Last week, The Titan Games saw a powerful display by Kelly Valdez and a gutsy performance by Noah Palicia over his brother Eric. Both rose to the occasion on Mount Olympus and became Titans in the premiere of the West Region.
This week, the men’s division pitted security guard Mitch Harrison and athletics director Exodus Rogers head-to-head for a chance to replace Palicia on Mount Olympus.
In the women’s division, 6-time CrossFit Games individual competitor Margaux Alvarez was paired against 2-time CrossFit Games team competitor Kelly Stone. Whomever defeats the other would get a shot at dethroning Valdez.
In both divisions, the athletes that won best two out of three events advanced to Mount Olympus.
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Launch Pad — Men’s Division
The goal of the event is to knock down four 250lb slabs suspended fifteen feet in the air while swinging from a gymnastic ring. It is a grueling test of balance and grip strength. First athlete to knock off all four slabs wins.
Both got off to weary starts building momentum, but Harrison found his footing first to drop the initial panel. By the time Rogers got on the board, Harrison already dropped his second panel.
Rogers wasted no time getting back to parity and used his momentum to drop his last two panels in rapid succession to pull off a big comeback victory.
- Rogers — 1
- Harrison — 0
Nuts & Bolts — Women’s Division
Each athlete is assigned a wall with long pegs that are weighed down with large plates for a combined weight of 1,200lb. Competitors race to spin plates off their respective wall so they can pull it down using rope. The first athlete to bring down their wall and pull the Victory Chain wins.
Stone utilized her height advantage to drop the pegs from the higher pegs quickly, but Alvarez was able to keep pace.
Stone made the calculated decision to attempt to pull her wall down with 245lb left on it. Alvarez, who also had 245lb left, was compelled to do the same.
After several difficult pulls, Stone opted to rush back to pull off more plates. However, Alvarez held her ground and continued to pull and it paid off. She toppled her wall, pulled the victory chain, and claimed victory.
- Alvarez — 1
- Stone — 0
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Over the Edge — Men’s Division
A unique take on the classic tug-of-war, both athletes stand atop opposing platforms and pull on a 75 foot heavy chain attached a 75 foot rope. The rope is connected to the same giant block in between them. Once athletes have a hold of the rope and it’s taught, they must pull the block until it knocks over a Titan Relic latch on their side. Whomever knocks over their relic first wins.
Both competitors pulled their chain in synchronized fashion at get to the tug-of-war simultaneously. The advantage leaned towards Harrison’s bodyweight of 200lb against Rogers’ 180lb.
Ultimately, it came down to better technique for Rogers who had stronger leverage that overpowered Harrison. Rogers headed to Mount Olympus.
- Rogers — Advanced
- Harrison — Eliminated
Lunar Impact — Women’s Division
Both athletes race up a 25-foot ladder to opposite ends of a narrow ledge. They then run along the edge to the Sensor Wall. The winner is whomever able to push the wall all the way to the opponent’s end and knock them off the ledge.
Stone won the race up the ladder and got a huge initial shove on the Sensor Wall. Alvarez collided hard to halt the momentum and the battle was on.
Just as it was with the men in Over the Edge, discrepancy in techniques dictated control. Stone positioned herself low on the wall with fully extended arms — a prowler push position. Alvarez stuck tight and upright against the wall.
As Stone’s technique began giving her the advantage, Alvarez switched it up and pinned her back to the wall to push. The strategic change halted Stone in her tracks as fatigue set in.
A brief lapse in focus from Stone gave Alvarez the window she needed to generate enough momentum to push Stone all the way back and off the ledge.
- Alvarez — Advanced
- Stone — Eliminated
Mount Olympus
After Alvarez and Rogers both swept in their respective preliminary events, they headed to Mount Olympus with the hope of claiming the title of Titan.
The course on Mt. Olympus consists of ten obstacles:
- Starting Gates — weaving over and under thick triangular hurdles.
- Box Flip — flipping a humungous box three times.
- Iron Ascent — using only their hands, athletes pull themselves up using a lever system.
- Log Lift — hauling a large log up a long flight of stairs. Note: entirely different from a strongman log lift.
- Sky Bridge — lift two 120lb weights on a gear that is then spun to lower a bridge.
- Crank Down — turning a heavy crank to lower a pillar that is then climbed.
- Cage Crawl — a series of narrow crawl spaces built atop each other that must be crawled through.
- Drop Zone — a mounting series of large panels that hinge when the athlete places their weight at the edge.
- Ball & Chain — an spherical stone is dragged via chain across the arena
- Titan Tomb — competitors smash a stone block to retrieve the Titan Relic (a metal relic shaped into The Titan Games logo).
Noah Palicia vs. Exodus Rogers
Rogers took a slight lead on reigning Titan Palicia in the Box Flip, but Palicia regained the time during the Iron Ascent. Noah gained the edge in the Sky Bridge, but it was neck and neck in the Cage Crawl.
Both men had a blistering pace, but it was Palicia first to the Drop Zone. A big fall by Rogers heading into the Ball & Chain cemented the lead for the Titan. Another fall by Rogers at the foot of Titan Tomb gave Palicia enough time to retrieve the Titan Relic and retain his spot on Mount Olympus.
Rogers will get a chance for redemption in the West Region finals.
Kelly Valdez vs. Margaux Alvarez
Competitors were side by side all the way through the Log Lift when Valdez struggled to get a secure grip and gave a huge chunk of time to Alvarez.
That mistake was the deciding factor and in an absolute blowout, Alvarez locked in the Titan Relic and claimed the title of Titan.
Valdez has the opportunity to reclaim her title at the West Region finals in two weeks.
Palicia and Alvarez will return next week to defend their spots atop Mount Olympus.
Featured image from Margaux Alvarez’s Instagram page: @321gaux
