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Cars lined up on both sides of Y.H. Hanson Avenue Saturday for the Meltdown Throwdown, a CrossFit competition that happened all day.

“We have 40 teams of three athletes, men and female, that are coming all across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, the Dakotas,” said Casey Kortz, co-owner of CrossFit InnerDrive.

Because it’s March and the snow is starting to melt, she thought having a MeltDown now would be appropriate and encourage people to go to the gym in preparation for summer, being outside and spending time with friends.

The competition, each team with three members, involved weightlifting, endurance, gymnastics and other miscellaneous workouts. Overall, 120 people from over 15 gyms competed, meaning the event was entirely full. Participants did not have to be members of a CrossFit gym either.

“My goal was to do that,” she said. “Did I think it would happen, no.”

The first event was a strength program, with one member of each team using a barbell, whether a bench press, squat clean or something else.

The second workout was “all cardio” and included biking, skiing or rowing and going as fast as possible as a team.

The third workout included gymnastics skills, whether ring rows, pull-ups, bar muscle-ups and dumbbells.

Teams that advanced to the finale participated in a final workout, which included jump-ropes and synchro work.

Bri Satre, who played soccer and softball in college, came down from Minneapolis.

“[Our team] likes to do CrossFit competitions throughout the state, just seemed like a fun day to workout with my two friends and meet some new people and come to a new gym in a new place,” she said.

For her, competing in the Meldown Throwdown felt like playing a game after practicing in gyms all week.

Her goal was to get to the fourth and final workout and win.

James Bisanti traveled from Austin.

“Just a good opportunity to spend some time with friends and get some exercise in while doing it,” he said.

Bisanti has been competing in these events for the last few years.

His goal for Saturday was getting exercise in.

Jake Dancler came from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after Josh Hansen asked him if he wanted to do it. 

“So far it’s been fun,” he said. “We just did our lifting event and the next one is just a cardio event,” he said. 

His goal was to get to the podium. Beyond that, he simply wanted to move his body and have fun with friends.

According to Kortz, CrossFit InnerDrive had previously hosted these types of events prior to the pandemic. And this was the first time Kortz and fellow co-owner Braeden Cords held it here after buying the gym in January, though Cords had run previous Meltdown Throwdows at his other gym. 

His goal was to get 90 participants.

 The duo had been planning for this for over two months.

“We brought it back to give our athletes something to look forward to at our own gym instead of continuously going to other gyms,” Kortz said. “Also to bring the community and make people aware that this is here and that everybody can do it.”

Her favorite part of the event was seeing everyone come together and sharing a passion.

“It’s all about the community and trying to get as much member involvement as possible,” Cords said. “Also to make the gym feel full and competitive.”