What. A. Weekend!
The 2018 Kill Cliff Granite Games brought in athletes from all over to test their fitness in fierce competition.
The weekend started out with some major news in the CrossFit community. The Granite Games is a newly sanctioned event that will qualify athletes for the CrossFit Games. This will bring even more elite competitors to the Granite Games, making everyone step up their game.
Though there will be some major changes, the Granite Games will still continue their tradition of giving back to the local fitness communities. That tradition is not only important to the community members that get to compete, but it's important to the pros as well, including Kill Cliff athlete Sam Dancer. Dancer and team CrossFit Invictus finished second in the Male Pro Team division.
"The Granite Games does a great job at creating conditions that are very similar to the CrossFit Games," Dancer said. "This is one of the best events in the country and arguably just as good if not better in some aspects compared to the CrossFit Games. This is a community event and CrossFit is starting to lose that. The Granite Games is holding that piece together still. I love that. I still want to be involved in the communal aspects of competition."
Kill Cliff was represented all across the board by various athletes killin' the competition and killin' the quit.
Kill Cliff athlete and employee Austin Cahoy brought home a 14th place finish in the Male Pro division. Cahoy had previously competed in the Granite Games on CrossFit 417, so flying solo this year was a way for him learn more about the aspects of individual competition.
"My mindset was to take it seriously but be relaxed," Cahoy said. "I had to remember I signed up for this completion for experience as an individual competitor since I spent three years on a team. If I did good, great, and if I did bad on something then I took that as a learning experience to understand why I did bad so I can get better at it."
Having competed at many different events in the CrossFit community, including multiple trips to the CrossFit Regionals, Cahoy enjoys the different feel that the Granite Games brings.
"The Kill Cliff Granite Games is different because it’s not only about the pro individuals, it’s about everyone in the community," Cahoy said. "John Swanson the director of the Granite Games does a great job making sure that it’s about everyone and not a certain division or individual, or team. He also makes it a point for the individual pros that this competition is stepping stone to something great like the CrossFit Games. It’s for learning and having fun as a competitor.
Though the pros and the rest of the field compete in separate divisions for the Granite Games, Kill Cliff athlete Jenn Dancer felt unified in friendship throughout the weekend.
"We’ve been here at the Granite Games for five years and this year had been my favorite year because not only have we got to know the community, but I feel like we’re all friends now," Dancer said, who finished fourth with CrossFit417 in the Female Pro Team division. "People aren’t surprised to see us now. We’re all best friends now. It’s not like people say, ‘hey let’s go see the pros’ it’s more like ‘hey let’s go hang out with them’."
We had a blast watching all of the competitors in Minnesota this past weekend. We can't wait to do it all again in 2019 with a lot more on the line.
