Davin Mancini, foreground, 39, and Thomas Stephens, 15, lift weights as part of the RX Fitness Challenge during the State Games of Mississippi Saturday.

Judging a book by its cover is never a good idea, and that adage rang especially true Saturday morning at Caustic CrossFit in Meridian.

At 5-feet-tall, Meridian resident Kim Thompson was hardly the tallest athlete at the State Games of Mississippi’s RX Fitness Challenge. But size didn’t matter as she hoisted a barbell and proceeded to max out her bench press at 80 pounds.

The 2018 RX Fitness Challenge attracted dozens of CrossFitters from Meridian, Gulfport, Brandon and Butler, Ala., to Caustic CrossFit, where they competed in a variety of events including deadlifts, front squats, box jumps and other high-intensity interval training exercises.

Thompson, 61, has been a CrossFit loyalist for five years and trains at Caustic CrossFit five days a week.

“I was already a member of Steve’s (Cathey) gym when CrossFit got popular and came to Meridian,” Thompson said. “At the time, I was working out with a trainer, and I would train with him two days a week and then do CrossFit two or three days. Then he left town, and I started doing CrossFit full-time in 2013.”

The RX Fitness Challenge debuted in 2013 and was met with healthy participation. Over the last five years, the sport’s popularity statewide has caused a slight dip in the RX Fitness Challenge’s participation, due to the frequency of CrossFit competitions, but Saturday’s event still remained consistent with its usual draw.

“It’s about the same,” said Steve Cathey, Caustic CrossFit owner and RX Fitness Challenge commissioner. “2013, 2014 was our biggest year, but they treat this like a CrossFit competition, not a State Games (competition). More gyms opened, so it’s harder to get people to come. When we first did it, there were only one or two competitions a year, now there are over 100 in Mississippi.”

Saturday’s RX Fitness Challenge marked the first for youngster Thomas Stephenson. The 15-year-old started his CrossFit journey two years ago after a friend introduced him to the sport.

“He did CrossFit and kind of knew about it,” Stephenson said. “I looked into it and went down to (CrossFit) Torment and started about a month later and have been doing it ever since. It’s fun — it builds strength.”

While Caustic CrossFit served as host site for the RX Fitness Challenge, CrossFitters from Meridian’s three gyms participated. Davin Mancini, 39, a member of CrossFit Torment, was one of many, along with Stephenson, who sweated out and endured the early morning Fran workout. The benchmark workout consists of 21, 15 and nine reps of 95-pound barbell thrusts and pull-ups.

“It’s repeatable and measurable,” Mancini said of the workout. “We did it now, and we can do it in three months and see where our fitness has gone and see if we’ve gotten better or worse.”

With the opening of CrossFit CrossFit Ludus, Meridian’s CrossFit scene continues to expand. Part of the allure, Thompson said, is its variety of exercises.

“What I love about it is you can come in here no matter who you are, your age, whatever kind of shape you’re in, and you can start and scale everything to what you can do,” Thompson said. “I’ve been here all these years, and there are lots of things that I can’t still do — that’s what I love about it.”