Muswellbrook’s Rylee Kent is the fifth fittest 16-17 year old in Oceania after competing at CrossFit’s semi-final event, The Torian Pro, in Brisbane.
Rylee walked in CrossFit Muswellbrook when he was about 11 years old.
“It was when I was playing a lot of footy and Mum thought CrossFit would be some good added fitness. She had to force me to go sometimes, but I’m thankful she did.
“Seeing the other kids my age doing it and doing well, I thought ‘why can’t I do that’. I loved getting better at movements, climbing up the rankings and seeing how fun it was,” said Rylee.
Last year Rylee came 17th in Oceania, not enough to qualify for the Torian Pro. This year, it was a different story.
“This year the Top 8 after the CrossFit Open could qualify and after a couple of events I was sitting well in that Top 8 bracket. Then the final workout had a heavy lift which is one of my strengths. I was sitting in 8th position after the final workout, but someone still had to put their score in.
“Literally 20 minutes before the submission time he put it in, and I ended up in 9th. I was devastated.
“Then I was looking at my emails and saw one that said, ‘you’re invited’. It turned out that someone had dropped out so I was the next person in line to come.
“I had been training so hard and I wanted to show people what I could do and why I should’ve qualified in the first place,” Rylee said.
Rylee certainly did show everyone what he could do, travelling to Brisbane to compete and exceeding his expectations. Across three days, Rylee competed in six workouts finishing the weekend in 5th place overall.
“I was expecting it to be very serious and no fun at all, maybe even overwhelming but it turns out it was the complete opposite.
“Two moments stand out from the weekend. The first was an event that involved the ski erg, burpees and dumbbell snatches and before the weekend I was thinking I was going to be left in everyone’s dust, but I went into it with a good mindset and pushed myself so I was feeling happy with where I finished.
“Finishing the last workout was great too, just that feeling of exceeding your own expectations. The lifting complex was a standout as well. I ended up coming second with 245 pounds, about 120 kilograms, so I was stoked.
“My next goal is to finish in the top three next year at Torian.
“I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped me along the way. I want to thank Liv for coming up and coaching me, and my family of course and everyone at CrossFit Muswellbrook who has supported me along the way,” Rylee said.
Rylee’s dad is the Superintendent at Bengalla mine and he couldn’t be prouder.
“There is nothing better than seeing your kids succeed at something that means so much to them and they have put so much effort into. You know that the confidence they are learning can set them up for life ahead.
“If you know Rylee like we do you would know he overthinks everything and this journey has been a rollercoaster of emotions. One thing is for sure though, when he says he can do something you can bet your house on it.
“We are extremely proud of him and these moments are priceless to see.”
