We will be shooting at the Emerald Cup this month. We still have some open spots so if you are a female athlete competing or attending the show and would be interested in a shoot with us please contact us at muscleangels@gmail.com
We will be at the Arnold Classic in Ohio in Febrauary/March. Any Female Bodybuilders, Fitness or Figure Competitors who are interested in shooting with us please contact us at muscleangels@gmail.com.
We recently had some communication problems with some of our customers. If you are one of them and believe that you did not hear back from us, please check your spam folder. We value our customers and answer each and every e-mail that we got from you.
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Muscle Angels will of course continue updating on our regular update schedule throughout the holidays. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2008!
We just wanted to give you an update on our high definition videos. We will start posting high def. video this Friday. We still have a lot of high resolution video material to be posted so expect a mix of both formats for the upcoming weeks and months.
Muscle Angels Update: We are still at Nationals but wanted to let you know that we have started to shoot all video content in HD format a few weeks ago. We still have hours of high resolution video coming so it might still take a little while, but expect the HD videos to appear on the site soon…
Muscle Angels will be at Nationals in Dallas this weekend. This is going to be a great show! Watch out for updates here on the site…
Jennifer Sedia USA middleweight and overall champion….from our shoot after the contest. See her photo galleries and video clips coming soon!!
By: Scott Keatts
Las Vegas, NV: At this time the National Football League training camps are about to open, retail stores across the country are getting ready for back to school, and grandma has started her Christmas shopping well all of this can only mean one thing and of course country singing legend Hank Williams Jr. sums up best with the rhetorical question “Are you ready” for one of the best amateur women’s bodybuilding shows of the season. MuscleTech and GNC present the 2007 Kemistry USA Women’s Bodybuilding Championships held at the Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall on the campus of UNLV over the weekend of July 27-28. Women’s bb prejudging will be held Saturday morning starting at 9:00 am with the finals starting at 6:30 pm with the top five competitors in each of the four weight classes doing their routines on stage. The overall winner will punch their ticket for an IFBB Pro card. Fifty-four female bodybuilders will be here vying for that honor.
This highly successful bb contest has been ongoing since 1981 when a woman from Pennsylvania named Deborah Diana had all of the guys in attendance whistling as she posed her way toward the very first USA’s bb title beating out the likes of Lori Bowen and Carla Dunlap. Since that inaugural show some of the sports best and most popular have carried home hardware as result of their win here. The list of former overall winners include Laura Creavalle (1986), Tazzie Colomb (1992), Iris Kyle (1998), and finally but not the least 2006 winner Heather Policky-Armbrust who has already made her mark on the IFBB Pro circuit by winning the’07 Sacramento Pro show earlier this year.
Armbrust
Lightweights- With four weight classes and only one Pro card at stake this class which includes contestants 115 lbs. and under somewhat plays the role of the underdog. With that being said three of the previous seven class winners here; Mary Ellen Doss (2000), Pam Kusar (2001), and Emery Miller (2003) are current Pros plus the ’06 class champion Claire Rohrbacker-O’Connell is knocking on the door. O’Connell will be competing later this year at the NPC Nationals so that means this class is wide open among the seven scheduled competitors. Texas’s Melinda Williamson finished runner-up to O’Connell here last year and placed ninth among the LW’s at the ’04 NPC Nationals. Actress Reese Witherspoon was the object of desire of landscape artist Ruffalo in her 2005 romantic comedy Just Like Heaven but female bb Tracey Witherspoon hopes to be the object of desire of the NPC judges as she makes her return trip to the USA stage. Witherspoon, an Arizona resident, has LW class wins at both the ’05 Las Angeles based NPC Excalibur and the ‘06 L. A. Bodybuilding Championships.
