Sacramento Pro...

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Official List of Competitors....



Feb. 24, 2007 - Feb. 24, 2007



Men

Bryan Carmichael
Gianluca Catapano
Kris Dim
Aiman Faour
Toney Freeman
Ahmed Haidar
Marcus Haley
Rusty Jeffers
Rod Ketchens
Daniele Seccarecci
Sergey Shelestov
Rashid Shabazz
Joel Stubbs
Clifton Torres
Luke Wood
Hidetada Yamagishi
Eryk Bui
Omar Deckard


Women

Irene Andersen
Angela Debatin
Heather Foster
Aurella Grozajova
Rosemary Jennings
Cathy LeFrancois
Maria Lehtonen
Jana Linke-Sippl
Mah Ann Mendoza
Emery Miller
Gayle Moher
Antoinette Norman
Vicki Nixon
Jeannie Paparone
Kim Perez
Heather Policky
Brenda Raganot
Carla Salotti

[THE BOUNCER]

Freemans show again.

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Agreed - I don't see this weeks show being much different from last weeks...

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Freeman may still be able to walk away with this show BUT the top five looks much much much better this week compared to last weeks mess IMO - everyone except Freeman looks like they've tightened things up and the competition in the first callout seems much better than the Ironman....

Either way - it's good to see Yamagishi in the top 5 - he really impressed me last week - he definitely has potential!

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If anyone wants the rest of the callouts I'll post them but no one there impresses me - also - if anyone wants shots of the females up please feel free to ask - I just don't have time right now but I can get to them later tonight if someone will just let me know they want them...

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Written by Dave Palumbo

1. Toney Freeman
2. Silvio Samuel
3. Hidetada Yamagishi
4. Ahmed Haidar
5. Marcus Haley

Toney Freeman made it two in a row in 2007 as he swept through Sacramento and picked up his second win in as many weeks. While not as tight as he was last weekend in Pasadena for the Ironman, Freeman had more than enough "stuff" to dominate the competition and pocket a nice chunk of change in the process. According the FLEX WHEELER, the "X-Man" has got plenty of momentum going into next week's highly competitive Arnold Classic.

Silvio Samuel easily snagged the 2nd Place spot that most observers agreed was "stolen" from him (by the judges) at last weekend' s Ironman. Samuel's incredible round muscle bellies and cross-striated glutes made him a fan favorite.

Japanese standout Hidetada Yamagishi also moved up in the rankings and snagged a highly coveted Mr. Olympia qualification in the process by placing 3rd behind Freeeman and Samuel. Just for the record, this is the first time a Japanese man will appear in the Mr. Olympia contest. Look for good things from this ultra thick, and shredded, newcomer.

Ahmad Haider may not have been the biggest man on the stage, but he was definitely one of the most shredded. It was this incredible conditioning together with some of the most incredible abdominal musculature in the business that helped him to nail down the number 4 spot tonight.

Rounding out the top 5 was the ever-consistent Marcus Haley who grabbed the 5th spot, as he did last week in Pasadena. Haley has gotten progressively better from show to show and if these early 2007 shows are any indication, Haley is sure to improve by the time the Mr Olympia comes around in the Fall 2007.

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Written by Steve Wennerstrom


HEAVYWEIGHT:
1. Heather Policky **
2. Kim Perez
3. Brenda Ragonot
4. Mah Ann Mendoza
5. Helen Boushard

LIGHTWEIGHT:
1. Toni Norman
2. Cathy LaFrancois
3. Vickie Nixon
4. Gayle Moher
5. Angela Debatin

**Overall: Heather Policky

TONIE NORMAN SCORES STUNNING UPSET IN LIGHTWEIGHT CLASS:

After a morning prejudging that saw Cathy LeFrancois make her season debut a bright one, the consensus of opinion among the sports cognoscenti was that she was poised to grab the lightweight title with relative ease. As a former winner of the lightweight class at the 2004 Ms. International, LeFrancois gave the figure division a try with a less than satisfying result. After a rush to compete at the 2006 Atlantic City Pro show a week before last year's Ms. Olympia where she finished ninth in a controversial decision, she entered this event with all cylinders firing. Overall Lefrancois' conditioning was sound (considering she is still a week out from the Ms. International) and she showed excellent balance and muscle shapes from head to toe. At the evening show, LeFrancois followed up with a beautifully choreographed routine that was the best performance of the evening in either class.

Strangely, the judges seemingly overlooked these qualities and awarded Tonie Norman the lightweight title. A solid bodybuilder in her own right, Norman has past Ms. Olympia experience and perhaps experience ruled the day in Sacramento as Norman took the class and with it the coveted Ms. Olympia qualification.

Vickie Nixon and Gayle Moher finished in 3rd and 4th respectively.

Rounding out the class was Brazil's veteran Angela Debatin and 2005 NPC National LW champion Carla Salotti making her second appearance as a pro after debuting at the Atlantic City contest last year.

Among the heavyweights in a field of eight contestants, Heather Policky - making her pro debut - at a bodyweight of 170, wowed the audience with outstanding muscle shapes and a superior overall structure. She easily won the class and proved that even rookies can be dangerous on the Women's Pro level.

There is an age old adage that you only have one opportunity to make a first impression, and in Heather Policky's case, the 2006 USA champion left a major impression on a panel of judges and an enthusiastic audience that had gathered at the Crest Theatre for the Sacramento Grand Prix. This February 24th event served as a mini-preview of the upcoming Ms. International next week in Columbus as four of the contestants in the field of 14 at this event took an opportunity to try out their routines and gather valuable opinions as to their progress in reaching prime condition for the Arnolds Sports Festival Weekend. Promoted by the west coast duo of Jon Lindsay and Steve O' Brien, the Sacramento event gave the women's side of the sport an additional competitive opportunity with $6,000 in prize money and two qualifying spots made available for the Ms. Olympia. An added perk was that the promoters offered weight classes with lightweights (under 135 pounds) and heavyweights (over 135 pounds).

Chasing Policky with a very well-conditioned 149-pound physique, Kim Perez was impressive with her tiny waistline sitting under an very impressive upper body that sports huge arms and shoulders and a great back double biceps pose. However, giving up 21 pounds to Policky made it too difficult for Perez to top the new Colorado pro.

Oregon's Mah-Ann Mendoza who missed making the lightweight category when she weighed in at 136 1/2 pounds, finished in the third spot. The pound-and-a-half cost her as she would have been a major player had she been in the lightweight class. But........woulda been, coulda been shoulda been. You gotta make weight.

Others in this class included Canada's Helen Bouchard - an eighth-place finisher at last year's Ms. Olympia - who made a last minute decision to enter this event just weeks earlier, made a good showing of herself (finishing 5th) and showed impressive upper body development at a weight of 166 pounds. Heather Foster weighed in at 173 pounds and that poundage was simply too high for her to reach a level of hard conditioning to be competitive in this group.

Slovakia's Aurelia Grozajova miscued by not using a darker tanning application, and at a height of 5-10, her bodyweight of 140 pounds just didn't fill out her physique to make a significant impact. Sweden's Irene Andersen made her pro debut with many observers commenting on her strong resemblance to a smaller version of Tazzie Colomb.

In the end, it was Heather Policky taking home the heavyweight and overall title in the 1st Annual Sacramento Women's Pro Show.