2023 CrossFit North America West Semifinal Results — Pat Vellner & Alex Gazan Shine

The 2023 CrossFit Semifinals are coming to a close, with the second week witnessing three additional competitions held in North America, South America, and Oceania. The biggest out of the three was the 2023 CrossFit North America West Semifinal, as the action happened in Pasadena, CA, on May 25-28. Due to the stacked roster of this Semifinal, CrossFit has given 10 women’s qualifying spots, and nine men’s qualifying spots for the CrossFit Games.

The 2023 CrossFit North America West Semifinal saw incredible battles in all divisions, especially amongst the Teams. The win in the men’s division went to Patrick Vellner, while Alex Gazan topped the women’s leaderboards. The Teams came down to a tie-breaker where CrossFit Franco’s Misfits took gold. 

2023 CrossFit North America West Semifinal Leaderboards 

Men

Patrick Vellner got off to a rocky start with a 15th place finish on the first event, but his performances in all other events were absolutely impeccable. He won two events and placed third in additional two events as well. Patrick ended up with almost a 50 point lead ahead of the second place finisher, Brent Fikowski.

1. Patrick Vellner — 612 points
2. Brent Fikowski — 569 points
3. Samuel Kwant — 564 points
4. Cole Greashaber — 528 points
5. Justin Medeiros — 519 points
6. Chandler Smith — 490 points
7. Nick Mathew — 472 points
8. Colten Mertens — 458 points
9. Cole Sager — 458 points
10. Mitchel Stevenson — 422 points
11. Luis Oscar Mora — 418 points
12. John Wood — 417 points
13. Jack Rozema — 402 points
14. Justin Rhodes — 351 points
15. Maximilian Krieg — 349 points

Women

In her first three events, Alex Gazan put on an incredible performance, but a 43rd place finish in the fourth event unnecessarily complicated her situation. However, she remained calm and continued displaying amazing fitness levels to win the women’s division. 

1. Alex Gazan — 538 points
2. Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir — 527 points
3. Arielle Loewen — 525 points
4. Christine Kolenbrander — 507 points
5. Bethany Shadburne — 504 points
6. Emily Rolfe — 465 points
7. Olivia Kerstetter — 457 points
8. Abigail Domit — 421 points
9. Baylee Rayl — 415 points
10. Kelly Baker — 415 points
11. Dani Speegle — 413 points
12. Kloie Wilson — 402 points
13. Lauren Fisher — 382 points
14. Emily White — 381 points
15. Sydney Michalyshen — 373 points

Teams

The teams division of the 2023 CrossFit North America West Semifinal saw a three-way tie for first place. So, the number of event wins was put in as a tie-breaker. CrossFit Franco’s Misfits had three event wins and took first place. CrossFit Invictus had two wins and finished second, while CrossFit Omnia settled for third. 

1. CrossFit Franco’s Misfits — 555 points
2. CrossFit Invictus — 555 points
3. CrossFit Omnia — 555 points
4. CrossFit Kilo II — 528 points
5. Koda CrossFit Redemption — 486 points
6. CrossFit Invictus Unconquerable — 483 points
7. CrossFit Dawgs — 444 points
8. CrossFit Invictus Sea Of Green — 432 points
9. Einhorn CrossFit Ascend — 417 points
10. CrossFit Believe — 364 points

Related: 2023 CrossFit North America East Semifinal — Full Results

Individual Division Tests (Workouts) Recap

TEST ONE

For time: 

• 3,000-meter Echo Bike 
• Hand-Over-Hand Pull (84 feet)
• 2,000-meter Assault AirRunner
• Hand-Over-Hand Pull (84 feet)
• 1,000-meter SkiErg 
• Hand-Over-Hand Pull (92 feet)

Time cap: 30 minutes

Women: 180 pounds

Men: 225 pounds

Men’s Results

• Brent Fikowski — 23:02.41
• Rafael Sancen — 23:19.39
• Cole Greashaber — 23:34.43

Women’s Results 

• Stacy Lerum— 26:51.26
• Emily Rolfe — 27:24.47
• Hannah Black — 27:25.02

TEST TWO

As many reps as possible in 3 minutes of:

• 5 Ring Complexes (1 Toe-To-Ring, 1 Muscle-Up, 1 Ring Dip)
• 20 Single-Leg Squats
• Max Burpees Over Box

*Complete 3 rounds, resting 1 minute between rounds.

