A Bombardment of Blondes at the O.C.

Top photo (from left) Christie Marquez, Justine Munro, Candice Conroy, Tawna Eubanks and Amy Allen.

Sometimes you can’t avoid the obvious. That was certainly true at the IFBB Orange County Muscle Classic Pro Bikini yesterday, where by the end of the judging it was obvious that the the winner’s circle would look like a casting call for “Buff Blond Fitness Barbie.” Not so obvious was whether the blonde in the center onstage at the Culver City, California, Veterans Memorial Auditorium would be front-runner Justine Munro, arguably the hottest physique competitor of any division ever to come out of Canada, or top prospect Candice Conroy, a classy-looking package from Canyon Lake, California, who got her pro card at the NPC Nationals last November.

Calling out seven of the 19 competitors for the first comparison, the judges quickly made it clear that they were interested mainly in Munro and Conroy. Justine’s sparkling sass and derriere were in the house for sure, but she was too lean—thin, even—from the front. Candice, who had competed only once as a pro previously, found the Goldilocks combination, not too hard and not too soft, with plenty of sass.  Also in top contention was Tawna Eubanks, a tall and shapely blonde from Plano, Texas, and a quartette of brunettes—Amy Allen, Jessica Arvelo, Tiffany Marie Boydston and Christie Marquez. All were in good shape, but the confirmation-round at the finals foretold the results: Only five were in the first comparison, with Candice in the center, flanked by Justine and Tawna. Those would be the top three, in that order. Marquez and an impressive Allen, landed in fourth and fifth, respectively, while Boydston, to the surprise of many, was relegated to sixth. In case you’re wondering, those decisions were all unanimous.

So the fast-rising Candice Conroy has her name added to the Bikini Olympia invite list, while Jessica, Tawna and Tiffany must keep racking up points to make their dreams come true. With three contests left before the Olympia (the St. Louis Pro on August 24; the Valenti Gold Cup, in Florida on August 30-31; and the Nordic Cup, in Lahti, Finland, also on August 31), here are the Olympia point standings in bikini. The top five at season’s end will go to the O.

1) Lacey DeLuca, USA, 13
2) Noemi Olah, Hungary, 11
3) Jessica Arevalo, USA, 10
3) Gigi Amurao, USA, 10
3) Tawna Eubanks, USA, 10
6) Tiffany Marie Boydston, USA, 9
6) Aly Veneno, USA, 9
8) Jessica Paxson, USA, 8
8) Christie Marquez, USA, 8
10) Nicole Moneer, USA, 7

’13 Orange County Muscle Classic Pro Bikini
1) Candice Conroy
2) Justine Munro
3) Tawna Eubanks
4) Christie Marquez
5) Amy Allen
6) Tiffany Boydston
7) Jessica Arevalo
8) Crystal Matthews
9) Brittany Tacy
10) Angela Skeels
11) Theresa Byrne
12) Jennifer Dawn
13) Jennifer Dietrick
14) Natalie Abrhiem
15) Lezley Lockhart
16) Rachelle Dejean
16) Francesca Lauren
16) Camile Periat
16) Summer White