The Teens’ Turn: The Pit Elite Teen Throwdown Offers Conclusion

Another live, in-person competition is on tap for teen athletes who saw their 2020 CrossFit Games season come to an end due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An officially licensed CrossFit event, The Elite Teen Throwdown is being held in Three Rivers, MI at the Pit Fitness Ranch for athletes in the teen divisions Sept. 4-6.

How to watch: The competition will not have a livestream but will offer some coverage via their Instagram Live. John Wooley from Make Pods Great Again will be providing recaps at the conclusion of each day.

• Throwdowns will be providing live leaderboards.

The divisions: Forty six athletes spread throughout four divisions will converge on the sprawling outdoor complex of the Pit Fitness Ranch where the future of the sport will be on display as they tackle 11 events over the course of three days of competition programmed by Grit Performance.

14-15 division

• Boys: Seven boys make up the field with 15-year old Dillon Cannon the favorite on paper. Cannon just missed out on receiving his first Games invitation, finishing 11th in the Age Group Online Qualifier. In the Worldwide Open, Cannon was sixth in his age group division and third in the United States. Landen Ryan placed 19th in the AGOQ and 16th in the Open. Qadry Williams has competed in two Opens finishing 10th in the division in 2020 and followed that with a 25th place in the AGOQ. Andrew Martin has traveled to Michigan from Canada and is one of four competitors in the field traveling from outside the United States.

• Girls: This division is stacked as seven of the athletes would have competed at this year’s Games. Fourteen of the fifteen girls finished within the top-35 of the divisions AGOQ. Heading that pack is Sophie Shaft, the only athlete in the division who has competed in Madison. Shaft tied for the division AGOQ title after finishing third in the Open. Last year at the Games she placed eighth as a 14-year old. Jadzia Onorati-Phillips was fourth in the AGOQ with an eighth place in the Open. She competed at Wodapalooza, finishing third. Jacob Heppner’s understudy Olivia Kerstetter would have made her debut at the Games as the 14-year old placed sixth in the AGOQ. She placed fourth in the Open and against a tough Wodapalooza division finished fourth. Dariana Rosales was the top teen in Mexico within the division and finished tenth in the AGOQ. Rebekah Devine (seventh in the AGOQ), Reese Crowder (eighth in the AGOQ) and Bianca Miller (ninth in the AGOQ) round out the athletes who would have made their Games debut.

16-17 division

• Boys: The division features 13 athletes including Games athletes Tudor Magda and Anthony Re. Magda missed out on making Games history as he was denied becoming just the third teenager to qualify for the Games in all four years of eligibility. He did become just the third teenager to win multiple AGOQs after winning his division this year. The 2018 “Fittest 14-15 Year Old” finished third at the Games last year in his debut in the 16-17 year old division. Magda competed in the 16-18 year old division at Wodapalooza, taking home the title. Re competed against Magda as a 15-year old at the 2018 Games. In his only Games appearance, Re finished 12th. He placed sixth in the AGOQ this year to secure his second Games invite. Canadian Marcello Clarizio won his country’s title in the division and finished 20th in the AGOQ after placing ninth in the Open. Two other athletes to keep an eye out on include Morgan Adams (16th in the Open/20th in the AGOQ) and Will Campbell (25th in the Open/15th in the AGOQ).
• Girls: Three of the top-ten from the AGOQ and four Games athletes will be competing. Paulina Haro travelled from Mexico to put an end to their first season in her new division. Haro was a two-time Games athlete in the 14-15 division, placing sixth both times. The 16-year old finished seventh in this year’s AGOQ to earn her third-straight Games invite. Lexi Neely competed at the 2018 Games in the 14-15 year old division, placing 19th. She finished sixth in the AGOQ. Chloe Honaker competed at the Games last year as a 15-year old, placing seventh. This year she placed 11th in the AGOQ, just missing the Games invite. Brady Wallace placed ninth in the AGOQ to earn her first Games invite. Eyes will be on Mal O’Brien who returns to competition after taking the 2020 season off initially. O’Brien is a two-time Games athlete in the 14-15 year old division placing fourth in 2018 and fifth in 2019. She won the online qualifier for the Elite Teen Throwdown to earn her invite to the competition. Sarah Schaefer (12th in the AGOQ), Olivia Golembiewski (19th in the AGOQ) and Jordan Szewc (25th in the AGOQ) round out the top athletes from the AGOQ.