We’ve had some great athletes come from Orange County and do some amazing things in different sports. Add Casey Viator’s name to that list who may be the fittest of them all.
Viator, 23, is a Little Cypress-Mauriceville graduate who went to Texas Lutheran University down in Seguin to play football. While going to school he found a gym to work out in and met a guy that was involved in crossfit. He had done some crossfit work in Bridge City before and liked it.
Seeing his progression the manager of the gym, Giovanni Contreras, asked Viator if he was interested in joining a team he was putting together. It’s two men and two women, and each person has a certain weight to maintain. Jessica Aelvoet and Joceline Gonzales completed the Lonestar CrossFit Team.
Back in February and March they began competing in Opens. Doing events with some interesting names like Yoke & Litter Carry, Burpees, Worm Thrusters, and the Big Bob push. They would video and time themselves and send their performances to the Regional committee. Team Lone Star qualified for Regionals in Salt Lake City where they finished third out of 40 teams, which was good enough to qualify them for the Reebok Crossfit Games, the Super Bowl of Crossfit.
Pretty impressive for a first year team. “Yes we were happy to qualify for the Games,” Viator said. “Our team really dedicated themselves. And when you consider our backgrounds, it’s really amazing what we’ve been able to accomplish.”
Viator is currently working on his masters in Exercise Science at Texas State, and he’s also a personal trainer. Contreras runs the gym, he’s also working on his masters in accounting, and is about to be a new dad. Gonzales is in construction and Aelvoet works for the San Antonio Police Department. Somehow they found the time to workout as a team three days a week and on their own for another two days a week.
The Games, held in Wisconsin, consists of 11 events in four days. Each event is more like an obstacle course that will test your entire body, mind and core. There’s also no backups like you would have in other team sports. “You can have a male and a female alternate,” Viator said. “But when the competition begins, the four you start with is your team. If anyone is injured and can’t compete, the whole team is out of the competition.” Incredible pressure when you consider what they put their bodies through.
The Lone Star team held their own, finishing 25th out of 40 teams. They even had a top ten finish in the Running Bob Viator said, “We would’ve like to have finished in the top half, but we were happy. It was our first year and some of the teams have been together as long as ten years.”
As for Viator, any special diet when you’re training for an event? “Not really,” he said. “I just eat good. No alcohol. No fast food. No supplements.” Really no supplements? “Not really unless you’re sure what’s in them. Some of that stuff has so many ingredients, you don’t want to take a chance of being tested and kicked out for a banned substance you didn’t know about.”
One thing Viator did know about during his trip to Wisconsin, was a plan he had during their off day. The team went out to a lake for a photo shoot. Casey’s girlfriend Megan Larsen had made the trip with them. They met about a year ago at TLU where she also played soccer. “I waited until the time was right as we stood by the lake and proposed to her in front of family and friends who made the trip. She was totally surprised which really made it worth it. And she said yes!”
Team Lone Star will continue to train together and try to make it back to the CrossFit Games next year.
Example of one of the events called Team Battleground.
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