*Score is total reps across the 3 minutes. 

Women Wear a 10-pound ruck, 24-inch box

Men Wear a 20-pound ruck, 30-inch box

Men’s Results

• Scott Tetlow — 56 reps
• Colten Mertens — 56 reps
• Patrick Vellner — 54 reps

Women’s Results

• Alex Gazan — 54 reps
• Arielle Loewen — 54 reps
• Marisa Flowers — 50 reps

TEST THREE

For time:

Semifinals Linda — 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 reps of: 

• Deadlifts
• Dumbbell Bench Presses
• Squat Cleans

Time cap: 17 minutes

Women: 220-pound deadlifts, 60-pound dumbbells, 105-pound squat cleans 

Men: 295-pound deadlifts, 90-pound dumbbells, 145-pound squat cleans

Men’s Results

• Colten Mertens — 11:06.99
• Chandler Smith — 12:10.53
• Patrick Vellner — 12:24.21

Women’s Results

• Olivia Kerstetter — 12:13.50
• Alex Gazan — 12:26.86
• Dani Speegle — 12:43.22

TEST FOUR

For load:

• Run 800 meters
• Max Snatch

Time cap: 6 minutes

After the time cap for test four clocked out, the athletes had just two minutes to rest before initiating Test Five.

Men’s Results

• Tudor Magda — 325 pounds
• Brent Fikowski — 300 pounds
• Anthony Davis — 300 pounds

Women’s Results

• Hannah Black — 215 pounds
• Madison Mcelhaney — 210 pounds
• Christine Kolenbrander — 205 pounds

TEST FIVE

For time:

• 8 Snatches 
• Run 800 meters

Time cap: 6 minutes

Women: 125-pound snatch

Men: 185-pound snatch

Men’s Results 

• Patrick Vellner — 02:56.39
• Brent FIkowski — 02:58.61
• Maximilian Krieg — 03:07.56

Women’s Results

• Emily White — 03:17.45
• Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir — 03:19.62
• Emily Rolfe — 03:20.70

TEST SIX

For time: 

• 20 Overhead Squats
• 500-meter Row
• Three Handstand-Walk Pirouettes
• Two Seated Legless Rope Climbs
• 20 Strict Chest-To-Wall Handstand Push-Ups
• Two Seated Legless Rope Climbs
• Three Handstand-Walk Pirouettes
• 500-meter Row
• 20 Overhead Squats

Time cap: 15 minutes (Men) — 16 minutes (Women)

Women: 125-pound Squat

Men: 185-pound Squat

Men’s Results

• Justin Medeiros — 08:55.89
• Samuel Kwant — 09:57.03
• Colten Mertens — 10:10.17

Women’s Results

• Alex Gazan — 11:10.37
• Trista Smith — 11:23.88
• Rebecca Fuselier — 11:23.96

TEST SEVEN

Three rounds for time of: 

• Echo Bike Calories (Men: 15 calories / Women: 10 calories)
• 20 Toes-To-Bar
• 60-Foot Sandbag Bear-Hug Carry

Women: 150-pound Sandbag

Men: 200-pound Sandbag

Men’s Results

• Patrick Vellner — 04:08.48
• John Wood — 04:12.53
• Cole Sager — 04:17.56

Women’s Results

• Emily Rolfe — 04:15.28
• Bethany Shadburne — 04:21.26
• Alex Gazan — 04:25.50

Related: 2023 CrossFit Africa Semifinal Results — Jason Smith & Michelle Basnett Victorious

The 2023 North America West Semifinal was arguably the biggest competition out of the seven this year, purely due to the strength of the rosters. The competitiveness of the athletes is evident due to the fact that some big names like Dani Speegle and Laure Fisher missed out on qualifying for the 2023 CrossFit Games.