Hailing from Phoenix, Melissa Alvarado comes in as one of three representatives of the Diamond Girlz Physique Training Team headed by trainer Craig Tinnelle. The 25 y/o who has been affectionately dubbed the “Small Fry” by her team members, Alvarado placed fourth in this class here last year. Fresh off a fourth place finish at the NPC Team Universe and a third place finish at last months NPC Junior Nationals is Greensboro, NC’s, Sharon Garrett. This is Garrett’s biggest show to date and she hopes to walk away with a top five finish. This next competitor is no stranger to the USA’s venue as this will be Tricia Travis’s seventh contest showing here. Travis, one of eight competitors from the Grand Canyon State, first competed here in 2000 and between the years of 2002-06 she improved her placing by one each year as her last placing was a third in this very class. Louisville, KY’s, Natalie Barnett will be making her Vegas debut and is coming off a fourth place showing at the ’07 Jr. Nats. California’s Diana Feather, Chula Vista, is a USA first-timer shooting for a unique trifecta. Feather who first stepped on stage in 2006 has won the overall title in her previous two bb contest which includes the ’06 NPC Tournament of Champions and ’07 NPC San Diego championships. If it happens that Diana would win the overall here she would join Stella Martinez (1982) and Clifta Coulter (1996) in some elusive company as the only two athletes who have won the overall here coming out of the LW class.
Alvarado Garrett
Middleweights- It has been five years since the winner of this class which consists of competitors between 116 lbs and 125lbs. has taken the overall. Rosemary Jennings took the whole shebang as a MW in 2002. Last years MW queen bee was Houston’s Tina Chandler who will be competing later in the year at Nats. One note before this class is introduced there are several competitors that are considered on the bubble of being a MW or a light-heavy so these are merely projections the Thursday night weigh-ins will ultimately tell the tale of who will be competing in which class. Fresh off an overall win at the NPC Costa Contra show and making her first National level appearance is California’s Kelly Dobbins. Dobbins who first stepped on a bb stage in 1998 took a ten year hiatus from competing and back with a vengeance. Earlier in the year she won the LW class at the NPC Emerald Cup. Also representing the Golden State in this class is up and comer Jenny Benda who took second place among the heavies at the ’06 NPC Orange County Muscle Classic.
Diamond Girlz team leader Diana Tinnelle just recently made history becoming the only woman that can lay claim to having won both the overall figure and bb at the NPC Arizona State championships. Tinnelle placed third in this class here last year her first show competing as a bb’er. The third Girlz representative will be Julie Williams who was has been diagnosed in the past with multiple sclerosis but has not allowed that to stop her from training. Williams placed in the top ten here among the middies last year. Phoenix resident Akila Pervis will be competing in her first National level show as a bb. After competing in two shows as figure competitor Pervis used the ‘06 NPC Max Muscle Western show where she won the overall to qualify. Back for her third consecutive trip here is Arizonian Rebecca Greaig who finished eighth in the class last year. Greaig who is a personal trainer by trade won the light-heavy class at the ’06 L. A. BB championships. Sally Taylor, from Hereford, AZ, is a true rookie in that this is her inaugural year as far as comps go but physique wise she is ready for the big stage. When prompted as to what her expectations are Taylor responded, “I am just getting my feet wet but I believe I can make the top five, my symmetry is good but it all hinges on conditioning which I think will come in right where I want it!” Sally the brain-woman behind the new Buff Calendar Girls promotion won her class at the San Diego bb championships back in March.
South Carolina’s Heidi Bagwell got her career off to a blazing start by winning the South Carolina State show and the NPC Junior USA’s but had a minor setback at Nats last year. Bagwell who is a personal trainer in Spartansburg will be bringing a new look to the stage in her first Vegas showing. Representing the Sunshine State are Galina Serdtsev and Beth Wachter. Serdtsev, from Orlando, is a Physician Assistant in the field of Dermatology has earned overall wins at both the NPC Mid-Florida and NPC Southeastern USA shows in the past two years Galina placed fourth in the LW class at Nats this past November. North Palm Beach resident Wachter made a name for herself back in 2003 when she won the LW class at the Jr. Nats show. This is Beth’s second Vegas appearance as she placed third here among the lights in 2004. Making her first showing here since 2001 is Connie Everton who hails from Fort Collins, CO. Everton placed second in the LW class at the ’04 Colorado State show. Holly Robey, from Reno, NV is making a return the USA’s after a seventh place finish last year. Roxanne Edwards of Brooklyn, NY, comes in after a second place MW finish at the NPC Atlantic States show earlier this year. Edwards has been competing since 1997 and has overall wins at the New York Musclemania and Musclemania Superbody shows to her credit. Texas’s Jennifer Sedia, a health inspector by trade, exploded onto the National scene last year with top five finishes here and at Nats in this class. San Jose’s Joella Bernard is making her Nat level debut after a MW class win at ’06 Contra Costa contest.
