2021 NPC Empire Classic
Bikini Championships
(Spokane, WA - May 8, 2021)
The Empire Classic in Spokane is an event we always hope to squeeze into our contest coverage...sometimes more successfully than
others and also depending on its proximity to Emerald Cup. This has always been one of two 'Flagship' events for Ribic Productions and
despite all the trials and tribulations of the moment have ALWAYS stepped up for the athletes, managing in the fall of 2020 to put on its other
prominent event, The Night of Champions! Together with the Big Sky Championships, they've solidified their place in the Northwest and
now partnering with Craig Productions as mentioned in our Emerald Cup reports, is great news for the sport in the region!
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Starting with Bikini, Idaho's Mariah Nilges brought a balanced physique and nice lines along with photogenic stage presence to take the Overall Open title.
We had hoped to fit in a Boise visit during our 'coverage tour' as it's a definite hotbed of talent, especially in this division! Hopefully in the near future.
Giving her a run for her money was the well conditioned Jasmine Averill who at this level has been quite successful in whichever category she's entered in
recent shows we've had the privilege to cover.
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Same with the 3rd place overall placer Tylar Stephenson, improvements and strong placings throughout the
Bikini classes entered. Others of note in her 'C' Class were Anna Drapeau fresh from a successful Emerald Cup and stunning Alex Whitney who
we photographed the following day at the gym. Rounding out the Class winners was Alex Brown in 'B', which saw runnerup Maygan Lenz
do well in other classes entered as well as 3rd placer Ashley Berg representing Hardcore Gym in Spokane who we
think has a bright future in the industry.
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Other notables here included statuesque Tracy Schroeder placing second in Open 'D' Class and incidentally getting unanimous 1st place
scores in her other classes entered, absolute elegance onstage! This was a VERY competitive show with judges taking long looks to
decide things...close scores throughout so take the eventual rankings with a grain of salt. Look out for others such as Brittani Ramey and
Courtney Acree at future shows!
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A huge thanks to Promoters Ribic & Craig Productions, volunteers and the dedicated competitors who keep this sport growing.
BTW, Elaine Craig did a masterful job as emcee!
The Pacific Northwest is a special place when it comes to the NPC community with everybody pitching in
to make each others' shows as successful as possible. It's a continued privilege to be able to
cover and publicize these shows for decades now. We'll have more on the show here in general as time permits.
You can also find more content on Instagram @david_twixpix. Thanks for NOT cropping watermarks if reposting photos
on social media. Official results and further information
can be found at Craig/Ribic Production events..
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(Please notify me of any placing or name spelling errors, thanks.)
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