Balanced Craw 2025 Open Recap

The Balanced Craw 2025 Open took place March 20-26, featuring fierce battles across all divisions, with some dramatic last-minute shifts and impressive performances.

Donor Men:
Garet Hil started strong, taking the lead on the first day of the competition with an 18-point initial workout. After two attempts, achieving 16 and 17 points, Eric Walano’s third attempt edged out Garet’s score, securing him first place with 19 points. Garet’s final attempt on the last day of the competition tied Eric at 19 points (they also tied with 21 pull-ups each) leaving the two competitors deadlocked in first place. Garet asked the judges to reach out to Eric to see if he could record another workout and possibly break the tie. Eric was eager to compete but couldn’t exercise that day because he had given blood,so the judges gave him a one-day extension to break the tie. On Thursday morning, Eric dug deep and improved his performance for the 4th time with a 19-point score including 27 pull-ups, breaking the tie and securing first place. In a thrilling last-day submission, Justin King surged from seventh place to third place with a 15-point clutch performance, making this one of the most dramatic come-from-behind finishes in recent Donor Games history.

Donor Women:
The women’s donor division saw a dizzying pace of leaderboard movement throughout the week. Courtney Cox led for much of the competition,  followed closely by Roni Hays and Mimi Mahon, who were tied in points but came up short on the pull-ups needed to move ahead of Courtney. On the last days of the competition, Mimi and Roni improved their performances and the leaderboard had Mimi in first place and Roni in second. Then things took a dramatic turn when McKenzie Hull, a double donor (liver and kidney), entered the competition with a 12/12 workout on the last day, followed soon after by Courtney, who improved her score, creating a tie for first place, pushing Mimi to second with 11/17 and Roni to third with 11/13.

Recipient Men:
There was intense competition in the recipient men’s division, as this category continues to grow and recipients prove they can outperform many athletes in these workouts. Andrés Falco briefly held the top spot after a strong first entry of 10/14, but 2025 newcomer Codiee Lofquist continues to dominate in his rookie season with a stellar last-day submission, securing the win with a 13/18 score.

Recipient Women:
Danielle Fiorito, who is awaiting her first transplant with Stage 5 kidney failure, claimed first place in the recipient women’s division with a gritty performance and a 14/12 score. Sydney McGuire, a liver recipient whose brother Thomas Sullivan is her donor (and also a top Donor Games athlete), came in second with 14/7. Abigail Beckman-Green, who had a memorable breakout performance in the 2024 1-Mile Swim, finished third with a strong 6/6 score.

General Divisions:
In the general men’s division, several athletes held the top spot before Tony Lauters, who ranks among the top 100 in CrossFit in the U.S., clinched first place with a last-day effort of 20/22. On the women’s side, Sam Briggs, the 2013 fittest woman in the world, led for much of the competition with a dominating 17/17 score, but Megan Bell’s workout on the last day came out on top, besting Briggs by one rep and landing Megan in first place.

This competition was one of the most dynamic yet, with incredible performances and dramatic shifts in rankings. Congratulations to all the athletes for their dedication and hard work!

Final Leaderboard

Living Donor: Men
Rank	Participant	Age	State	OH Reps	PU Reps	Scored Pts	Video
1	Eric Walano	32	NJ	19	27	19
2	Garet Hil	62	CT	19	22	19
3	Justin King	47	AL	15	16	15
4	Adam Hull	43	MD	15	15	15
5	Blair Casey	29	TX	16	13	13
6	Thomas Sullivan	31	OK	13	14	13
7	Brandon Cullen	25	NY	12	17	12
8	Mike Ramsey	52	WI	14	12	12
9	Claus Krukenberg	36	PA	12	12	12
10	Jason Elmore	44	TX	11	12	11
11	Steve Holmes	53	PA	10	12	10
12	Kevin Kilkenny	55	NY	10	10	10
13	Jon Sullenberger	62	WA	12	9	9
14	Mark Murray	36	PA	9	10	9
15	Anonymous Donor	45	ME	7	8	7
16	Zachary Sutton	44	SC	4	3	3
17	Cornelius Bornman	48	MI	17^	12	12*
18	Adam Cozzette	35	MO	18^	11	11*
	Kyle Bergeron	30	FL			DNC
	Mark Dixon	41	UK			DNC
	Joseph Schrage	36	CA			DNC
	Chris Sullivan	56	CO			DNC
	Benjamin Thompson	34	MA			DNC

