Salvi takes Trench Throwdown silver

Salvi Villanueva settled for the silver medal in the men’s division of the 4th Marianas Trench Throwdown held over the weekend at the Chamorri CrossFit in Tamuning, Guam.

Salvi Villanueva performs one of the workouts while competing in the 4th Marianas Trench Throwdown held over the weekend at the Chamorri CrossFit in Tamuning, Guam.
(Contributed Photo)

Villanueva amassed 1,425 points to place second behind Airman Alex Johnson’s 1,450. Mike James, also from Guam and a member at CrossFit Latte Stone, was third with 1,385 points.

Joey Tudela and second-timer Nicole Harkness finished 12th and 15th places, respectively, among the 44 men and 22 women that competed from six different gyms in Guam and three individuals from Saipan.

Tudela, who is competing for the fifth time, garnered 892 points, while Harkness finished with 923.

Carlos Sheiloh and Randy Mendiola, also both from Guam, scored 1,335 and 1,248 points each to complete the Top 5 finishers in the two-day competition divided into six Workouts of the Day.

Lindsay Summerhays led the Top 5 Guam bets with 1,551 points followed by Reena Catalina (1,394), Nevin Yazici (1,368), Desiree Bustos (1,357), and Lauren Laffosse (1,352).

Johnson, a United States Air Force enlisted personnel stationed at Andersen Air Force Base, showed his three-year skills as he topped both days. He represented CrossFit Hita and CrossFit Andersen.

The WODs depend on the program given by the gym, Chamorri CrossFit, and were divided into three events per day. The participant who makes the most number of repetitions in a WOD within the given time limit wins.

The WODs in the first day were rows, toes-to-bars, AbMat sit ups, knees-to-elbows, TTBs, wallballs, hang power cleans, overhead squad, 400-meter run, deadlifts, and burpees-over-bar.

Day 2 is composed of double-unders, celand and jerk, thrusters, snatch, chest-to-bar pull-ups, chin-over-bar or chest-to-bar, pistols, bar muscle-ups, and rope climbs.

Villanueva, who used to coach at GetFit CNMI but stopped to concentrate with his studies, was at third place after Day 1 behind Johnson and Michael Coghill, who dropped to sixth place with 1,236 points.

The Northern Marianas College-External Relations Office graphic designer and videographer said that he continued working out either at his home gym or at Gold’s Gym in preparation for the Trench Throwdown. He was also surprised to finish second in his first competition in Guam.

“I could have won if Alex did not get stationed in Guam,” Villanueva said with a laugh. “Still, I’m satisfied with my performance.”

Villanueva added that he was uncertain on what to expect during the competition. “I was a bit anxious going into the competition floor, because I had no idea who were the best competitors and who is going to dominate.”

“But I trusted my training and did everything to the best of my abilities. And a huge motivator was my strong-willed grandfather who had recently passed,” added Villanueva, who won bronze in weightlifting’s 77-kilogram division in last year’s Micronesian Games in Pohnpeii.

Villanueva said he plans to compete in an Olympic weightlifting tournament in Guam in December and then join Tudela and Harkness in another CrossFit event organized by CrossFit Latte Stone in January also in Guam.

CrossFit WODs are a combination of endurance training, gymnastics, and weightlifting merged into a single workout.