Submitted photo Dean Laraway, center, a long-time athlete at New Ulm CrossFit, recently qualified for the Regionals in his division.

NEW ULM — Dean Laraway, a long-time athlete at New Ulm CrossFit, recently qualified for the Regionals in his division.

To qualify for Regionals, Laraway had to be ranked in the top 200 athletes in his division out of 4,322 athletes world-wide. Laraway needed to perform one judged workout per week for five weeks in a row to submit an average score. Overall, he placed 3rd in Minnesota and 178th in the World.

“This puts Dean in the top four percent of all athletes his age,” New Ulm CrossFit owner and head coach Jeff Toomer said.

Toomer explained that qualifying for Regionals is the equivalent to making the Playoffs in Football. The next step is the CrossFit Games which is comparable to the Super Bowl.

To compete in the CrossFit Games, Laraway needed to complete a series of difficult workouts. The list of workouts required was released Thursday night and he had until Monday to complete them and turn in the scores.

If Laraway can finish in the top 20 of the final 200 competitors, he will qualify for the games.

Laraway feels he did well in the regional competition and likely moved up in the overall rankings, but he is still waiting for the final results.

Laraway first became interested in CrossFit training after seeing it on ESPN. When Toomer opened a CrossFit in New Ulm four years ago, he was one of the first to sign up.

Laraway said he has been working out most of his life having played sports in high school and college. He appreciates CrossFit for its varied exercise.

“It is the most efficient exercise program I tried and I’ve been working out since I was 14,” Laraway said. He will turn 58 this summer.

“He is a great example of age being a number,” Toomer said. “We are all proud of Dean and love having him as part of our family here at New Ulm CrossFit.”