MudGear-Battle Of The Lions Pro Team

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Pro Team Historic Rosters

The Pro Team roster of athletes changes slightly every year.  The team's title sponsor from 2016-2021 was the brand Conquer The Gauntlet.  At the end of 2021, the title sponsor switched to MudGear-Battle of the Lions.  Although some athletes are no longer on the team, they will always be part of our family.  Here is the historic roster of athletes since the team's inception in 2016 as well as some information about athletes that are no longer on the team. 

2016 CTG Pro Team Roster

Male Athletes

Matt Campione

Nathan Palmer

Evan Perperis

Cody Peyton

Lucas Pfannenstiel

Bryce Robinson

Matt Willis

Female Athletes

Christina Armstrong

Nicki Bruckmann

Nikki Call

Brenna Calvert

Randi Lackey

Amy Pajcic

Ashley Samples

2017 CTG Pro Team Roster

Male Athletes

Matt Campione

Jay Flores (added late 2017)

Nathan Palmer

Evan Perperis

Cody Peyton

Lucas Pfannenstiel

Bryce Robinson

Matt Willis

Jeff Yanda (added late 2017)

Female Athletes

Christina Armstrong

Nikki Call

Brenna Calvert

Randi Lackey

Lisa Nondorf (added late 2017)

Amy Pajcic

Ashley Samples

Lauren Woodcock (added late 2017)

2018 CTG Pro Team Roster

Male Athletes

Jay Flores

Nathan Palmer

Evan Perperis

Bryce Robinson

Doug Snyder (added late 2018)

Matt Willis

Jeff Yanda

Female Athletes

Christina Armstrong

Brenna Calvert

Randi Lackey

Lisa Nondorf

Amy Pajcic

Ashley Samples

Lauren Woodcock

2019 CTG Pro Team Roster

Male Athletes

Ashton Abraham (added late 2019)

Jay Flores

Nathan Palmer

Evan Perperis

Bryce Robinson

Doug Snyder

Matt Willis

Female Athletes

Brenna Calvert

Randi Lackey

Lisa Nondorf

Amy Pajcic

Ashley Samples

Michelle Warnky

2020 CTG Pro Team Roster

Male Athletes

Ashton Abraham

Jay Flores

Brint Hastert (added late 2020)

Nathan Palmer

Evan Perperis

Doug Snyder

Scott Wierzycki

Matt Willis

Female Athletes

Miranda Huber (added late 2020)

Randi Lackey

Lisa Nondorf

Jenny Overstreet

Amy Pajcic

Ashley Samples

Michelle Warnky

2021 CTG Pro Team Roster

Male Athletes

Ashton Abraham

Jay Flores

Brint Hastert 

Evan Perperis

Doug Snyder

Scott Wierzycki

Female Athletes

Miranda Huber

Randi Lackey

Jenny Overstreet

Amy Pajcic

Ashley Samples

Michelle Warnky

Title Sponsor Switched to MudGear-Battle of the Lions

2021 MudGear- BOTL Team Roster

Male Athletes

Ashton Abraham

Jay Flores

Brint Hastert 

Evan Perperis

Doug Snyder

Scott Wierzycki
Female Athletes

Miranda Huber

Randi Lackey

Jenny Overstreet

Amy Pajcic

Ashley Samples

Michelle Warnky
Rachel Watters

2022 MudGear- BOTL Team Roster

Male Athletes

Ashton Abraham

Jay Flores

Brint Hastert 

Evan Perperis

Doug Snyder

Female Athletes

Miranda Huber

Randi Lackey

Jenny Overstreet

Amy Pajcic

Rachel Watters

Former Pro Team Athletes Off Doing Other Great Things

Ashley Samples

Age Group World Champion in the 3k (2017) and 15k (2015 and 2017), Ashley Samples, is one of the best all around OCR athletes out there.  Nomiated for best female athlete for Mud Run Guide in 2015, 2016 and 2017, she has backed up these nominations with more podium finishes than we can count (guestimate is around 100!).  Her best year had 17 podium finishes with half of those being wins.  This super mom returned to top form after giving birth to her son to win the 2018 North American OCR Championships Pro Female Team category along with a string of other top performances.  After giving birth to her daughter she once again came back to win ever more top level OCR events.  In 2021, Ashley decided to step back from her busy lifestyle of racing every other weekend to focus on her growing family.  While no longer racing as frequently, you can still find her on the start line making the other ladies work for those top titles.

