Bodybuilding champs crowned in Irvine

Hundreds gathered to see Christian Reiss and Renata Clay win the Mr. and Ms. Penn competition. Flexing, strutting, dancing and sometimes snarling to a nearly-full Irvine Auditorium last night, dozens of undergraduate bodybuilders tried to become the next "Mr. and Ms. Penn." After over two hours of competition, the judges selected Engineering junior Christian Reiss as Mr. Penn for 1997 and Wharton junior Renata Clay as the new Ms. Penn. Clay is a repeat champion, while Reiss placed second last year. While Ms. Penn is chosen from the women's single weight class, Mr. Penn is selected from among the winners of the men's lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight classes. The heavyweight crown went to Reiss, Wharton senior Greg Davis claimed the middleweight title and the lightweight title went to College senior Brendon Gibbons. Non-student posers "entertained" between the weight class competitions. Sean Lucan -- decked in blue body paint and a diaper and sporting green hair -- beat a stuffed rabbit with a baseball bat between his poses. "I'm the exhibitionist," the 1996 College graduate said. But the student posers received the loudest ovations. The men's competition featured more flexing, less dancing and musical scores ranging from ACDC to Aaron Copeland to Rocky. The women's competition was more of an overt performance, with minor dance steps and lots of rap and pop music. While the audience cheered from its seats, both the men's and women's backstage area was a scene out of Club MTV's spring break special, with dozens of sculpted, bikini-clad bodies dancing to the musical scores. "Work it in, girl! Dance around baby!" the women shouted from offstage, while others posed for the mirrors. In the men's backstage area, which smelled of oil, paint and musk, the competitors curled barbells and sweated through pushups. They also posed for the mirror while smearing themselves with Pam non-stick cooking spray. "It's supposed to bring out muscle definition," said College senior and middleweight competitor Okinyi Ayungo. Ayungo, a member of the men's track team, was competing for the first time. He said he decided to participate along with his friends on the team. Another first-time competitor, lightweight champion Gibbons, explained the appeal of the event. "It's always nice to be known as having the best body at Penn," he said. Clay said she didn't do much training for the event beyond her intensive workouts for women's track. "We were supposed to diet and stuff and some of us follow it and some of us don't," she said. Reiss said some of the male competitors -- himself included -- had been dieting since before December break. Reiss also lifts weights for two to three hours four to five times a week. "[Lifting] is a total sense of well-being," he said. "As Arnold [Schwarzenegger] would say, 'A pump is a good feeling.'" The cover charge to Mr. and Ms. Penn was $5 and all proceeds went to the women's track team.