POSE FOR POSE he went with Matthew Watson.
And yet none was as telling as the stance Nicholas Best eventually took from his knees.
The expression from the ground said it all when Best was floored by the surprise announcement of his victory in Friday’s Sunshine Cereals/Gatorade Mr Schoolboy Bodybuilding Championships at the Lester Vaughan School hall.
It was a shock decision to say the least as Watson showed leaner muscle mass, and had better definition, especially in the chest and biceps area.
But Best’s superior mass clearly caught the judges’ eye, while the poise and flair he brought with each pose ensured the Barbados Community College student would at least walk away with the Best Poser award.
Watson, of Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, was adjudged second overall and the Most Muscular while Alleyne’s Shaquille Kellman came third.
In front a packed crowd which included nine-time pro champ Darrem Charles, Best appeared the early favourite, having initially wooed most of the pro female support with a huge body mass.
And he dazzled during the mandatory poses, flashing a far greater upper body to his four counterparts while brandishing full thighs in his fluent individual routine.
However, Best began to look a bit “soft” in the subsequent posedown with Watson, whose superior cuts showed on the front and back double biceps.
Rommel Harewood, last year’s third place finisher, disappointed in the absence of 2009 king Jonathan Nana and contender Devon Franklyn, coming fourth with an overall “soft” display.
The senior bodybuilding title wasn’t the only surprise decision on the night as Grantley Adams’ Robin Carrington stunned sisters Kellyann Skette and Jeanna Johnson for the Miss Body Fitness crown.
Not much separated the three in terms of lean muscle and shape but Skeete, last year’s queen, would have felt hard done by the result but not more so than Johnson, who settled for a second successive third place finish.
In a straight forward decision, Metropolitan’s Shaquille Lavine improved one spot from 2009 to secure the upper junior boys’ (12-15) title ahead of Justin Parris of Parkinson Memorial.
But the night truly belonged to Jaquan Burgess, Belmont Primary’s very own Darcy Beckles, who won his third successive junior boys’ crown in front a more than appreciative audience.
Clearly the crowd favourite, Burgess comfortably outshone second-placed Chad Slocombe and Derion Johnson-Hurley, both of Wilkie Cumberbatch, before posing side by side with guest poser Darren Charles.
Wilkie Cumberbatch’s Ryanna Thomas and Tiana Drakes secured the top spot in the tiny tots (6-8) bodybuilding and body fitness competitions, before schoolmates Stephiann Shepherd and Ashley Alkins did likewise in the junior (9-11) category.
Keiza Gooding-Hinds of Bay Primary rounded out the winners having copped the tiny tots boys’ bodybuilding title.
THE RESULTS: Tiny Tots Girls Bodybuilding
1. Ryanna Thomas (Wilkie Cumberbatch), 2. Idalia Welch (Wilkie Cumberbatch), 3. Tiana Drakes (Wilkie Cumberbatch)
Tiny Tots Bodybuilding
1. Keiza Gooding-Hinds (Bay Primary), 2. Oshea Grant (Wilkie Cumberbatch), 3. Addio Selby-Defreitas (Wilkie Cumberbatch)
Tiny Tots Girls Body Fitness
1. Tiana Drakes (Wilkie Cumberbatch), 2. Ryanna Thomas (Wilkie Cumberbatch), 3. Ashia Jones (Wilkie Cumberbatch)
Junior Girls Bodybuilding
1. Stephiann Shepherd (Wilkie Cumberbatch), 2. Atrice Joseph (Belmont Primary), 3. Ashley Alkins (Wilkie Cumberbatch)
Junior Boys Bodybuilding
1. Jaquan Burgess (Belmont Primary), 2. Chad Slocombe (Wilkie Cumberbatch), 3. Derion Johnson-Hurley
(Wilkie Cumberbatch)
Junior Girls Body Fitness
1. Ashley Alkins (Wilkie Cumberbatch), 2. Janina Mayers
(Christ Church Girls), 3. Akeena Stoute (Christ Church Girls)
Upper Junior Girls Bodybuilding
1. Rashida Price (Garrison), 2. Ralyisha Thomas (Combermere), 3. Ti-juana Devonish (Deighton Griffith)
Upper Junior Boys Bodybuilding
1. Shaquille Lavine (Metropolitan High), 2. Justin Parris (Parkinson)
Miss Body Fitness
1. Robin Carrington (Grantley Adams), 2. Kellyann Skeete (SJPP), 3. Jeanna Johnson (BCC)
Mr Schoolboy
1. Nicholas Best (BCC), 2. Matthew Watson (SJPP), 3. Shaquille Kellman (Alleyne)