Dobbins Bagwell Greaig Tinnelle
Light-heavyweights- This is the newer division among the four weight classes and has become arguably the toughest. The weight range is 126 lbs. up to 140 lbs and since its inception in 2004 two of the three previous overall winners have come from this group. Among the classes Angela Salvagno is the only returning class champion from last year. Since Vegas is best known for gambling the odds are in Salvagno’s favor for a win in ’07 but if Hollywood was to make a movie documenting women’s bb competitions Any Given Saturday would be a more than suitable film name. Angela who recently moved to Florida is no stranger to fbb fans as she finished off her ’06 by placing fourth in this class at Nats. The next participant needs no introduction either because many will argue that Debbie Bramwell should have gotten her Pro card many blue moons ago. Bramwell has competed here five previous times with her best pacing coming in 2004 when she placed third in this class.
Christine Sabo and Diana Cook come in as past overall winners of the Junior Nats contest. Sabo, an Apache Junction, AZ resident, won that show in ’04 and was runner up in this class here last year. Cook, from North Port, FL, was the Florida State champion in ’05 and earlier this year conquered the field in Chicago for the Jr. Nats title. Terre Haute, IN, is known as the place where NBA legend Larry Bird played his college ball but it also happens to be the stomping grounds for Julia Stamper who caused a stir at the ’06 Jr. Nats show when she showed up with a conditioned physique that was arguably too advanced for the junior level shows. Stamper wears many hats which include being a mom, girl-scout leader, and Sunday school teacher hopes that conditioning will pay off on the bigger stage. Julia’s friend and Indianapolis resident Kim Ferrell just won the overall title at the Indiana State show placed sixth in the light-heavy class at the Jr. Nats show in ’06.
Next up is a trio from the Lone Star State starting it off with, The Colony resident, Star Blaylock who was the Texas NPC State champion in ’04. In 2005, Blaylock placed fourth in a stacked class that included Elena Seiple and Amanda Dunbar who was the overall winner for the show. Star who is a personal trainer in the Dallas area took ‘o6 off and is ready to get back on stage. San Angelo’s Karen Choat enjoyed a highly successful rookie year on the National level in ’06 by placing fifth here and eighth at Nats both times competing as a LHW. Earlier this year the Arnold Classic held its first ever amateur show for women’s bb and Shar Courtney who recently as ’05 had competed in figure almost took the show. Courtney, a former star volleyball player for Hardin-Simmons University, won the MW class and now is taking aim at Vegas.
Florida’s Cassie Daugherty is a newcomer on the rise after winning the NPC All South contest then placed a surprising sixth in her first try at a National level show which was last November’s Nationals. Daugherty is a 24 y/o bank teller from Lake City who also works as a gymnastics/cheerleading coach. California’s Cindy Johnson maybe old enough to be Cassie’s mom but in reality she is really 18 with 28 years of experience. Actually Johnson is a grandmother but in the last four years she has won the overall titles at the California State championships and NPC Emerald Cup show plus placing in the top five in the LHW class at last years Masters Nationals competition. Colorado’s Holly Geersen, who in 2001 won the heavyweight bb class at NPC Collegiate Nationals, has since added the 2004 Colorado State championship and a top seven LHW placing at the ’06 Nats to her resume. Next up is Hampton’ VA’s, Theresa Hendricks who as recently as 2005 was a fitness competitor. Because of Hendricks impressive muscularity for a fitness athlete it was suggested that she try bb and so far to say it has paid off is an understatement. Theresa has consecutive second place finishes in the HW division at the Team Universe show both times losing out to the overall winner. She is a grandmother who holds a degree in commercial photography and can lay claim to a top five finish among the heavies at last years Nats.
