Destroy all monsters: in the first-ever Southwest Pro, Darrem Charles got the trophy and J.D. Dawodu got the shaft - 2002 Southwest USA Pro Cup Report

The Jurassic Park stage motif at the Southwest USA Pro Cup expressed a theme with deeper currents than its designers could have imagined. Here were 26 pro bodybuilders of differing quality and dimensions lumbering, twirling and stomping only inches in front of a mock set inspired by the famed movie trilogy, complete with models of a T. rex, Velociraptor and Triceratops snarling in the background. Those giant beasts are extinct, of course, save for the occasional Spielbergian re-creations, but by the time the final placings were announced, the imposing human brutes onstage in Arlington, Texas, on May 4 may have felt a special kinship with the long-gone dinosaurs. The likes of Tom Prince, Paul Dillett, Craig Titus, Melvin Anthony, J.D. Dawodu and other leviathans may want to store their DNA for future generations to tap.

Like all magazine contest reporting in these days of Internet immediacy and digital convenience, the real story begins at the end of the affair, as Darrem Charles, the dazzling dancer of the pose-for-pay set, clutched his well-earned first-place trophy for this first-ever Southwest Pro Cup. The good news: People didn't scratch their heads, boo or scream slurs at the judges, nor did athletes wander offstage bewildered when Charles was announced the victor. Here was a true performer in crisp condition, with nary a hint of Synthol or belly bloat.

During his victory bows, Charles may have become even tighter, dropping a pound or two just standing near the white-hot vapors that emanated off J.D. Dawodu. The British champ had entered the contest with a refurbished physique. Gone was the blocky midsection built from power training, replaced by a perfectly delineated six-pack that would make Frank Zane proud, yet Dawodu still carried his celebrated giant biceps and broad lats and delts. His quads exploded with mighty and full cross-striations.

Although he's nowhere near the mass monsters we associate with Mr. Olympias (of the apples-and-oranges types from which judges are forced to choose), Darrem Charles is as good as the aesthetic lighter bodybuilders get. He's a raptor compared to the T. rex set: lighter, quicker and more cunning. He pounced into the lead and couldn't be chased down by the meatier mob champing at his heels.

The murmuring in the audience - which included a hearty helping of fellow pros - had the Brit in a dead heat with Charles. Instead, the heat turned out to be the rage inside J.D. when he was announced in fourth place.

In his typically classy style, the pride of London congratulated his fellow posedown pals and calmly disappeared from the stage lights, but his disgust was apparent. It wasn't until later, after the stunning result had sunk in, that Dawodu verbally expressed his deep anger and disappointment at finishing out of the top three and being denied a qualification for the Mr. Olympia. It was the classic story of a bodybuilder who valiantly tortures himself to transform his physique in accordance with the current trends of judging, then doesn't reap the rewards of his toil. He was shattered.

Dawodu spoke of becoming extinct, like the raptor that had glared behind him onstage durinq his performance. Happily, he later recanted, and vowed to compete at the Night Of Champions on May 18 (see the report beginning on page 86) to let the fans decide for themselves if he belonged in the top three. At this writing, the NOC is 10 days away -- the mystery of his placing there will be solved by the time this is published. Other mysteries, however, will likely still be puzzling followers of the sport for some time.

CONSENSUS AND CUSSING After the top five had been announced in the men's contest, Craig Titus stalked the backstage area, muttering to himself. He officially finished seventh behind Puerto Rican powerhouse Gustavo Badell. While other athletes gave Titus wide berth as he waited for his wife, Kelly Ryan, to be crowned Southwest USA fitness champion, he glared in disbelief at the crew of male physiques about to engage in the posedown. The T. rex onstage looked down upon him sympathetically.

Although Titus may have been angered at his own placing, he was more stunned at Dawodu's fate. Never has this reporter witnessed so many pros -- frequently tainted with the myopia of self-interest -- reach a consensus on a rival's alleged mistreatment. To a man and woman, every seasoned observer in attendance insisted J.D. Dawodu should have been first or second, and at the very least top three. As Dawodu stood in the hotel lounge postcontest, a stream of stars constituting a modern bodybuilding who's who lined up to express empathy for the brooding Dawodu, including Bob Cicherillo. And he was the runner-up to Charles.

