Local Residents Qualify for SteelFit Championships Finals

John Badala competed at the Lawrenceville Qualifier this past Saturday and were named finalists for the Super SteelFit Championships.

The Super SteelFit Championships, a series of intense qualifying fitness competitions leading up to the championship on the Jersey Shore, held its third qualifier at the Lawrenceville National Guard Armory on Saturday, May 17th.

Sixty-eight athletes from all over New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania competed in four different workouts, which included deadlifts, thrusters, burpees, rowing, and a bear complex ladder, that tested various aspects of fitness.

Major Omar Minott of the New Jersey Army National Guard awarded the finalists with their SteelFit Championships Finalist Medals.

For the Women’s Scaled Division, Coretta Zodel of CrossFit Primeval, Blair Lamb of Pennington CrossFit, Kristen Doran of Pennington CrossFit, Caitlyn Carman of Transform CrossFit, Courtney Miller of CrossFit Primeval, Ashley DeRose of CrossFit Razor and Ashley Johnston of CrossFit Randolph all qualified for the Finals.

“We had six women compete today from CrossFit Primeval. We had decided if one of us was going to compete we all would; let’s do this together as a team,” said Courtney Miller of CrossFit Primeval.

“We said that together we could do this,” added Coretta Zodel of CrossFit Primeval.

For the Women’s RX Division, Michelle Kasker of CrossFit Inspire (PA), Nicole Ninomiya of CrossFit 201, Christina Carr of No Limit Gym- CrossFit Go Hard (PA), Nicole Stefano of CrossFit Off the Grid, and Madalyn Rodriguez of CrossFit KOA are all advancing on.

“Today was awesome. They were not your typical WODs with a pull up rig or stuff like that so it was challenging, but I had a lot of fun,” said Christina Carr of CrossFit Go Hard. “This is my first individual competition I’ve done and it will be my first time competing on the beach so I am super excited for Jenkinson’s.”

For the Men’s Scaled Division, the finalists are Alex Cook of CrossFit Randolph, Luke Ninomiya of CrossFit Red Bank, John Crane of CrossFit LBC (PA), Timothy Petrin of CrossFit Razor, and Brian Coyne of CrossFit Lindy (NY).

For the Men’s Executive Division (40 plus years old), Bart Zimmermann of CrossFit 908 and Wayne Megill of Brandywine CrossFit (PA) are both advancing to the Finals.

For the Men’s RX division, Corey Lunney of CrossFit Shrewsbury, John Badala of CrossFit KOA, Jason D’Agostino of CrossFit Garwood, Kevin Saum of ZS Fitness, Brian Zimmerman of CrossFit Jungle Gym, Patrick Long of Transform CrossFit, John Haney of CrossFit LBC (PA), and Michael McCartney of CrossFit Go Hard (PA) will all be competing at Jenkinson’s in the Finals.

John Haney will be making his second appearance at the Finals.

“I was a spectator at the Toms River Qualifier where we had a bunch of CF Shrewsbury athletes compete and I got the itch to compete so I decided to sign up for this qualifier,” said Corey Lunney of CrossFit Shrewsbury. “We have a really good community at CrossFit Shrewsbury and a lot of people really into competing so it’s a really fun environment to be in. We will probably train together for Jenks.”

“Judging the Finals last year made me regret not signing up for the competition. Now this year, I had a blast,” said John Badala of CrossFit KOA. “I am definitely going to alter my training for now for the beach with a lot more conditioning workouts.”

“The Finals field is almost set with our Woodbridge qualifier on May 31st being the last chance for athletes to advance to the beach.  We witnessed great determination and drive on Saturday in Lawrenceville, by every athlete. We are proud to provide this platform for SteelFitters,” said Armand Milanesi, Event Founder.

This year’s Super SteelFit Championships corporate partners include the New Jersey Army National Guard, Scion, Nutrishop, North Jersey Orthopaedic Group, Jack-EE-Boyz Equipment, Champion System, Atlas Power Wraps and JAG Physical Therapy. In addition, there were representatives from Strengthlete (formerly Heavy Athletics Nutrition), Warrior Wellness Center, Schuylkill Valley Sports, WOD Cloth and Paleo Cuisine on site.

The Finals will be held on the beach at Jenkinson’s Boardwalk on Saturday, June 21st with the final ‘SteelFitters’ competing for over $7,500 prize purse. For more information about the Super SteelFit Championships, visit www.steelfitchampionships.com.