Fittest of the Coast 2024: Pro Divisions Preview

This will be the fifth iteration of the Fittest of the Coast (FOTC). It began in 2020 with just over 200 participating athletes, and this year they had nearly 4,000 participants in their online qualifier culminating in nearly 1,400 athletes (an increase of nearly 400 from last year) who will be competing across 41 different divisions, representing 37 different states. 

The competition will take place at the Charleston Convention Center in Charleston, South Carolina. It will run for three days from January 19th through the 21st. There are 21 athletes who are registered to compete that will be competing for the fifth straight year at FOTC. It is currently the third largest fitness based event (that we’re aware of) in the country behind TYR Wodapalooza and the Atlantic Coast Classic. 

Pro Divisions

My primarily responsibility during this year’s competition will center around the five pro divisions: 

• Pro Male Indy
• Pro Female Indy
• Pro Co-Ed (MF)
• Pro Male Team (MM)
• Pro Female Team (FF)

For Each Division we’ll include the roster, and highlight the most accomplished athletes in the division.

Pro Male Indy

Brandon Jowers	Korby Foxall
Brian Killinger	Logan Brown
Brody Lewis	Mateus Ferro
Dre Strohm	Quinn Robinson
Evan Rogers	Tristan Faure
Jackson Drohan	Tristan Meredith
Jason Ray	Troy Clay
Jordan Lundin	Zach Ramirez

2023 North American Semifinalists

• Evan Rogers: 15th NA East
• Jason Ray: 41st NA East
• Troy Clay: 45th NA East
• Jordan Lundin: 47th NA East
• Korby Foxall: 59th NA East

Clearly Rogers 15th place is notably different than the other four men in this field who all finished outside the top 40 in the same competition last year. Rogers, though, is coming off competition in Miami at TYR Wodapalooza this past weekend, he finished 27th out of 40 in a stacked men’s field with his best workout being the last workout – eighth place on “El Circo” which had a kettlebell lunge buy-in and buy-out, and three rounds of rope climbs, toes-to-bar, and handstand walking in the middle. He also had finishes of 15th and 18th on the “Deja Vu” workout which included rowing, wall balls, strict pull-ups, box jump step-downs, and 70 LB DB snatches. 

Dre Strohm

Assuming Rogers brings his A game, the most likely candidate in the field to give him a run for his money might be an athlete who missed the 2023 season. Some of you may remember Strohm as the other male (along with Rich Froning) on the CrossFit Mayhem Freedom 2019 CrossFit Games championship team. Prior to that Strohm had qualified for Regionals every year from 2014 through 2018 and had career best finishes of 10th in the Central Regional in both 2016 and 2018. Strohm hasn’t competed at the highest levels since that 2019 season, but certainly is still fit and will likely be in the mix. 

Pro Female Indy

Amanda Fischer	Gabby Bellinger
Amanda Wiechens	Hannah Hardy
Ashley Iannone	Jenna Mcvey
Brynn Carrick	Jessica Schwartz
Caroline Kluttz	Madeline Helms
Chandler Garlow	Mckayla O’Connell
Cierra Cole	Pip Clarke
Emily Sallome	Shaylin Laure

2023 North American Semifinalists

• Amanda Fischer: 18th NA East
• Jessica Schwartz: 31st NA East
• Madeline Helms: 59th NA East

2023 CrossFit Games Team Athletes

• Shaylin Laure: 11th with Franco’s MisFits
• Hannah Hardy: 22nd with TTT Black
• Caroline Klutz: 29th with Grit Haus (was also 5th in the Masters 35-39 Semis)

2023 North American Team Semifinalists

• Pip Clarke: 23rd NA East with TTT

Shaylin Laure

Following the 2021 CrossFit Games season, Laure podiumed in six individual offseasons competitions. Following the 2022 Games season she won eight individual offseason competitions. Most notable among those were Monster Games, Crash Crucible, the Rx division of WZA, the IF3 Masters World Championship, and Fittest of the Coast. That was her first FOTC individual title, but she’s also a two-time team champion there including the inaugural female/female champion which she won with 2023 Games individual athlete Shelby Neal.

