Dallin Pepper and Alexis Raptis Take Reps Ahead Pro 2 Showcase

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• Dallin Pepper and Alexis Raptis take home wins at Reps Ahead Pro 2 Showcase

• What can history teach us about Quarterfinals programming?

• Our April Affiliate of the Month: Mach983 CrossFit in Aurora, CO

Nominate your affiliate as the Morning Chalk Up’s Affiliate of the Month for May. Just drop us a note explaining why your gym should be featured.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Through the power of fitness and CrossFit, we can offer them opportunities they might not otherwise get. That’s where my heart is, trying to help as much as possible.” - Fred Dayton, owner of Mach983 CrossFit, Morning Chalk Up’s April Affiliate of the Month

COMPETITION

Dallin Pepper and Alexis Raptis Win The Reps Ahead Pro 2 Showcase 

The second Reps Ahead event with professional athletes, the Pro 2 Showcase, went down Saturday in Jacksonville, FL at CrossFit Tailwinds. 

While this is the tenth Reps Ahead event since its inception, it is still in its early stages of featuring CrossFit Games competitors.

The results:

• Alexis Raptis edged out friend and competitor Fee Saghafi by two reps, going the maximum seven rounds. 

• Dallin Pepper and James Sprague also went the distance, with Pepper hanging on to a lead that he built from round one and finishing 12 reps ahead of his friend when it was all said and done. 

Remind me: The Reps Ahead format is interval-based, pitting one athlete against another, as they strive to reach a designated number of reps ahead of their opponent.

For this event, athletes tackled a sequence of: 

• 36 double-unders

• 6 hang squat cleans (165/110 pounds) 

• 6 bar muscle-ups 

The sequence consisted of seven rounds, (2 minutes on, 1 minute of rest), or until an athlete reached 40 reps ahead. 

Two “undercard” matches with local athletes led up to the two featuring the pros. Only in the first of these matches was the 40 rep margin reached. It came in round six when Alex Richard defeated Lee Pinkham. 

In the remaining three matches, victory wasn’t determined until the seven rounds were over. In the second undercard match, Ryley Humrighouse defeated Malachi Bennett by two reps with a dramatic, down-to-the-wire finish.

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SPEED READS

Reps Ahead Pro 2 Showcase: In case you missed it over the weekend, watch the full live stream of Reps Ahead Pro Showcase 2 here, on the B.Friendly Fitness YouTube Channel. And, check out our recap above.

✍️ Now Hiring: PRVN Fitness is growing and wants to hire a new coach with a background in online programming and community building. The hours and location are flexible. Want to be part of the PRVN Team? Send your application now.

🎥🥇 Chasing the Podium: Check out Finnish CrossFit Games veteran and endurance master, Jonne Koski’s new YouTube series, “Chasing the Podium.” The episodes will follow Koski as he attempts to qualify for his 10th Games.

👨‍🎓💪 CrossFit x Educators: CrossFit HQ made two recent announcements that will come as welcome news for teachers at all levels:

• CrossFit will offer 50 $10,000 grants to schools in the first half of 2024. The funds will help teachers and administrators outfit school affiliates with equipment and introduce students to the concept of fitness for health and longevity. Apply here.

• CrossFit Educators Course - Released this week, the CrossFit Educators Course will help educators create and implement CrossFit-based P.E. curricula that are effective and scalable for kids of all abilities, ages 3-11.

🚨🚨 Affiliate Owner Quarterfinals Database: With a tip of the hat to Morning Chalk Up contributor Mike Halpin at Known and Knowable, here’s a super useful tool for affiliate owners heading into the Quarterfinals.

• Simply search your affiliate name in the drop-down menu to access a full list of all your athletes who qualified for the next stage of competition.

ICYMI: Everything you need to know about the 2024 CrossFit Games Quarterfinals.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

What to Expect from Quarterfinals Programming

With only a couple of weeks until the 2024 Individual and Age Group Quarterfinals, thousands of athletes, if not tens of thousands of athletes are preparing for the next stage of the CrossFit season. 

While there are only three years of Quarterfinals to reflect on, similar to the CrossFit Open, there are trends we can look at to help athletes prepare for this week of competition.

Remind Me: Quarterfinals were introduced to the CrossFit Games schedule starting with the 2021 season. In each of the three years, athletes have completed five workouts over the course of two scoring windows.

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COMMUNITY

Affiliate of the Month: Mach983 CrossFit Serves Youth at Risk, Inmates, Veterans in Colorado 

When Fred Dayton opened Mach983 CrossFit in Aurora, CO during the summer of 2022, one of his biggest motivations was to use his gym to integrate with and give back to the greater community.

• “How can we be as community-focused as we can?” Dayton asked himself when he decided to become a gym owner.

Less than two years later, his community has partnered with multiple non-profit organizations, including Forging Youth Resilience (FYR), Redemption Road Fitness Foundation, Team Red, White and Blue, and The Boys and Girls Club of America.

FYR Denver: Before opening his gym, Dayton was a coach with the Denver chapter of FYR, whose mission is to bring fitness and mentorship to underserved and underprivileged youth. At the time, the organization didn’t have their own space.

•  “They were working out in a backyard, and all there was was a rig and some rusted barbells, and we were throwing CrossFit workouts together,” Dayton said.

Mach983 CrossFit has become “their home and a safe space” and it has made a huge difference. Today, a core group of youth show up each week and work out alongside the adult members of the gym, who serve as great mentors.

“It has been amazing to see. They get so much more than just CrossFit here,” Dayton said, adding that the kids’ memberships, as well as some workout gear and college scholarships, are fully covered by the organization, as well as through some fundraising efforts at the gym.

HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise? Send us a tip.

• 🎂Happy birthday to Adee Cazayoux.

• Nice work to Maya, daughter of Clay and Rachel of Verdant CrossFit in Boise, ID on her weightlifting skills.

• Great job to the kids of Core City CrossFit in Detroit on their jumping skills!

• Congratulations to Angelo and Madison DiCiccio on their recent marriage.

• 💪Congratulations to Evelyn on the 300 pound deadlift.