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CENTOPANI CASHES INWritten by: By Michael Berg, EditorEvan Centopani proved to be the best of the best at the 2007 NPC National Championships November 17, as he earned the super-heavyweight and overall crown in front of a near-capacity crowd at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Dallas.In the super-heavyweight class, Centopani held off all challengers, taking the big step from second a year ago (behind 2006 overall champ Desmond Miller) to first. The Trumbull, Connecticut, resident enters the IFBB ranks needing some refinements to his back and legs (the latter of which are already improved significantly in the past year) to successfully rumble with the pros, but at a youthful 25 years old, has plenty of time to mature into a force to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, runner-up Grigori Atoyan, the 2007 USA super-heavy second-place finisher, could only equal his best-ever showing at the Nationals (in 2004, he was runner-up as a heavyweight). Speaking of heavyweights, Adorthus Cherry finally tasted victory after a number of near misses, the most recent at the 2006 Nationals, where Lionel Brown edged him out in this division. Cherry, who has battled personal demons in the form of alcohol addiction (a fight which he continues to win thanks to bodybuilding), was able to fend off a young phenom, 2007 USA heavyweight runner-up Brandon Curry. A relatively new face on the national level, Curry may not have fulfilled his goal on this night, but he seems destined for the IFBB in short order with his potent blend of classic lines and impressive muscularity. The light-heavyweight class was a row between 2005 and 2006 Nationals light-heavy runner-up Charles Dixon of Piedmont, South Carolina, and Knoxville, Tennessee’s Peter Putnam, with the former coming out on top. Both combatants displayed ample condition, but the thick muscularity of Dixon was perhaps the difference in the judges’ eyes over the refined lines of Putnam. If the 2007 USA heavyweight champion can take any solace in this five-point loss, it’s that often a gut-wrenching defeat at the National level might mean he has officially paid his dues, and heads into next year’s season as a favorite to earn a pro card. The middleweights were ruled by a familiar name in NPC lore. Woburn, Massachusetts’ Jose Raymond added the 2007 NPC Nationals middleweight title to his list of accomplishments, which also include the 2007 USA middleweight, the 2005 Nationals welterweight and the 2005 Team Universe overall crowns. In the lighter classes, Carlo Filippone of Fort Lee, New Jersey, won in welterweights, Leonardo Ortiz of Puerto Rico earned top honors among lightweights, and a familiar face, 2007 USA bantamweight runner-up David Candy, took the bantams. In women’s bodybuilding, Beni Lopez (lightweight), Tina Chandler (middleweight), Kristy Hawkins (light heavyweight) and Beverly DiRenzo (heavyweight) each took home their respective divisions and earned pro cards. Hawkins, who is currently getting her PhD at Cal Tech in chemical engineering, won the overall after finishing third in the light-heavy class in the 2006 Nationals and fourth in 2005. In fitness, Alexandria, Virginia’s Tina Durkin won the overall over the short class champ Kristina Rojas and the tall class victor Tanya Merryman, adding the trophy to the 2007 Junior Nationals fitness overall she claimed earlier this year. All three, along with second-place finishers in each division -- Tonya Burkhardt in short, Siene Silva in medium, and Traci Redding in tall -- are now eligible to turn pro. Thanks and accolades go out to Steve Karel, whose team put together a well-oiled (literally and figuratively) event. Next year, the Nationals move to Atlanta, Georgia, in their usual mid-November timeframe that caps off the competitive bodybuilding season. 2007 NPC National Championships Final Results (Top 5 in each class) Dallas, Texas. Mens Bodybuilding Note: Winner in each class earns pro card. Overall: Evan Centopani Super-Heavyweight 1 Evan Centopani 2 Grigori Atoyan 3 Real Johnson 4 Stephen Frazier 5 Edward Nunn Heavyweight 1 Adorthus Cherry 2 Brandon Curry 3 Lee Banks 4 Abbas Khatami 5 Darrell Terrell Light-Heavyweight 1 Charles J. Dixon 2 Peter Putnam 3 Al Auguste 4 Monty Mabry 5 Manny Torres Middleweight 1 Jose Raymond 2 Gaetano Cisternino 3 Alan Bailey 4 Devon Bender 5 Lorenzo Jones Welterweight 1 Carlo Filippone 2 Stoil Stoilov 3 Tommie Robertson 4 Jocelyn Jean 5 Victor Delcampo Lightweight 1 Leonardo Ortiz 2 Travis Rogers 3 Jeffrey Olcsvary 4 James Williams 5 Leonardo Pacheco Bantamweight 1 Dave Candy 2 Fernando Abaco 3 John McKnight IV 4 Art Santellan 5 Andre Hill Womens Bodybuilding Note: Winner in each class earns pro card Overall: Kristi Hawkins (light-heavyweight) Heavyweight 1 Beverly DiRenzo 2 Nekole Hamrick 3 Michele Neil 4 Kris Murrell 5 Gale Frankie Light-Heavyweight 1 Kristy Hawkins 2 Britt Ashley Miller 3 Karen Choat 4 Elena Seiple 5 Amy Neal Middleweight 1 Tina Chandler 2 Yasha (no last name given) 3 Janet Kaufman 4 Julia Korfhage 5 Terri Harris Lightweight 1 Beni Lopez 2 Galina Serchtsev 3 Tammy Patnode 4 Tera Guzman 5 Kirsten Anne Haratyk Fitness Note: Top two in each class earn pro card. Overall: Tina Durkin (Class B) Class A (short) 1 Kristina Rojas 2 Tonya Burkhardt 3 Breean Robinson 4 Mary Stockbridge 5 Victoria Larvie Class B (medium) 1 Tina Durkin 2 Siene Silva 3 Lishia Dean 4 Jessica Clay 5 Colleen Baldwin Class C (tall) 1 Tanya Merryman 2 Traci Redding 3 Jo Marriner 4 Violet Mundy 5 Pamela Drury-Graef MEN'S PREJUDGING GALLERY LINKS: Bantamweights Prejudging Gallery Lightweights Prejudging Gallery Welterweights Prejudging Gallery Middleweights Prejudging Gallery Light-Heavyweights Prejudging Gallery Heavyweights Prejudging Gallery
Super-Heavyweights Prejudging Gallery
Women's Light Weight Bodybuilding Women's Middle Weight Bodybuilding Women's Light Heavy Weight Bodybuilding Women's Heavy Weight Bodybuilding
Fitness Class A
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