Butora Athletes at Dominion Riverrock

Dominion Riverrock Boulder Bash

The 2017 Dominion Riverrock Boulder Bash took place on May 19th and 20th, 2017. Butora athletes Kerry Scott, Claire Bresnan, Solomon Barth, and Kevin Celommi traveled to Richmond, Virginia to tackle the 25-foot custom cage of volumes. Kevin called it “the best competition of the season.”  

Kerry, Claire, and Solomon all agree that it is their favorite comp of the year. This event drew an estimated 3,000 spectators. Check out what these athletes have to say about all the Boulder Bash action!

Kerry Scott

Kerry Scott is a 20-year old climber from Rockville, Maryland, who is currently studying math and education at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She loves the energy from both the spectators and competitors at Dominion Riverrock. “Some of my best friends, such as Claire, Solomon, and Jesse, compete at this event every year,” Kerry says, “I love getting to be silly with them. For example, Jesse Grupper and I planned to wear knee socks together at this event. I think the Batman and Robin socks helped me stick the dyno in finals!” Kerry also says that the climbs are always absorbing. “The route setters usually throw in a lot of feet-first movement. It’s fun to figure out and fun to climb! It also makes me less nervous, because I’m smiling too much to think about my nerves,” says Kerry. Congratulations on your 5th place finish Kerry!

Claire Bresnan

Photo by Jennie Jariel

Claire Bresnan is a 19-year old climber from Maryland, who is currently attending Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Before she was old enough to compete, Claire would attend Dominion Riverrock as a spectator. Now, she is an accomplished Boulder Bash competitor herself! “I love the gymnastic, overhung, creative style that Riverrock demands,” says Claire. Her favorite climb was the semi-finals route. “I just about screamed ‘FIGURE 4’ to my sequencing buddies and was absolutely giddy back in iso explaining the technique for my favorite move,” says Claire. Claire’s competition goals are always to make finals and do a figure four, so it was a successful weekend for her. Congrats on your 4th place finish Claire!

Solomon Barth

Photo by Jennie Jariel

Solomon Barth is a 19-year old climber from Philadelphia, who is currently studying computer science at Stanford University in Stanford, California. He is unable to choose a favorite part of Riverrock, because he loves all of it. “The great food, the host of events to watch, all of the dogs, the awe-inspiring venue, the pristine route-setting, the roaring crowd, and best of all, getting to spend time with some of my oldest and best friends truly makes for a magical event,” says Solomon. Solomon has spent many years competing on the youth circuit, where he used to stress about performing well. Now, he focuses on having fun, since it is the one thing he is in control of. Congrats on your 3rd place bouldering finish and 1st place speed climbing finish Solomon!

Kevin Celommi

 Photo by Jennie Jariel

Kevin Celommi is a 17-year old climber from Pennsylvania. He climbs on the PRG team in Coatesville. He first heard about DominionRiverrock from Solomon Barth and Eric Jerome, and when he checked it out, he thought it looked like too much fun to not go. Kevin enjoyed climbing in front of the large crowd and checking out the other events Dominion Riverrock had to offer. “My favorite climb was Qualifier 2 where you could get a no hands knee bar halfway on the egrips bubble wrap holds,” says Kevin. He likes to try to find ridiculous no hands rests in the gym. Kevin says he does get a little nervous for competitions, but once he sits in the chair, it goes away. Congrats on your 12th place finish and your fantastic season Kevin! After five years of climbing, Kevin never thought he would make it this far, but here he is, crushing the comp scene and looking forward to big plans for next year!

Congratulations to all the competitors at the Boulder Bash! The Butora athletes want to thank Peak Experiences, the route setters, sports backers, and the crowd for helping put on a fantastic event. See you next year!

Full results:

Women’s Bouldering:

• Brooke Raboutou
• Kyra Condie
• Arabella Jariel
• Claire Bresnan
• Kerry Scott

Men’s Bouldering:

• Kai Lightner
• Nathaniel Coleman
• Solomon Barth
• Taylor McNeill
• Andy Lamb

Women’s Speed Climbing

• Kyra Condie
• Brooke Raboutou
• Arabella Jariel

Men’s Speed Climbing

• Solomon Barth
• Nathaniel Coleman
• Riley Varner

Photos courtesy of Jennie Jariel