Living Donor: Women
Rank	Participant	Age	State	OH Reps	PU Reps	Scored Pts	Video
T-1	Courtney Cox	41	MO	12	12	12
T-1	McKenzie Hull	34	OH	12	12	12
2	Mimi Mahon	37	OH	17	11	11
3	Roni Hays	28	TN	13	11	11
4	Emmy Spencer Probasco	44	MD	12	8	8
5	Trinia Westcott	50	OK	6	5	5
6	Molly Cropp	44	CO	12	4	4
7	Kaci Alvarado	48	TX	15^	15^	15**
8	Taylor Jones	32	NC	12^	17^	12**
9	Radley West	53	SC	8^	5^	5**
10	Andrea Alejandro	45	TX	30^	13^	13**
	Nicole Birkett-Brunkhorst	39	MO			DNC
	Clementé Love	41	TX			DNC
	Sydnie McClendon	30	MT			DNC
	Janet Walker	41	NY			DNC

Transplant Recipient: Men
Rank	Participant	Age	State	OH Reps	PU Reps	Scored Pts	Video
1	Codiee Lofquist	39	MI	13	18	13
2	Andrés Falco	34	SPAIN	10	14	10
3	Leo Draham	56	PA	8	8	8
4	Scott Claybrook	43	AL	5	10	5
5	Wilson Du	43	CA	8	5	5

Transplant Recipient: Women
Rank	Participant	Age	State	OH Reps	PU Reps	Scored Pts	Video
1	Danielle Fiorito	27	NC	14	12	12
2	Sydney McGuire	25	OK	14	7	7
3	Abigail Beckman-Green	35	IN	6	6	6
4	Samantha Hil	29	CT	3	4^	3*
5	Donna Sullenberger	68	WA	7^	11^	7**
6	Bridget Hargot-Ramsey	50	WI	24^	24^	24**
7	Merrill Walker	68	CO	15^	14^	14**
	Nicki Mahon	67	OH			DNC

General: Men
Rank	Participant	Age	State	OH Reps	PU Reps	Scored Pts	Video
1	Tony Lauters	34	NE	20	22	20
2	Mason Holmes	23	PA	22	18	18
3	Greg Holt	39	CT	18	19	18
4	Trevor Adaline	29	FL	16	16	16
5	Jordan Pineda	32	MO	22	12	12
6	Shaphen Robinson	37	OH	20	12	12
7	Edson DaCosta	46	CT	12	13	12
8	Frank Schultz	56	MA	16	11	11
9	Ryan Meehan	42	CT	10	10	10
10	Miguel Person	46	NY	12	8	8
11	James Fleming	44	SC	20^	7	7*
12	Kevin Thatcher	51	MI	12^	13^	12**
	Thomas Brewster	50	CO			DNC
	Jose De Souza	29	NY			DNC
	Gabriel Duarte	46	CO			DNC
	Kevin Fulton	32	CT			DNC
	Ezra Mernit	26	NY			DNC
	Victor Pena	22	CT			DNC
	Casey Schmitz	40	NY			DQ
	Keith Welch	58	CT			DNC

General: Women
Rank	Participant	Age	State	OH Reps	PU Reps	Scored Pts	Video
1	Megan Bell	33	WI	18	17	17
2	Sam Briggs	43	OH	17	17	17
3	Mary Fisher	42	WI	14	15	14
4	Abigail Lauters	38	NE	14	12	12
5	Kandi Hughart	29	OK	12	12	12
T-6	Kiana Sullenberger	31	WA	15	11	11
T-6	Shanell Sullenberger	31	WA	15	11	11
7	Elizabeth Borchardt	39	WI	13	8	8
8	Brianna Supple	25	CT	8^	7	7*