The last two in this class both hail from the host city and will be competing in front of the home folks. Rose Kasallis who is a mom to six kids won the overall at last years Las Angeles Excalibur show. Gina Spengler is a veteran competitor who has competed in 17 shows since her stage debut in 1983. Spengler has won the overall in seven of them, the most recent being the NPC Las Vegas in ’05. Gina last competed here in ’03 has taken the time off to redefine herself and prove she can still hang with the best of them like she did in the 90’s when she needed to rent a U-Haul to carry all of her trophies around.
Salvagno Ferrell Johnson Geersen
Heavyweights- This class fields the largest group, no pun intended of course (141 lbs. +). Thirteen overall winners have come out of this class since the show debut in ’81. In Florida the Gators are on a roll having just won the college football and basketball championships in the same school year, Diana Cook took the Junior Nats show earlier this summer and the winner here could very well come from this threesome of Floridians: Isabelle Turell, Beverly DiRenzo, and Sheila Bleck. Turell, of Orlando, has won the L. A. Excalibur and the NPC Southern USA in recent years plus she placed first in a stacked HW class at last years North American championships. DiRenzo who runs a gymnastics academy in Cape Coral placed second at the ’06 Nats and finished in the top five at both the North American and this show. Beverly is making her fifth trip here starting out as a MW in 2002 and has built herself up to a top HW competitor. Bleck who hails from Oregon just recently relocated to the Tampa area and placed third in this class here last year.
Last year’s runner up, Dr Michelle Neil is back and is under the dieting tutelage of IFBB Pro Dave Polumbo. Neil, a Tulsa, OK, resident, who practices internal medicine just recently won the NPC Oklahoma State show and placed third in the HW class at the ’06 NA’s. Also from Tulsa is Candy Canary who is a relative newcomer to the National scene and made a big splash by winning the ’06 Emerald Cup. Canary who is an ordained minister and an Air Force veteran placed seventh here last year in the heavies. Veteran competitor Gerri Deach will be making her sixth appearance here and three of those years she placed in the top five of this class. Deach who is a human resource manager and personal trainer in the Seattle, WA, area will be using the Masters Nationals show in Pittsburgh as a tune-up.
Six of the eighteen athletes in this class hail from nearby California. Santa Ana’s Kim Winn is making her Nat. level debut after winning the ’06 L. A. BB show. Tammy Jackson, who is originally from West Virginia, is the reigning Cal. State champion. Gabriella Nicander, from Capitola, won the overall at last year’s NPC San Francisco show and won the Masters division at the ’05 Cal championships. San Pedro’s Diane Solomon was winner of the ’05 L. A. show and has placed in the top ten in two of her five showings here in Vegas for this contest. Guilia Divina, an Oakland resident, won the HW class at the ’06 Cal show and placed fifth at Jr. Nats. last month. Tina Zampa, from Escondido, is a legal assistant who placed third among the HW’s here in ’05.
Massachusetts’s Betina Kadet who is originally from Germany has won both the NPC New England and NPC Massachusetts States shows in recent years. Kadet placed among the top ten in the tough HW class at the ’06 Nats. Also from the Bay State is Bonnie Pappas who is the ’07 New England championships winner plus she won the Masters 35+ division at the same show. Pappas also finished runner-up to current Pro Debi Laszeski in the LHW class at the ’07 Southern States contest. Robyn Mentgen, of Aurora, IL, placed fourth in June’s Jr. Nats show. Making her third consecutive appearance here is Christina Rhodes who recently remarried and formally went by the surname of Sondgroth. The new Albuquerque, NM, resident, Rhodes earlier this year placed third among the HW’s at the NPC Jr. USA’s show. The final competitor scheduled to show her mighty physique is Texas’s Jody May. May who is a physical therapy assistant living in Odessa placed second among the HW’s at the Arnold Amateur back in March. Jody was runner-up in the HW class at the ’05 Nats and recently started a women’s workout apparel line called Fit-n-Flashy with her biz partner Shar Courtney.
DiRenzo Deach Neil Zampa
Coming soon on Muscle Angels:
Jan Tana Overall Champion SARAH DUNLAP