As expected, the conspiracy theories voiced off-the-record by press and competitors alike could fill a season of The X-Files. None was provable, and only a few were logical, but the bewildering fate of Dawodu only fuels the wagging tongues of discontent in the sport. The fallout, unfortunately, threatened to dim not only the terrific job done by promoters Ed and Betty Pariso (see the sidebar, "Southern-Fried Fun") and the long-awaited comeback of Paul Dillett, but also the accomplishments of the athletes who did place favorably.

A SHOT IN THE DARK

Cicherillo, who recently moved from Rochester, New York, to the Los Angeles area, reveled in his runner-up status after the show. "I'm going to the big dance," bellowed Chick, grinning like Bill Clinton at Hooters. "I can't wait to do the Olympia."

It will be his first, and he earned it. The 5'10" 250-pounder was in the proverbial shape of his life in Arlington, displaying the quality and condition that won him his pro card at the USA in 2000. Thick Chick did his homework for this show, displaying more quad sweep than ever before, nicely complementing his bulging upper body. And his charismatic posing displayed the skilled polish of a guy who's been competing for almost two decades.

A bigger surprise, to put it mildly, was George Farah's third-place shocker. The 2000 NPC National middleweight champ said he put on 32 pounds (bringing him to 204) and his astonishing improvements couldn't be denied. Whether he actually was over 200 pounds as he claimed (one of his rivals put him on at a buck-eighty), the New Yorker was sliced. It was a wondrous debut, but his placing still mystified the audience, who booed vigorously in Dawodu's favor. No knock on Farah. The man worked his ass off and did his best. You can't ask more of the guy, especially considering that Farah was declared clinically dead. years ago after being gunned down during a robbery. But J.D.'s overall development, muscle maturity, shape, lat spread and shoulder-to-waist ratio trumped Farah's overall structural package. And if anybody disagreed - except the judges - they weren't talking.

Another stunner was fifth-place finisher Willie Stalling. The 1996 NPC National liqht-heavyweiqht and overall champ's musculature was tighter than a Joan Rivers facelift. His cut-to-the-bone conditioning was clearly valued over the fuller and more massive physiques of the competitors who finished behind him. This illustrates the dilemma pros face before hitting the stage: Should they sacrifice muscle to get dry, or try to fill out so as not to be overpowered by heavier foes? Right now, they don't know which will be rewarded.

This time, conditioning got the nod. That left massive and relatively tight competitors like Titus, Prince and Anthony facing the same fate as the dinosaurs of yore. Then there was Dillett. Freakenstein himself may be the result of DNA deposits of some lost tribe of prehistoric men, but his comeback left him wondering if his bones will be the only thing left of his career. He was (as were Titus, Anthony and Prince) one of the big names in big bodies that vowed to be in tighter condition in New York. If not, well, you know what happened to the last endangered oversized beasts to roam the planet.

2002 SOUTHWEST USA WOMEN'S PRO CUP

Arlington, Texas; May 4, 2002


Heavyweight
1 Betty Viana (and overall) *  Venezuela
2 Gayle Moher                  United States
3 Christine Envail             Australia

Middleweight

1 Angela Debatin *             Brazil
2 Desiree Ellis                Canada
3 Myriam Bustamante            Mexico
4 Mah-Ann Mendoza              United States
5 Sophie Duquette              Canada
6 Mary Ellen Jerumbo           United States
7 Heike Jung                   Germany

Lightweight

1 Susanne Niederhauser *       Austria
2 Denise Gerard                United States
3 Jennifer Mc Vicar            United States

* Qualifies for 2002 Ms. Olympia contest.