Amanda Fischer

The most successful individual athlete in the field during the 2023 Games season had two close calls with teams in terms of almost making the Games in 2021 (sixth place West Coast Classic) and 2022 (sixth place Granite Games). She’s a strong and powerful athlete who took fifth place on the max snatch (200 LBs) and 22nd place on the final workout (echo bike, toes-to-bar, sandbag carry) at the NA East Semi last year. 

Caroline Klutz

Klutz competed at CrossFit Crash in the masters division, but they did the exact same workouts as the elite division. Her performances across seven scored events would have yielded two event wins, a second, a seventh, and an eighth. She also would have had finishes of 15th and 28th on the high demand gymnastics tests. When it comes to most other things however, she’s going to be threatening for top finishes against this field.

Pro Co-Ed MF

B-Dub	Brandi Arey	Myology RDU	Jay Brice
B-Dub	Will Farquharson	Myology RDU	Lindsay Shaw
Bald and Boujee	Abigail Krueger	Not Fast Just Furious	Andie Knox
Bald and Boujee	Kerry Cofer	Not Fast Just Furious	Michael Hagerman
Barbell Hickies and Big Ol’ Thickies	Lauren Crocetti	Oreo Pankcakes	Evan Greenberg
Barbell Hickies and Big Ol’ Thickies	Tyler Watkins	Oreo Pankcakes	Vicky Caruso
Cirque Du Sore Legs	Emily Sallome	Pit Crew	Charlie Jones
Cirque Du Sore Legs	Ryan Clarke	Pit Crew	Madeline Helms
CrossFit MayHim/Her	Caroline Kluttz	SOGO Takeover Athletics	Alysen Spencer
CrossFit MayHim/Her	Jordan Lundin	SOGO Takeover Athletics	Joshua Perks
Invictus DC A&C	Amber Sikora	The Grit Haus	Amanda Wiechens
Invictus DC A&C	Cody Bain	The Grit Haus	Hunter Ozment
Kyle Spears	Amanda Fischer	Thick N Spicy	Korby Foxall
Kyle Spears	Patrick Long	Thick N Spicy	Shaylin Laure
Meep & Merp	Hailee Barbarits
Meep & Merp	Johnie Charles

Double-Dipping

A couple notable elite individual athletes, including all three of the women we just featured, are doing both pro female indy and pro co-ed male/female. Laure is teaming up with Foxall (who is also doing the pro male indy competition), but on paper look like the favorites in this division. 

WZA Elite team athlete Johnie Charles (20th with EFP) teams up with Hailee Barabrits who placed 230th in the NA East Quarters last year. They’re both 27 years old, she has been doing the Open since at least 2016, his first Open was one year later, but last season he made the NA East Semifinal and finished 32nd. They could be a sneaky pick in a division that feels pretty wide open.l

Pro Male Teams of 2

82 Much	Dean Combos	NBD ESP	Hank Grenda
82 Much	Eric Wilfong	NBD ESP	Nick Dimarco
Beck & Reed	Chad Beck	Pig and a Rhino	Daniel Sterling
Beck & Reed	Chris Reed	Pig and a Rhino	Quinton Mcqueen
Brad and Robert	Brad Bersin	Squatley Crüe	Tj Medlock
Brad and Robert	Robert Yates	Squatley Crüe	Troy Forrest
CrossFit Addict Ascend	Aj Nicely	The Bearded Avengers	Caleb Freeman
CrossFit Addict Ascend	Justin Reidelbach	The Bearded Avengers	Johnathon Bohnert
CrossFit Intrinsic	Brian Killinger	Thing 1 Thing 2	Seth Beck
CrossFit Intrinsic	Hunter Leprell	Thing 1 Thing 2	Weston Beck
Good Dudes	Cameron Church	Thunderlips and the Ultimate Meatball	Connor Johnson
Good Dudes	Hayden Dunn	Thunderlips and the Ultimate Meatball	Mckellar Proffitt
Holler Boys	James East	Tokyo Drift	Brian Yeung
Holler Boys	Logan Martin	Tokyo Drift	Josh Hardin
Mustache & Mullet	Dylan Schoonover	Training Think Tank	Chris Knizewski
Mustache & Mullet	Jake Frye	Training Think Tank	Lee Sharum

Lee Sharum and Chris Knizewski

Representing Training Think Tank, this duo both competed individually at the Charlotte Classic back in November. Sharum placed third while Knizewski was fourth, and together, I’d say they are the pre-competition favorites here.

