The night belonged to the competitor absent from the early lists… Ziville Raudoniene. When I spoke to Ziville at the New York Pro Men’s contest earlier in the year she mentioned she’d be back to defend her title. We haven’t seen much from her and since she wasn’t on the list I assumed she decided to skip the contest. The only thing she skipped was cheat meals as she was on point and the clear favorite from the moment she took the stage. She’s one of the competitors that shines more in person than she does in photos. Beautiful girl, nice balance to her physique and spot on conditioning. She will successfully defend her New York Pro Figure title.

Second will go to the rookie Julie Ann Kulla. Everything fell into place for her tonight. Her color, suits, hair, makeup, conditioning, muscularity… She had it all. Julie Ann looked better at this contest than she did when she won the Jr. Nationals title. Like Lenay Hernandez she will get the runner-up title and make a name for herself right out of the gate.

Who will get that last qualifying spot to the Olympia? It will either be Huong Arcinas or Jelena Abbou. Jelena is already qualified but Huong is not. Huong is the shortest competitor on stage but the most complete in my opinion. When you look at her physique top to bottom she has it all. Great calves, symmetry, muscularity and conditioning. This was the best I’ve seen Huong and she could get the nod. Jelena looked great and you’re either a fan of her physique or not. She was more polished in her presentation tonight than at the Europa. I personally like her look and she has done all she can do with her genetics. Super tiny waist, great presentation, beautiful with nice conditioning. It will be close between these two.

Based on the callouts I have Candice John in fourth. I’m not familiar with the Trinidad competitor and was surprised to see her called out in the first round. It is proof that when people want to cry “politics” and “the name game” that it isn’t the case. She was tied for 16th at this show last year so landing in the top five is a huge accomplishment for her. She has a nice physique with good symmetry and balance.

The top five as I have them on my scorecard:
1. Ziville Raudoniene
2. Julie Ann Kulla
3. Huong Arcinas
4. Jelena Abbou
5. Candice John

3-5 could be any mix of Houng, Jelena and Candice. We’ll have to wait and see how the final scores come out.

Other thoughts from the show…
Teresa Gillian is doing very well in her second pro show. She’ll be in the 6-8 range and looked great. Nice symmetry and balance. I wasn’t a huge fan of her make up as it looked a bit muddy on stage. Overall though her presentation continues to improve and is doing a great job.

Natalie Benson was a bit soft from behind and despite getting good callouts I didn’t have her as high as she will most likely end up. She did look better than at the Europa show and appeared much tighter.

Krissy Chin will find herself on the outside of the top 10 most likely. I thought she could have been in the second round of call outs but it wasn’t meant to be for her this time around.

Becky Clawson was much improved from her previous shows and moved up in her call outs. This was definitely her best showing as a pro.

Tana Clough has an amazing physique. She came in a bit too hard for her debut. Had her conditioning been backed off a bit she would have faired better. Tana also needs to work on her posing. This is her first pro show so there were most likely some first time jitters. If she is little less hard and presents herself better she will move up at the Atlantic City contest.

Erica Fuest made her return to the stage but wasn’t at her best. She is lacking the muscle maturity and wasn’t in the condition she needed to, in order to do well here. Erica plans to compete at the Tournament of Champions so she should be improved there.

Juliana Malacarne should do female bodybuilding. I love her physique and she carries a ton of muscle beautifully. She will never crack the top 5 in figure, in my opinion. If she were to compete in female bodybuilding she would be winning every lightweight competition she entered.

Jessica Steffens is a pretty woman and has a nice upper body. Her legs need to drastically improve for her to do well in the pro ranks of figure.

Ziville should repeat at New York Pro Figure Champ.