2002 SOUTHWEST USA FITNESS PRO CUP

Arlington, Texas; May 4, 2002


 1 Kelly Ryan *               unitea States
 2 Jen Hendershott *          United States
 3 Stacy Hylton *             United States
 4 Kim Chizevsky              United States
 5 Carla Sanchez              United States
 6 Jennifer Hanke             United States
 7 Angel Friend               United States
 8 Lisa Reed                  United States
 9 Tracey Greenwood           United States
10 Renee Masi                 United States
11 Lorie Kimes                United States
12 Christine Bergeron  (tie)  Canada
   Julie Palmer (tie)         United States
14 Allison Bookless-Wendt     United States
15 Bethany Howlett            United States

* Qualifies for 2002 Fitness Olympia contest.

2002 PROGRESSIVE NUTRIENTS SOUTHWEST USA PRO CUP

Arlington, Texas; May 4, 2002

COMPETITOR           COUNTRY

 1 Darrem Charles *  Trinidad and Tobago
 2 Bob Cicherillo *  United States
 3 George Farah *    United States
 4 J.D. Dawodu       England
 5 Wille Stalling    United States
 6 Gustavo Badell    Puerto Rico
 7 Craig Titus       United States
 8 Paul Dillett      United States
 9 Tom Prince        United States
10 Melvin Anthony    United States
11 Bob Weatherill    Canada
12 Henderson Thorne  Canada
13 Jason Marcovici   Canada
14 Mike Morris       United States
15 Paul Baker        Jamaica

Also competed: Tevita Aholelei, Valentin Jabes, Ken Jones, Berry Kabov,
Charles Kemp, Rod Ketchens, Christian Lobarede, Juan Marquez, Nicolas
Schilko and Yohnnie Shambourger

Withdrew due to injury: John Sherman

* Qualifies for 2002 Mr. Olympia contest.

RELATED ARTICLE: NEW BLOOD FOR MS. O

Venezuelan Betty Viana won the women's heavyweight and overall titles at the Southwest USA Pro Cup, qualifying her for the Ms. Olympia for the first time in her short career. Austrian Susanne Neiderhauser, who took the lightweight class, will also make her Ms. O debut on October 18. Look for more on this contest in next month's issue. For now, here are the full results of the show.

SOUTHERN-FRIED FUN

Ed and Betty Pariso will always remember their first time. So will the hundreds of happy people who shared it with them. Hey, get your mind out of the gutter.

We're talking about their first time promoting the Southwest USA Pro Cup and Expo.

Ed Pariso, a veteran national-level competitor, and his wife, IFBB pro Betty, laid on southern hospitality as thick as homemade Texas barbecue sauce as they completed the Herculean effort of staging not one pro contest, but three IFBB slugfests: fitness, and men's and women's bodybuilding. Set in the Arlington Convention Center, the contests were accompanied by a well-attended expo that included not only the usual supplement and bodybuilding booths, but a power-lifting competition, wrestling ring and an indoor rock-climbing wall that tempted Marvelous Melvin Anthony (see Hard Times).

During the weekend, the Parisos also staged regional amateur bodybuilding and figure contests, kept counsel with needy high-profile pros and cured the common cold. Well, maybe they didn't accomplish the last, but if they had put their minds to it, who knows? This inexhaustible couple raised the bar for IFBB contest promoters, and left no doubt that the Southwest USA Pro Cup will soon be the hottest ticket in the South this side of the Dallas Cowboys. Or at least this side of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

KELLY CRUISES TO CUP WIN

Fitness phenom Kelly Ryan established herself as the sport's top tumbler with a stunning routine at the Southwest USA Fitness Pro Cup. Ryan's mind-boggling moves in her clown-themed two-minute routine catapulted her over former Ms. Olympia Kim Chizevsky's physique challenge. Speaking of the six-time Ms. O, Chizevsky wrenched her knee during the 45-second compulsory round, causing her to skip mandatory moves required by IFBB rules. Chizevsky~s miscues weren't reflected in the judges' scores, resulting in a flash flood of protests by other somersaulting sirens. To read more about this roiling controversy, see Hard Times. On the positive side, Stacy Hylton, third-place finisher, qualified for her first Fitness Olympia.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group