The 2011 Olympia-qualifying season got off with a bang yesterday at the Houston Pro Figure and Bikini competitions, where a couple of Texas gals roped in the first-place checks. The long and the short of it: Houston’s Courtney West, 5’9″, took the figure event in her pro debut, while Austin’s Shelsea Montes, 5′, seventh at the Bikini O last month, picked up her first pro win.
In the figure battle it was ’10 USA champ West vs. ’10 National champ Monica Specking vs. a very motivated Teresa Anthony, who had also just missed out on a top-six finish at the Olympia. Teresa succeeded in securing her early ticket to next year’s O, but the win went to Courtney by a single point. Specking, who’d gotten her pro card a week earlier, was the panel’s unanimous choice for the third Olympia-qualifying spot.
The judges were also in agreement about their choice of Shelsea for first in the bikini event. Natalie Pennington got the nod for second, while Vanessa Prebyl, who was eighth in her pro debut at the Tournament of Champions in September, moved up to third at this top-three Olympia qualifier.
With brand-new winners in both sports, the IFBB’s fall contest series promises to be ver-r-ry interesting. Next week the action moves to San Diego for the Border States Pro Figure.
Photos (from top): Shelsea Montes and Courtney West
Here are the complete results from Texas:
’10 Houston Pro Figure
1) Courtney West*
2) Teresa Anthony*
3) Monica Specking*
4) Katina Maistrellis
5) Kimberly Sheppard
6) Amy Vetter
7) Carin Hawkins
8) Krissy Chin
9) Rosalind Vanterpool
10) Raechelle Chase
11) Sandie Ward
*Qualifies for the ’11 Figure Olympia.
’10 Houston Pro Bikini
1) Shelsea Montes
2) Natalie Pennington
3) Vanessa Prebyl
4) Michelle Lamb
5) Barbara Bolotte
6) Beth White
7) Janet Harding
8) Khanh Nguyen
*Qualifies for the ’11 Bikini Olympia.
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