Michelle Warnky Buurma 

The Pro Team has had a lot of great athletes over the years, but arguably the best of all time on our roster has been Master of the Rig World Champion and Ninja Warrior Michelle Warnky Buurma (check out here website here).  Michelle made it to the Las Vegas National Finals 6x times over her career (so far) while being the 2nd women ever to make it up the warped wall to hit a city qualifiers buzzer (which she's done 3x) and the 2nd women ever to hit a city finals buzzer.  She also competed on Ninja Warrior's All-Star team for Matt Iseman with fellow ninjas Ryan Stratis and Karsten Williams. Michelle was the final leg on stage 1, hitting that buzzer as a team, and completed the first 3 obstacles on stage 3 to help her team clinch the championship!  If you think she's just a very short course specialist you would be wrong because she's finished 3rd at 2019 North American OCR Championships (3k Pro), 4th at 2014 OCR World Championship (15k Pro), 4th at 2016 OCR World Championships (3k Pro), won a CTG, won a Savage Race and even 9th at 2013's 24 hour long World's Toughest Mudder.  Michelle still owns her epic obstacle gym, Movement Lab Ohio (Check out their website here) but is currently busy growing her family.  We love Michelle's positive attitude and the work she has done making her an inspiration in our sport!  We hope to see her back to racing more in the future!

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Scott Wierzycki 

Flying below the radar most of the time, Scott Wierzycki has been racing in the sport since 2012, accumulating podium after podium, year after year.  With over 30 podiums total, Scott became the first to hit several notable Conquer The Gauntlet milestones include first triple podium for a single CTG race (2nd Overall\1st Master's in the elite wave, 3rd for the Continuum), first to win Elite/Masters/Continuum (Elite- Wichita 2017, Masters and Continuum multiple times each) and 2nd most Continuum wins of all time (4x).  This US Age Group National Champion (15k, 35-39 in 2017) is now a Masters athlete whose consistency with obstacles always makes him a threat for both the Masters and the Elite podiums.  Although no longer on the team, he is still out there racing and being a consistent performer in the wider OCR community.  

Lisa Nondorf

2017's USOCR Champion in her age group and 2018's 2nd place NORAM Pro Ladies Team member, Lisa Nondorf was, and still is, one of the most dominant masters female athletes in the sport of OCR.  She still holds several CTG records for Masters wins including the most number, the longest streak and the longest CTG Masters podium streak.  She's also the only person to ever win overall and Masters in the same CTG race (including both men and women).  Despite suffering a torn bicep in late 2018 (her only 2nd place Masters in a ninja competition), she came back stronger than ever the following year, a testament to her insurmountable will. In 2021, after arguably her most successful year of racing, she decided to take a more relaxed approach to racing and focus on herself instead of worrying about results.  She continues to train, race and conquer along side her boyfriend CTG Pro Doug Snyder. 

Nathan "NaPalm" Palmer

Nathan "NaPalm" Palmer is arguably the original CTG Pro.  When looking to form a team in early 2016, Nathan's name was the first that came to mind, a result of him being in the middle of a 10 race streak of CTG Elite podiums.  To date, Nathan remains the most decorated CTG male athlete of all time (3 elite wins, 11 elite podium finishes (2nd/3rd), 1 team win, 2 team podiums (2nd/3rd), 1 Continuum win and 2 Continuum podium).  After the birth of his son, Nathan started taking time away from racing to focus on more important things, his growing family.  You can expect to see NaPalm showing up at CTG races and other events throughout the Midwest burning up the course.

Watch Nathan Palmer when he competed on OCR Warrior:

Matt "The Mudder" Willis

Matt "The Mudder" Willis has been a mainstay of the OCR commmunity since 2012.  He has been on the Pro podium of both OCR World Championships (2019 Coed Team- 3rd place) and North American OCR Championships (2018 Coed Team- 2nd place) performing in both the speed and strength leg of the relay event.  Add in his obstacle proficiency, as shown by his five year run on the CTG Pro Team and Matt is always a force to be reckoned with.  He appeared as a elite competitor/team leader on Spartan's 1st season of Ultimate Team Challenge along with being a regular on the podium of five different national level OCR series.  You can still find Matt helping Mud Run Guide, working his IT job and crushing race courses on the weekends. 

Watch Matt when he competed on OCR Warrior:

Brenna "Red Beast" Calvert

When it comes to big names in OCR, there are few as well known as Brenna "Red Beast" Calvert.  One of the original members of the CTG Pro Team, she was on the team from 2016-2019 tearing up the course both in the US and internationally including countries like Lebanon and Kuwait.  With 45 OCR podium finishes and counting she is always in contention for the win.  She currently has six CTG gauntlets, the second most out of any female, and another four podium finishes.  She's also one of the few female athletes with both a Continuum win as well as an Elite CTG win.  A regular on the podium she is perhaps best known for her appearances on three different televised OCR related shows including CMT's Steve Austin Broken Skull Challenge (season 3 and season 5 all-stars) and in ESPN's BattleFrog League Championships.  Expect to see her focusing more on the media side of the industry in the future but don't count her out just yet, she'll still be racing and dropping everyone in the female field back one placement in the final standings.

Bryce Robinson

When it comes to winnning Conquer The Gauntlet races, Bryce Robinson held the record for male with the most number of wins from 2012-2019.  Although he rarely raced outside of CTG, he was a force to be reckoned with on any OCR course from short ones with easy obstacles to some of the most technically difficult in the sport.  He only has 16 total career races but managed to land on the podium in 13 of those.  With seven CTG wins/gauntlets to his name, his record will be hard to beat unless you are at the very top of the sport.  Bryce spends most of his time focusing on his landscaping business and his growing family.  If you're lucky, you might catch him at one of the Oklahoma CTG's sometime in the future.

