Fourth to First – Becoming a US National Champion
Quinn Mason with the USA Climbing's 2021 Lead National Championships in the most exciting local competition of the season
After an unpredictable year, this evening saw the conclusion of the US Lead season. While many women on the US Team broke out internationally, the local development of the country’s best climbers came across best in tonight’s Lead event. Finals was intense.
Jillian Gerlitz lead the way. The Boulder local climbed well through the opening bolts, making quick work of the highly featured fibreglass that defined the route’s opening section.
Where the men’s route provided fewer, more powerful moves, the setting team had the women’s field climb through many hand movements before exiting their first section of the climb. After leaving the gibbed pinch section, Gerlitz entered in on a jug undercling that neither she, nor most anyone else took time to rest on.
Instead, the pumpy laid back position forced Gerlitz to move quickly through bouldery second section of the route. Pulling high into the next holds, Gerlitz enter a gibbed Flathold with her left hand before reaching back into a more positive Flathold with her right. She then began the compression sequence on this many-move climb, squeezing through screw-ons before finding a flat bit of fibreglass that she took a short rest on.
The exhausting route then asked Gerlitz to move through a low-profile, yet many sided volume where further gibs continued to thrash the forearms of the Coloradan. Maintaining her composure, she moved through a swing and into the first major crux of the route. She fell reaching over the angle.
Norah Chi followed and showcased an exceptional amount of power while pumped. She fell in the same place as Gerlitz, giving way to Olympian Kyra Condie. Condie has had a mixed season of results, but only within the context of her superior ability. The perpetually strong, and significantly experienced athlete moved quick through the bottom of the climb.
Instead of resting, Condie took a boulderer’s approach to route climbing and blasted her way through the first crux. Swinging a foot out right, she dropped her knee to both reach through to the next hold and find a low-pressure space where she might recover.
Chalking up, Condie  stood through the first crux and entered the second aggressive boulder problem. Grabbing onto some extremely poor gibs, she stood her right foot onto the crimp where she had rested, toed in, twisted in her hip, and locked off.
With her body shaking from the tension, Condie continued to the next sloping volume. She secured the gibs in order to step her feet onto the previous box. Although fatigued, Condie resisted gravity and fought her way through the next four holds. In the end, a large swing from an extended toe-hook release carried her off the wall and into first position.
Cloe Coscoy followed and climbed well falling after the first crux, but before Condie. Coscoy had a strong season finding success in Lead, but will likely look to 2022 for her breakout year. Never an athlete to be underestimated, Coscoy climbed well and did not appear fatigued. Instead, it seemed a mistake dropped her from the wall.
With the first half of the field through, Quinn Mason took the field. Mason climbed perfectly. Where Coscoy set the standard for controlled climbing in the round, Mason reset it with even greater flexibility than her peer. After moving through the first crux the first crux, Mason set up for a large dead-point to second sloping volume. Where Condie locked off, Mason swung, almost missing the gib, but securing it on the readjust. Staying low on her feet Mason climbed through the swing that dropped Condie. Mason moved into first position.
Checking the clock, she moved through the relatively simple conclusion of the climb and finished with a deadpoint to a massive fibreglass hold from which she clipped. Though fourth into finals, she became first with a Top.
With three athletes to go, concern built surrounding the possibility for a tie. A tie would force judges to look at the semi-final result to find a winner. This process is called countbacks. Kylie Cullen, Megan Lynch and Melina Costanza all held legitimate chances of topping and forcing this process.
Despite their abilities, Cullen fell by Coscoy while Lynch ran out of steam lower on the route. Both athletes have shown their potential this year and will be well worth watching in 2022. In the end it came down to Costanza. The almost undroppable Lead champion and three time gold medalist from this last year’s North American Cup Series events, began to climb. As expected, she did not falter. It seemed over. Costanza would win based on her semi-final result. At the last moment, however, Costanza dry fired, shocking all who watched.
Quinn Mason became the National Champion.
Result
1 – Quinn Mason
2 – Melina Costanza
3 – Kyra Condie
4 – Kylie Cullen
5 – Cloe Coscoy
6 – Norah Chi
7 – Jillian Gerlitz
8 – Megan Lynch
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
