory Sword to Kristin White. |
Kristin White wins the Overall Figure Open title! |
The 2011 ABA Natural Illinois finished with the popular Men’s Open division. The super ripped Ed Castillo, who earlier in the night won the Masters Men division, returned to the stage to beat the young guys in the Men’s Open Short class. No one could match Ed’s incredible abs and ripped conditioning. The Jr. Masters Men winner, Niles Eagerman, was solidly in second place with his thick muscularity. Third place went to the ripped Jon-Carlo Astoria with Adam Hutton in fourth and Alex Martinez in fifth.
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Thomas Anderson awards the Men's Open Short Class (from left) Dr. Adam Hutton (4th place), Niles Eagerman (2nd place), Ed Castillo (1st place), Jon-Carlo Astorino (3rd place) and Alex Martinez (5th place). |
In the medium class, 23 year old Ryan Doris dominated this division with his massive and proportionate physique. Displaying huge quads, a tapered waist and wide lats, Ryan gracefully displayed the best physique onstage that night. The improvements that Ryan has made in the last two years (he made his contest debut at this very same show in 2009) are astounding. If he continues to improve, he may very well establish himself as one of the best natural pro bodybuilders in the world.
Following up in the runner-up position was the excellent physique of Larry Montgomery. Larry has very nice shape along with good muscular development and he is an excellent poser. Third place went to the newly crowned Novice Men’s Overall winner, Joe Perez with massive Ben Haag in fourth place. Ryan Kraft was the fifth place men’s winner in this class.
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The Men's Open Medium Class posedown! |
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The Men's Open Medium Class (from left) Ben Haag (4th place), Larry Montgomery (2nd place), Ryan Doris (1st place), Joe Perez (3rd place) and Ryan Kraft (5th place). |
The tall class in the Men’s Open division was easily won by Caleb Brandholt. Caleb made quite an impression last year by winning the Novice Men’s division and he came back this year with a bigger albeit not quite as ripped physique. Caleb has very good deltoids, chest and quads and he just needs to bring up his back to balance out his physique (although is back was noticeably improved this year).
In second place was the ripped physique of Jeff Willardson. Jeff had a wide back with a huge ribcage but needed more development in his legs and chest to improve his proportions. Bill Ryan moved up a spot from his placing in the Novice Men’s class to third here. The popular Lewis Calloway was a little smooth this time out and landed in fourth followed by Justin Lantz in fifth.
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The Men's Open Tall Class (from left) Lewis Calloway (4th place), Jeff Willardson (2nd place), Caleb Brandholt (1st place), Bill Ryan (3rd place) and Justin Lantz (5th place). |
Before the overall posedown took place, the Men’s Bodypart Awards were handed out. In a clear sweep, Ryan Doris won Best Chest, Best Back, Best Arms, Best Legs and Most Muscular with Ed Castillo winning Best Abs.
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Ryan Doris won Best Chest, Back, Arms, Legs and Most Muscular! |
49-year-old Ed Castillo won Best Abs! |
Ed Castillo tells the audience how he got so ripped |
Ryan’s domination of the bodypart awards led into his taking the overall title of Natural Mr. Illinois. Although Ed Castillo and Caleb Brandholt looked very good, Ryan had too complete of a physique to be denied the title. Keep your eye on this young man because he has quite a future ahead of him.
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The Men's Open Overall Posedown with Ed Castillo (Short Class winner), Ryan Doris (Medium Class winner) and Caleb Brandholt (Tall Class winner). |
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Pierce Walker, 2010 Natural Illinois Overall winner and Thomas Anderson present the Victory Sword to Men's Open Overall winner Ryan Doris. |
Ryan Doris, Natural Illinois Bodybuilding Champion! |
I want to sincerely thank all my sponsors for supporting Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness. Optimum Nutrition and American Bodybuilding, Capitol Nutrition, Nutrition Discounters, Pride Nutrition, Chiro One, Govan Fitness and Studio Vida.
The 2011 Natural North America Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure Championships are set for Saturday, August 13th at Bolingbrook High School in Bolingbrook. This should be a great event with our special guest poser, Natural Olympia Champion Philip Ricardo performing. See you there!!
If you would like to purchase the full 5 DVD set of the contest featuring all the coverage from both the prejudging and evening show, contact George Pradel at www.pradelproductions.com. All 5 DVD’s are only $50, a great deal!
To purchase pictures from the competition, contact Rufus Austin at 630-430-6306 or email him at r2aphotography@gmail.com. |
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