Nicki Bruckmann

Nicki Bruckmann was added to the initial roster of the team due to her performance in 2015, which included a win at the notoriously difficult BattleFrog Xtreme Cincinnati course.  Although she spent much of her only year on the team, 2016, injured she was a valuable part of helping stand things up.  By the end of 2016 she was immersed in her blossoming business, Explorer Chick, an adventure travel company that offers women only small group tours and workshops.  She now works full time running the company and empowering women. 

Nikki Call

Nikki Call was very active in OCR starting in 2015.  She had a lot of strong finishes on the podium at both Conquer The Gauntlet and other race brands like BattleFrog.  She is best known for her podium finishes at two different BattleFrog events in 2016 with a broken arm for the first and two broken arms for the second (don't worry she finally went to the hospital afterwards and got treated).  She was also the female champion of OCR Warrior Kansas City (shown below).  Nikki left the sport in 2017 to spend more time with her family after winning her final Conquer The Gauntlet race earning her first Gauntlet in Oklahoma City 2016.  She dedicated the win to her father who had recently passed away. 


Nikki Call featured on Mud Run Guide's Badass Women of OCR

Cody "Man Bun" Peyton

Cody Peyton was on the initial roster of the CTG Pro Team for his involvement in the OCR community as well as his top performances at races.  A multiple time CTG podium finisher he won CTG Kansas City in 2016 for his first gauntlet beating an impressive field of athletes.  His obstacle proficiency was second to none and his consistency meant that if anyone else had an off day, Cody was there to seize on the opportunity.  After two years on the team he left the sport at the end of 2017 and now works for Ervin Cable Construction. 

Lucas "Mohawks Win Races" Pfannenstiel 

Lucas Pfannenstiel was known for his mohawk and fun personality as much as his top level race results.  He could regularly be seen at the front of the field of CTG races as well as behind the microphone sending athletes down the Torpedo slide to earn their finishers medal.  In 2017, he had an epic year appearing on both Steven Austin's Broken Skull Ranch as well as competing in Season 9 of American Ninja Warrior.  He also co-founded Kansas City Obstacle Course Racers (KCOCR) a group created to unite the OCR crowd in the Kansas City area, provide a training group for all level athletes and to help bring new series to KC.  Although still involved in the sport, he now races less frequently and spends more time with his family while working as an engineer. 


Hear from the Mohawk himself on the Strength & Speed podcast:

Ep25: Lucas Pfannenstil & The KCOCR Broken Skull Ninja Warrior

Matt Campione

No one on the team has as dramatic of a story as Matt Campione.  After pulling himself out of drug addiction he went on to become a great athlete and the family man he is today.  With multiple CTG wins to his name as well as other top performances like an overall win at Savage Race, Matt shows true versatility.  However, he is probably best known for his team's performance on Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge Season 1, where he was part of "The Comeback Kids" that took home a $250,000 prize purse (split between the five athletes on the team).  After two years on the team Matt left to focus on his family and pursue other interests including mission trips to South America. 

Christina "Honey Badger" Armstrong

Christina "Honey Badger" Armstrong was on the CTG Pro Team for the first three years and played a vital role in standing the team up.  During the day she is a special education teacher but on the weekend's she is an ultra-distance athlete with an impressive race resume including finishing The Death Race and 23+ career podium finishes.  HB is still involved in OCR but is focusing on ultra-endurance as well as getting more involved in the media side of OCR with Mud Run Guide for the foreseeable future.  Look for her at CTG Continuum events, other Ultra-OCRs and coaching high school Cross Country runners.


Hear about HB's endurance experience in Death Race on the Strength & Speed podcast:

Ep 54: Death Race Finisher Christina "HB" Armstrong & OCR Marriage

Lauren Woodcock

Lauren Woodcock is one of the most consistent CTG athletes ever.  With nine CTG podiums out of the ten CTG races she showed up to, her performance is hard to beat.  As a technical obstacle specialist and American Ninja Warrior veteran, she has only had to retry an obstacle once (Pegatron CTG KC 2017) and has never lost a belt or band in any race.  With 15+ podium finishes in her OCR career, she has a deep resume.  She is still involved in OCR but races less frequently due to her job training youth at ninja gyms in the Dallas area.

Jeff Yanda

Jeff Yanda stormed into the OCR scene with an impressive rookie year in 2017 walking away with 11 podium finishes including a 1st place win at CTG-XTC.  2018 was plagued with injuries including two torn muscles.  Even with the injuries, he managed to finish 2nd at his hometown course Conquer The Gauntlet Iowa.  He took 2019 off to recover but plans on coming back better than ever in 2020.  Although no longer on the team, he is still involved in OCR and in the process of recovering from injuries for another epic year.