Three Things to Know Going into Day 3 at Brazil
Two days of competition are in the books at the Brazil CrossFit Championship, and the races for who will earn the invite to the 2019 CrossFit Games have solidified. Just one man, one woman, and one team will walk away with a spot to Madison, and with two events on tap for the final day – including one that hasn’t been announced yet – there are a few things to keep your eye on going into Sunday.
Moorad in the Driver’s Seat
Will Moorad on Saturday:
- Event 3 “Graceful Ropes” – 2nd (Saxon – 3rd)
- Event 4 “Strongman’s Wind” – 5th (Saxon – 6th)
- Event 5 “Snatch Ladder” – 2nd (Saxon – 12th)
- Saturday Total – 268 points, the highest of any athlete in the field
Will Moorad had himself a day Saturday, turning an 8 point deficit to Saxon Panchik for the “invite spot,” behind leader Sean Sweeney into a 44 point advantage and the overall lead. Most importantly, he beat Saxon in every event on day 2 and had the strongest moving day of any athlete.
Standings
- Will Moorad (438 pts)
- Saxon Panchik (-44)
- Sean Sweeney (-74)
- Spencer Panchik (-86)
- Zach Watts (-90)
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The Takeaway: Will Moorad controls his destiny Sunday. With only two events, his 44 point lead over Saxon Panchik means that if he finishes 5th or better on the final two workouts he can start booking hotels and a flight to Madison in August.
The one monkey wrench could be if the finale is a multi-part workout with multiple scored elements. More points on the table buys Saxon more opportunity but not much.
Two Horse Race for the Women
It’s a good old-fashioned USA vs. Mexico battle here in Brazil between 2018 Games athlete Paige Semenza and dark horse Cecilia Ramirez Villamil. They’re the only two with a realistic shot at the invite after Day 2. Both Mekenzie Riley (1st), and Carolyne Prevost (T-3rd) have already qualified.
- Semenza on Day 2: 9th, 3rd, 2nd
- Villamil on Day 2: 5th, 5th, 8th
- Semenza outscored Villamil 246 – 228 Saturday
Standings
- Mekenzie Riley (452)
- Cecilia Ramirez Villamil (416)
- Carolyne Prevost (-6)
- Paige Semenza (-6)
- Alison Scudds (-64)
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Why you should watch: Villamil is technically in position to get the invite if the competition ended today but she’s anything but safe at the moment. Semenza has the momentum edge, closing the day with her best finish of the competition while Villamil finished with her worst event finish of the weekend. The six point differential between the two represents just one event placement difference. The first event Sunday is all high skill gymnastics and it could be a winner take all finale between Semenza and Villamil to finish the competition.
Invictus X is in Trouble
- Team Pro1 (496)
- Team CRSC (-12)
- Invictus X (-48)
- East Woodbridge (-156)
- Indomaveis (-176)
The chances of Invictus X reclaiming the spot to the Games that was lost earlier this month looks slim as they’re staring at a significant deficit going into the final day. They’ve struggled to find a rhythm here in Brazil, and instead the battle has been between the Canadian Team Pro1, and the Central California based Team CRSC. Each team has a former individual Games athlete on their roster, with Pro1 adding Joe Scali (who?) to their roster, and CRSC being led by Wes Piatt.
The teams have bested each other three times each this weekend, and the 12 point spread is smaller than it seems. With a field of just 16 teams, the difference in points between placements is actually 12 points, so really just one placement separates them. Each team has also won two events a piece, so it’s likely that the tightly contested race between them continues tomorrow, and Invictus X will need some magic to try and catch them on Sunday.