TYR Wodapalooza SoCal set the stage for Reps Ahead Pro 4 — and the pros certainly put on a show.
Three of four matches ended in knockouts, all of which took place in the second round. The only match to go the distance was the men’s main event.
The drama of the head-to-head matchups was palpable as the sun went down over the Pacific. (We also got a little controversy along the way.)
Keep reading for our full recap.
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Reps Ahead Pro 4 Results
Here are the full results from Reps Ahead Pro 4:
- Ryley Humrighouse (2-0) defeated Malachi Bennett (1-2) at 2:33 in the second round.
- Jayson Hopper (1-0) defeated James Sprague (2-2) by decision after three rounds ended in a tie.
- Lauren Stallwood (1-0) defeated Devyn Kim (0-1) at 2:40 in the second round.
- Anikha Greer (1-0) defeated Kyra Milligan (1-1) at 49 seconds into the second round.
Sprague, the defending CrossFit Games and Reps Ahead champion, took on fourth-place Games finisher Jayson Hopper on Saturday night.
On Sunday afternoon, the floor was prepped for Games rookie Kyra Milligan to battle her friend and Reps Ahead rookie Anikha Greer.
Patrick Clark brought the UFC-style energy, calling the action from the floor, with Sean Woodland and Brian Friend on the live stream.
Woodland noted Clark’s hype: “I don’t know what you [Brian] gave Patrick before this, but we need some of that in the booth.”
Remind me: The workout, referred to as the sequence, is unique to each match. All four Pro matches have been a well-rounded triplet, including a pull-up bar, box or jump rope, and a barbell.
The Reps Ahead Pro 4 Sequence
Here’s the sequence the athletes faced off against during Reps Ahead Pro 4:
3 minutes on, 1 minute off of “Everett”:
- 12 Toes-To-Bar
- 8 Box Jump-Overs 24/30 inches
- 4 Squat Snatches 105/155 pounds
3 rounds or until someone gets 12 reps ahead.
Men’s Undercard
This was a rematch of the Pro 2 event in which Humrighouse held off a furious comeback by Malachi Bennett for a two-rep win at the end of seven rounds.
Fun fact: Bennett has the most Reps Ahead experience of any athlete, having competed in 12 matches, including three Pro events. He has an overall record of 9-3.
Men’s Main Event
Jayson Hopper and James Sprague went back and forth like a heavyweight fight.
At each interval, Hopper would gain a lead, and then Sprague would catch up. Sprague won round one, and Hopper won round two. Sprague took a one-rep lead going into the final round.
After three rounds of three minutes of grueling work, the clock hit zeros. Everyone’s eyes went to the scoreboard, which also displayed zeros. This meant the two superstars had ended in a tie.
We had entered uncharted territory.
- “Never in a million years did I think that was going to happen,” explained Reps Ahead Founder Phil Thomas in a conversation with the Morning Chalk Up.
You could hear the crowd start chanting, “One more round…” (That could’ve just been me).
- “We had a 30-minute window, so I didn’t have the option to do another round or sudden death,” Thomas continued.
Sprague sat down with Bella Martin for an interview while Hopper lobbied the crowd for the fan vote.
After about three minutes, Hopper was deemed the winner by decision because he was the first one to finish the box jump-overs in the final round.
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Hopper completed a victory lap, then made his way to Martin for a post-match interview, where she asked about his strategy.
- “Honestly, I was trying to play defense and let the champ throw the punches and kinda dodge,” Hopper said. “He’s been in Hawaii. He just won the Games. He just got married. The last thing he was thinking about was beating me. And the only thing I was thinking about was beating him.”
Sprague has been part of every Reps Ahead Pro event, and this was the first time in its two-year history that a match had ended in a tie.
The tiebreak decision was a difficult one for Thomas to make.
- “I had to look James in the eyes and tell him he lost. And he hated it…Jayson was ahead at the end. That’s the decision I made, and we’re going to roll with it,” Thomas said.
Sprague displayed mixed emotions after the event. Obviously disappointed, but proud of his effort after an eventful six weeks since winning the Games.
- “Tiegate will go down as one of the wildest moments of my career. What a crazy year so far,” Sprague posted on Instagram. “Unreal show. Unreal crowd. What a phenomenal experience.”
And he didn’t miss the opportunity to fire shots in the direction of his opponent, possibly setting up a future rematch.
“You may have gotten the fan-favorite award, but a tie ain’t a win,” Sprague chirped.
Women’s Undercard
Lauren Stallwood defeated fellow Invictus athlete Devyn Kim by knockout at 2:40 in the second round. The two experienced team athletes tested themselves in this one-on-one, nowhere-to-hide format.
It was revealed in the post-event interview with Martin that the two friends had a side bet.
- “I’ll take Devyn wherever she wants for dinner,” Stallwood said with a smile. She also said she was open to taking on her next opponent, whoever that may be.
Women’s Main Card
Anikha Greer had a plan. She came out hot and stayed hot, building an impressive eight-rep lead in the first round, which proved to be too much for Milligan to overcome.
- “Once I saw her cycling her toes-to-bar in the back, I was like, ‘I’m screwed,’” Milligan said during her interview with Martin. “But we’ll have fun anyways.”
Greer’s cycle speed on the toes-to-bar did, in fact, give her the advantage she needed to deliver a knockout.
She added touch-and-go reps on her first two squat snatches each interval and quick transitions. She was more aggressive early, and it paid off.
On paper, the two were evenly matched. In person, even more so.
- “It was kind of like looking in a mirror,” Greer said in her post-match interview.
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Her motivation to finish early, besides the prize money, of course, was to avoid a third round.
- “I took a little bit of a chance. After the first round, I was like, ‘My core is going to be unhappy if we have to do three of these,’” Greer said.
She ended the bout at 49 seconds into the second round.
The Bottom Line
Reps Ahead and Renovo will continue to provide an opportunity for athletes to compete and earn money in or out of the CrossFit Games season.
- All Games-level athletes received $3500 plus travel expenses. The winners took home a $1500 bonus.
Thomas told Morning Chalk Up he could imagine developing the spectacle of Reps Ahead so that it’s a combination of the two settings we’ve seen so far.
- A more intimate one-on-one feel, like being in a local gym, but with a professional setup like Wodapalooza. Plus, stadium-style seating where thousands of fans can feel close to the action.
The future looks bright for Reps Ahead, and there are big plans in the works.
The next event will take place in Denver as part of the 15th annual Turkey Challenge, the largest CrossFit competition in Colorado.
Featured image: @erinmurphydesigns / Instagram
