Three Takeaways from Wodapalooza Day 3

The men’s side of the competition lived up to the Moving Day name on Saturday in Miami, FL, while the top of the women’s leaderboard remains largely unchanged. 

Patrick Vellner is still in the lead, and more comfortably so. He has a 56 point lead over Phil Toon, but a handful of other athletes made jumps and slides thanks to Saturday’s two very different events, including Cole Sager, who climbed from fifth to third, while Dallin Pepper, who started the weekend strong and was second after day 1, fell to sixth, and Alexandre Caron dropped from second to fourth.

On the women’s side, the top three are still the top 3—Ellie Turner, Emma McQuaid and Bethany Shadburne—but it’s a much tighter race now. McQuaid and Shadburne both have 501 points, and are well within striking distance of the top spot. Here are three key takeaways from Day 3.

Panchik Brothers Sit Seven, Eight, Nine

After day 2, not a single Panchik brother was in the top 10, but genetics proved to be a real thing on Saturday, as all three managed to launch themselves into contention of finishing in the top five.

Saxon, seventh, leads the brothers with 412 points, just one point over the allegedly retired Scott Panchik—who placed second on Celebrate 10, his best finish of the weekend so far—while Spencer Panchik sits in ninth, just seven points behind Scott.

When asked about his retirement on Thursday before the competition began, Scott said, “I’m a football player. So while I don’t necessarily want to play a whole season, if I have the opportunity to play a play-off game, I will,” he said, adding that this is also only the second time all three of the Panchik’s are competing against each other at a big event.

Sager Doing Sager Things

Sixth after day 1 and fifth after day 2, Cole Sager did what he always does on Saturday: Continue to get better as the weekend progresses and find himself within striking distance of a top spot on the final day of competition.

Although catching Vellner might not be realistic, Sager has the opportunity to create yet another Sager-style entertaining finish to the competition as he, Toon and Alexandre Caron battle for the other two podium spots.

Emma McQuaid’s Quiet Climb to the Top

While not a flashy athlete, Emma McQuaid has been impressive since day 1, and after a big day 2 which included an event win on The Bayside Chipper, she moved into second.

On Saturday, the three-time Games athlete put in two more steady top 10 performances—ninth and seventh—and she enters the final day of competition 24 points behind Turner, with a chance to finish on top of the podium.

Notable:

• 18-year-old Anikha Greer put in the performance of her career on Celebrate 10, making it look effortless and locking up an event win. The community certainly took note of the Canadian teenager, as well, as Greer picked up more than 4,000 followers on Instagram overnight. Her favorite part of the moment: “When (the announcer) kept saying my name,” she said after her win. 

• Arielle Loewen and Lucy Campbell made notable jumps up the leaderboard on Moving Day. Loewen climbed from seventh to fourth, while Campbell, thanks to an event win on the Row Swim Run event, moved from ninth to fifth heading into the final day of competition.

• Before the men took the floor for Celebrate 10, Wodapalooza organizers took a moment to celebrate it being their 10th anniversary. Noah Ohlsen, who competed at the very first Wodapalooza, addressed the crowd and talked about Wodapalooza’s significance both to his career and to the greater CrossFit community. 

Day 3 Leaderboard

1. Ellie Turner (525) | Patrick Vellner (516)
2. Emma Mcquaid (501) | Phil Toon (460)
3. Bethany Shadburne (501) | Cole Sager (454)
4. Arielle Loewen (483) | Alexandre Caron (442)
5. Lucy Campbell (460) | Samuel Cournoyer (428)
6. Dani Speegle (452) | Dallin Pepper (424)
7. Emma Tall (448) | Saxon Panchik (412)
8. Feerozeh Saghafi (439) | Scott Panchik (411)
9. Emily Rolfe (395) | Spencer Panchik (404)
10. Freya Moosbrugger (394) | Jayson Hopper (393)

Women’s/Men’s Teams

1. MayFem (588) | The Boys (585)
2. Team Kriger (585) | Thunder From Down Under (543)
3. Team GOWOD (567) | Team Herculus (498)
4. Born Primitive Underdogs (486) | Mayhem in Paradise  (468)
5. The Comeback Team (465) | Smith Bros (459)
6. Team Fleo Fuego (447) | Samsarellamann (453)
7. Omnia (441) | Invictus (453)
8. 3 Blind Mice (420) | Training Culture (438)
9. Invictus (414) | Two and a Half Men (417)
10. Now or Never (414) | French GOWOD Team (395)