MOULTRIE — A team made up of three Colquitt Countians is going to the Granite Games in Minnesota.

Austin McCord, Luis Vargas-Cruz and Charlie Florencio competed in the Granite Games Throwdown held Jan. 12 at CrossFit Valdosta, but on different teams. McCord, a college student, teamed with Carson Davis and Adi Jovovic to represent CrossFit Valdosta as Boy2Men. They won the male intermediate division with a performance that rated third among an estimated 550 teams across the country that took part in about 50 Throwdowns on that day.

The Boy2Men team received an invitation to compete at the Granite Games, a sanctioned event for the CrossFit Games that takes place May 30-June 2 in St. Cloud, Minn.

However, as explained by Danny Johnson, a Valdosta CrossFit representative, both Davis and Jovovic have scheduling conflicts that will not allow them to make the trip to Minnesota. Johnson said the Granite Games are flexible and allowed for substitutes.

Those are Vargas-Cruz and Florencio, who were on a team called Fifty Shades of Brown with Martin Carrera representing Moultrie CrossFit in Valdosta. They placed fourth in men’s intermediate.

The winner of the Granite Games receives an invitation to the Reebok CrossFit Games, which are July 29-Aug. 4 in Madison, Wisc.

Johnson joked that McCord is the “Boy” in the Boy2Men team but is the one who can lift the most weight. In fact, Johnson said he sees a passion for this sport in McCord, whom he said spends a lot of time in the gym first doing Olympic lifts, then going through the regular CrossFit class, then will help youngsters.

“He’s quiet but polite,” said Johnson.

As for a CrossFit intermediate team competition, it consists of four workouts. The first two are back-to-back, then there’s a break, then the third one, then a break, then the fourth one.

The first has the competitors doing front squats, and the score is the total weight from all three.

The second is a hodgepodge of everything from chest-to-bar pull-ups, shoulder-to-overhead lifts and toe-to-bars over and over again in a 15-minute time limit.

The third is partner deadlifts with two lifting and the third hanging onto the bar plus box step-overs. For the second and third event, the score is based on the number of repetitions.

Finally, there’s two full rounds for each athlete of rows and dumbbell snatches with one arm. Boy2Men did this in seven of the allotted 12 minutes.

Moultrie CrossFit also had a team called Just Kipping It Real in the female intermediate division. Elizah DeMott, Kambria Blakely and Jodi Beth Stucky finished tied for first place but did not earn a Granite Games qualifying score.

There were also scaled divisions, and Moultrie had a female scaled team participating with Kaila Howell, Leah Braswell and Maggie Murphy. There events are essentially the same as intermediate except for No. 2. For scaled, that includes ring rows and hanging knee raises.

Johnson said this was programed to be safe for the athletes, and there are those who make a living from this. First, there’s sponsorship, plus there’s six-figure prize money for individuals who win the Reebok CrossFit Games.

“It keeps growing,” said Johnson. “It started in California in about 2002, and from 2006 to now it took off. Now it’s a professional sport. It can consume your life.”

To help with expenses for McCord, Vargas and Florencio will be going to the Granite Games, a pancake breakfast will be held March 9 at Applebee’s in Moultrie to raise money for the team. For tickets or more information, call Sam McCord at (229) 300-0649. Tickets are also available from Elev8, a gym on Second Avenue Northeast in Moultrie.