Inaugural competition brings teams from Atlantic region

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on May 11, 2013 11:14 PM

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Over 140 of the best CrossFit athletes in the region turned out for the first-ever "Battle of the Boro" at CrossFit of Goldsboro on Saturday.

Competitors took part in five programs called WOD's (workouts of the day). The scores were tallied after each round and the top five two-person teams in each of the four divisions made the final WOD.

Cumulative score decided the winner.

In the end, team "RadBar" from Clayton emerged victorious in men's RX Division.

"This is only the second two-man competition we have done together and we are 2-0," team member Jared Butler said. "Today was a lot of fun and there were a lot of really good teams here."

Butler and his partner Tyler Riva excelled in the final WOD which began with handstand push-ups, moved to the Air Dyne stationary bike and finished with a set of Olympic weight lifts.

The competitors faced snatch punishers, overhead lunges and squats.

"We each work out five or six days per week," Riva said. "Jared is one of the top competitors in the region and he always brings out the best in both of us."

In the women's RX Division, team "Briar Creek" took first place. Team "Max Effort" won the men's Scale Division and team "Dog Pound" claimed the women's Scale Division.

The eight-hour long event was the first of its kind in Goldsboro.

"CrossFit is all about reaching personal goals and I did that today," Wayne County native Aaron Sanders said. "Me and my partner (Brian Von Hone) finished eighth as a team and I beat my personal best snatch by 20 pounds."

Sanders was one of several competitors from the two CrossFit gyms in Wayne County. Mike Garrett and his wife Brooks operate CrossFit locations in Mount Olive and Goldsboro. Mike Garrett also works as the director of the Pope Wellness Center at Mount Olive College, while Brooks teaches physical education at Wayne Community College.

"We are really excited about the turnout for our first event," Mike Garrett said. "We had teams from Washington, D.C., to Fort Myers, Fla. There were all ages and skill levels, and it made for a good competitive mix of athletes."

The "Battle of the Boro" was sponsored by Progenex, Kill Cliff Recovery Drinks, WOD Outlet, WOD Addiction, Best of Clinton Inc., Eskra Plastic Surgery and AMRAP Nutrition.

The Mid-Atlantic Regional CrossFit competition is June 7-9 in Landover, Md. The top competitors at the regional will advance to the National CrossFit Games from July 22-28.