The final In-Person Qualifying Event (IPQE) of the 2025 CrossFit Games season starts on Friday at Discovery Park in Sacramento, CA.
The Northern California Classic features 48 men and 43 women competing for two spots each at this summer’s CrossFit Games in Albany, NY.
- Athletes qualified for the competition through either an online qualifier held back in January or based on their finishes in the 2025 CrossFit Open. Additionally, some received special invitations.
After this weekend, only one man’s and one woman’s ticket to the Games will remain, which will be determined via the Last Chance Qualifier next weekend.
- Check out the full Northern California Classic rosters here.
- Full leaderboards are available here.
- See who has already qualified for the CrossFit Games here.
As we head into the final IPQE of the 2025 season, here are five things you need to know:
Table of Contents
The 2025 NorCal Classic Will Be Live-Streamed via the Sevan Podcast
For the second consecutive year, this weekend’s event will be live-streamed on Sevan Matossian’s The Sevan Podcast.
Matossian, a CrossFit pioneer, filmmaker, and podcaster, is best known for his outspoken and often controversial podcasts; however, his team has also been exploring the live-streaming competition scene in recent months.
- The Sevan Podcast crew also covered last weekend’s Syndicate Crown IPQE, as well as the Zelos Games in Las Vegas and Crash Crucible in South Carolina.
We Only Know Heavy Isabel, So Far
Unlike the other IPQEs this season, Northern California Classic organizers have decided to keep the workouts close to their chest.
- As of Tuesday, other than Heavy Isabel – 30 snatches for time at 225/155 pounds – no other workouts had yet been revealed.
While some athletes are okay with not knowing what’s in store for them, many others prefer some advance notice to put together their game plans and practice workouts, or parts of workouts, ahead of time.
More Than One Female Games Vet Will Be Left Out
The women’s field in Sacramento features five athletes who have competed in the Games at least three times:
- Alex Gazan (3)
- Emily Rolfe (5)
- Bethany Flores (7)
- Caroline Prevost (3)
- Kristin Holte (8)
Gazan chose to forgo the In-Affiliate Semifinals and put all of her eggs in the Northern California Classic basket, winning the World Fitness Project (WFP) Tour Event I along the way. She has to be considered the frontrunner this weekend.
However, after Gazan, we see at least six to eight more women in contention for an invite this weekend.
- We’ll be closely watching Rolfe, last year’s CrossFit Games bronze medalist, who has been dealing with a back injury in recent weeks that caused her to withdraw from WFP Tour Event I, along with other Games veterans Flores, Prevost, and Holte.
- Additionally, there are several other athletes in the field who have previously competed at the Games and cannot be overlooked, including last year’s Games rookie Hattie Kanyo, 2023 Games athlete Sydney Wells, and 2022 competitor Rebecca Fuselier.
Throw in some up-and-coming would-be rookies, including Trista Smith and Caitlin Bernardin, and we can expect the women’s race to come down to the final event.
Speaking of Holte…
A lot of eyes this weekend will also be on Norway’s eight-time Games veteran and 2019 podium finisher, Holte, and whether she’s really serious about returning to the Games.
- Remind me: Holte retired after the 2021 Games season, went on to have a child, and solidified her role as a coach and mentor with Kriger Training. However, last season, she returned to competition at the 2024 Dubai Fitness Championships and finished fifth.
Holte did not compete in the In-Affiliate Semifinals. Still, if her Open finish this season is any indication – seventh in the world and second in the women’s 35-39-year-old division – then she might just be serious about a comeback to the Games.
Expect a Male Rookie to Emerge
On the men’s side, there are only three athletes with individual Games experience on the roster, and two of them – Chris Ibarra and Colten Mertens – have already qualified through the Fittest Experience and the Mayhem Classic, respectively. The third athlete is two-time Games athlete Spencer Panchik.
We will be keeping our eyes on a few would-be rookies this weekend, including:
- Drake Lewis: He has competed in the Semifinals for the past three seasons and placed 41st at the recent In-Affiliate Semifinals.
- Jorge Fernandez: He has participated on a team three times at the CrossFit Games, and his team won it all in 2023. He also finished 21st in the In-Affiliate Semifinals.
- Max Krieg: He came close to qualifying for the Games in the last two seasons, placing 15th and 16th in 2023 and 2024, respectively, at the North America West Semifinals.
- William Leahy: He has competed in the Semifinals for the last three seasons and placed 19th at the In-Affiliate Semifinals.
The Big Picture
After this weekend, we will know 29 out of the 30 men and women who will vie for the title Fittest on Earth this summer in Albany, NY.
We’ll be paying close attention to Gazan, Rolfe, Flores, and Holte battling it out on the women’s side, and Panchik and a host of eager challengers looking to earn their first Games invite on the men’s side.
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Featured Image: Scott Freymond
