Fitness, Fraser, and Finals (at West Point): Get to Know CrossFit Newcomer Cale Layman
As we move from the Open to Quarterfinals, the CrossFit community is accustomed to seeing many of the usual names at the top of the leaderboard. But this year, after what some may say is an Open with a different feel, there are several names high up on the leaderboard that are new to everyone.
One new name is Cale Layman, who finished seventh in the Open, one spot ahead of defending champion Jeff Adler.
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Turning to CrossFit
Layman grew up in Williston, VT, and has always been into fitness, playing hockey, football, baseball, and lacrosse in high school. Layman chatted with the Morning Chalk Up about his background and experience in the 2024 Open.
“Football and hockey were my favorites – I went back and forth depending on the year,” Layman says. “I probably could have gone to play D3 college football, but I just didn’t feel like going to those schools.”
Layman had other goals. He had always wanted to be in the military, and when West Point accepted his application, he couldn’t turn it down. He graduates this spring with a degree in civil and mechanical engineering. CrossFit played a significant role in his time at West Point after discovering the sport early on.
“I was in a really bad spot in my first two years at West Point and got really unfit, just hanging around the wrong people,” he says. “I stumbled into an open CrossFit workout because I thought, what’s the hardest thing I know – it’s CrossFit. And so I thought, why not try that to get myself back on a better journey.”
He continued: “I loved it and started doing it on my own. Soon after I started, the team had their tryouts, and I made the team.”
Layman trains at Black and Gold CrossFit, a competitive club at West Point and the home of the U.S. Military Academy’s Functional Fitness Team.
Layman explained how it works: “Several other military academies have the same thing – it is a club and a competitive affiliate. For instance, there are some at Penn State, Pitt, and around the East Coast. These schools will host the competitions, and you go to their campus and compete just like you would with any other college sport. It’s really big out here.”
Layman tried out for a spot on the co-ed team with 10 other guys and made the cut after nailing a workout with wall balls, rowing, and overhead lunges. He made the team shortly before the 2023 Open and joined the team to tackle the workouts together.
“Our gym is a really small space with low ceilings, so I had to run upstairs to do the ring muscle ups in 23.1,” Layman remembers.
Layman had an average finish in the 2023 Open, with his best workout being 23.2, the shuttle runs and burpee pull-ups.
But 2024 was an entirely different story.
Tackling the 2024 CrossFit Open
When the first workout of the 2024 CrossFit Open was released, Layman was excited: “I mean burpees and snatches – I love burpees, and I don’t hate a dumbbell snatch.”
He logged his score, put away his phone, and continued his week. It wasn’t until a couple of friends from the gym told Layman that he was 10th on the leaderboard that he even checked.
“My thought process was, I got one good workout that was in my wheelhouse, burpees and snatches,” Layman says. “It was a short-guy workout, something I’m good at. Let’s see what happens next; there are still more workouts out there.”
In the second week, 24.2 was released, and, once again, Layman was pleasantly surprised.
“I liked it. I knew the deadlift and the dubs would be fine, and then the rowing was short enough, just 300 meters,” Layman says. “My mindset going into it was that I’d done 10 300-meter repeats enough times in my training. It will hurt, but it won’t be bad.”
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Once again, he logged his score and put away his phone. Layman entered week three in third place on the leaderboard, with a chance to win the Open. He didn’t know where he stood until a friend sent him a clip from the Talking Elite Fitness podcast.
“I didn’t think it was real at first because I thought, why are they talking about me? I’m just some no-name kid from Vermont doing these workouts,” he says.
But, hey, a few years ago, there was another no-name guy from Vermont who did CrossFit, and he did fairly well for himself. (We obviously mean Mat Fraser — more on him in a bit.)
“Sitting at that spot on the leaderboard didn’t change my goal,” he says. “At the same time, whatever the workout is, you go out there and give it the best shot you got, and I still had that mindset. I got lucky on two workouts — this third one could be something I don’t want.”
Despite the success, Layman had no thought about trying to win the Open.
“It wasn’t until the officer in charge of our team came up to me and said, ‘What are your thoughts on this? Are you going to try to win,’” he says. “I didn’t know what he meant; the thought of winning the Open had never even crossed my mind. It was so wild having that conversation.”
The push to win didn’t change how Layman played the game and approached 24.3.
“No matter what, I will put out in the workout,” Layman says. “I didn’t think when I was doing it that I had to win this; it was more just pushing myself to get a score that I’m proud of.”
He did get a score that he was proud of, and even though it wasn’t enough to win the Open, it put him in seventh place overall. Now, the focus moves to the next stage of the competition.
What’s Next?
“I have had the same goals since starting the Open Season: make it to Quarterfinals to start. My goal has been to finish in the top 200, and at the end of Quarterfinals, ideally, I’d like to make it semi-finals,” Layman says.
“I realize that being in the top 40 in my region will be hard, but I don’t think it has changed any of my goals or perspectives on the workouts. Part of me still thinks I just got lucky with three good workouts. Either way, it shows I can compete with some of these top ten guys in these workouts.”
Worth noting: Layman has also unofficially won two categories in Service Open: Fittest Active Duty Military and Fittest College Student.
With their small setup at West Point, the crew plans to request to leave campus to do the workouts at Orchard Valley, the closest affiliate.
Dealing with a lot of variables has become second nature to Layman.
“You have to be relaxed and go with the flow,” Layman says. “Things pop up all the time, and things get in your way. If you freak out about every little thing, it just makes your life so much worse.”
Layman has two Games athletes that he looks up to and tries to model himself after.
“First off, definitely Mat Fraser. When I was younger and used to go to the gym, I would drive by him doing crazy workouts in the parking lot of Champlain Valley CrossFit,” Layman says. “I would see him working out and driving his blue Ford F150 everywhere.”
The other athlete was given his own spotlight during the 24.2 live announcement.
“Lately, it’s been Colten Mertens,” Layman says. “I think seeing someone with a similar body type and a similar sort of daily life — he works a full job as a farmer and then goes and trains — is cool. Just being able to relate to him — he’s a great dude.”
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Layman and his friends invited Fraser and the HWPO team to campus to tour the club, as the affiliate does HWPO programming. Everyone hit a workout and bonded. Now, Layman has a place to train when he has time off school.
“I’ve been working out at their facilities over spring break,” Layman says. “They’ve been wonderful about opening their doors to me. It is really convenient and only ten minutes from my house. It’s so amazing — I don’t know how I got so lucky to be able to walk into that. Having those guys as a resource is crazy.”
Layman hopes not to see a heavy barbell in Quarterfinals, but even if he does, he has been training strength and is hopeful he can make it through.
And Semifinals? They are scheduled for the week after he graduates in May.
“Hopefully, I can get there, and it can all work out,” he laughs.
Featured image: @cale_layman_ / Instagram