James East and Logan Martin

I’ve seen East in competition more often than Martin, including last April at Crash Crescendo representing CrossFit Enapay who took second there behind only Christian Harris’s Move Fast Lift Heavy team. Martin was on the CrossFit Hendersonville roster which made the NA East semis last year and finished 54th. Both having recent high level team experience could make them one to watch as well.

Quinton McQueen and Daniel Sterling

McQueen turned heads on day one of Crash Crucible this year with event finishes of 3rd and 2nd to start the competition. He eventually faded to 8th overall, but that still included beating the likes of Mike Needleman (team Games athlete), Drake Lewis (Iron Games champion, WZA elite qualifier), and Daniel Sterling himself, who placed 11th. Sterling has one semifinal appearance to his credit as well taking 28th at the Syndicate Crown in 2022. Sterling is only 21, McQueen is just 22, and although they’re competing together here, both are young men in the NA East field worth being aware of.

Pro Female Teams of 2

Amino Disrespect	Chelsea Allen	Crossfit Mephobia	Hayden Setser
Amino Disrespect	Heather Williams	Crossfit Mephobia	Sarah Firestone
Arch NemeTwins	Courtney Sterner	CrossFit Muse	Allison Sharnowski
Arch NemeTwins	Lacey Cook	CrossFit Muse	Hayden Buckley
B & Mel	Bridget Gorman	JP CrossFit	Ashley Iannone
B & Mel	Melissa Houff	JP CrossFit	Leanna Ehrlich
Blacklisted HQ	Danielle Lee	Krypton Girls	Autumn Mongold
Blacklisted HQ	Sydney Campbell	Krypton Girls	Jasmine Woods
C&J	Carina Cardillo	Lean Machines	Emily Torrez
C&J	Jessica Gordon	Lean Machines	Theresa Harvey
Crash Ladies	Jennifer Schult	TTT Breakfast Club	Ansley Tucker
Crash Ladies	Jessica Rubbo	TTT Breakfast Club	Pip Clarke

Emily Torrez and Theresa Harvey

I’ve seen both of these women compete this offseason as individuals. Harvey was at both Crash Crucible and the Charlotte Classic. In Charlotte she finished 4th, missing the podium by only 10 points. Every event finish of hers was seventh or better, including an event win on the final. Torrez was out at Desert City and was locked in a battle for the overall win right up until the final event. She ultimately finishes second, but did notch three consecutive event wins on events two through four. 

Other than them this is a pretty wide open field. There are a few athletes like Pip Clarke or Jessica Rubbo who I have seen compete on teams recently, but I’m not familiar with their teammates. Should be a good opportunity to learn more about the athletes in this division, and my guess is that (as always), someone, either as a team, or individually, will surprise us. 

Indy Programming

Friday:

Run:

• 4,000 meters on pavement and trails

Pump Sesh:

• Rowing
• DB bench (70s/50s)
• Cleans (increasing from 255 to 325 for men and 165 to 215 for women)

Trident:

• C2 Bike
• Sandbag Squats (150/100)
• Sandbag bearhug carry
• Ring muscle ups
• Toes to Bar

Saturday: 

Nessie:

• Handstand walking
• DB Snatch (90/70)
• Rope Climbs
• Lunges

Leviathan:

• Burpee box jump overs
• Thrusters (125/85)

Team Programming

Saturday: 

Flying Dutchman:

• Toes to Ring
• Synchro Hang Squat Clean (155/105)
• Rig Complex (BMU/C2B/Pull-Ups)

Atlantis: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1usKE9xM5X/?img_index=2 

• Single DB S2OH
• Goblet Lunges
• Line Facing Burpees
• Shuttle Run
• Handstand Walk

Sunday

The Bermuda Triangle:

• Part 1
  • AMRAP Snatches in 2:30 at 165/115
• Part 2
  • 1 RM Max Snatch in 4:00
• Part 3
  • 8 Rounds of DB Bench, sandbag to shoulder, rope climbs

Davey Jones Locker:  

• Worm Thrusters (150 lbs for MM and MF divisions, 120 lbs for FF divisions)
• Double Unders
• Machine Cals (rower and c2 bike erg)

General Competition Schedule: can be found here.