Challenge Dirty 30 Player Preview: Jenna Compono
Jenna Compono is about to be on her 5th Challenge. Where has the time gone? The new girl from Exes 2 that inexplicably made it to 3 straight finals in a row to start her career, now is a full out Challenge veteran. Jenna has done 1 less Challenge now than Jenn Grijalva, Nany Gonzalez, and Theresa Gonzalez. The same amount as Jonna Mannion, and Jasmine Reynaud. Those were people who it felt like they were on the Challenge forever. It does not feel as if Jenna has been here forever. Maybe it is because she started so young.
When she first appeared on the Real World Explosion, Jenna was 19 years old. She came on the show due to being the ex-girlfriend of Jay Mitchell, the bitch that quit during the Exes 2 final. MTV really liked and wanted Jay, Jenna came as part of the package. Which is hard to believe now as Jenna has become a fan favorite. It was a miserable time for Jenna, she was always crying about Jay, or madly in love with Jay. She couldn’t make a decision for herself, and even worse is that everyone was taking it upon themselves to make Jenna’s decision for her. The situation for Jenna was tough, Jay was 6 years older than her, and she was on the Real World without being able to drink.
For the second Exes season, MTV was set on having Jay, putting Jenna on the cast as she was his ex. They were a terrible team who accomplished not finishing last in any mission, and somehow won the trivia challenge through amazing luck. In the final, after taking a lead on LeRoy/Theresa during the water portion, Jenna started walking at many points when others were running, she was not in shape for a final. When it got to the food portion, Jay was unable to drink the fish beer, leading to their DQ. Jay gets the blame, but Jenna is just as much to blame. She says she would have drank it, though considering she wasn’t even able to eat blood soup or eat clam chowder, Jenna might have died trying to drink down that beer.
Jenna was not supposed to be on Bloodlines. After Nia was dropped and Marie withdrew her name, they got on the phone with Jenna to make her a last-minute addition. She won 3 eliminations that season, defeating to two F level competitors in Christina LeBlanc and Larissa Nakagawa. When she finally got to face a good competitor in KellyAnne, they got a carnival game where you stacked blocks while dizzy. A last second tower flop by KellyAnne led to a Jenna victory. From there, she was able to make the final with her cousin Briana, who was an awful competitor (she was decent physically, mentally weak).
In the final, they floundered. After doing well in the first physical portion, benefiting from getting less weight as females, they got dogged once it hit the mental portions. They tacked an hour to their time from not being able to eat almost anything from the food portion. Pig Lard, Bratwurst, and Blood Soup aren’t even bad! I’ve had 2 of those 3 at dinner parties before. The two could not figure out how to paddle in a kayak, and were unable to do a simple puzzle in half an hour. When you finish in 3rd behind a person without an ACL in the final (Cory), it’s never good.
Rivals 3, she reaped the rewards of being Vince’s partner, as she got the protection of Bananas/Sarah who dominated the season in a game with power couples. They did win the first mission, however, they trended towards the middle all season while Bananas and Sarah knocked off team after team. The duo finished in second due to Devin/Cheyenne being horrible.
Last season, Jenna had to be on her own. She did fine, except for the fact that she did not excel in a single daily mission. Her elimination wins were against D level player Sylvia, and whatever the wallpaper that Anika is (note: Anika’s a sweet girl, love her). The most embarrassing moment was when she lost to Nicole Z. in a puzzle. Nicole is the same person who counted triangles in a sign during a puzzle for the final. Jenna would have lost that final too sadly. If she couldn’t solve the number puzzle on Bloodlines, this would have been tough.
I really enjoy Jenna. I think she’s a good partner. You don’t make 3 finals in a row on sheer luck, that takes ability and skill. My problem with Jenna is that she has a ceiling. Every final has eating and every final has puzzles, unless she gets CT as a partner, it’s hard for me to imagine her winning a final. Maybe in a team format, definitely not as an individual.
Now here’s a review of Jenna as a competitor, as well as her social media handles:
Skills & Physical Strength: Jenna is 5'9, and has “noodly arms” according to her. Her fitness has greatly improved compared Exes 2 and Bloodlines. Her body has not become what you want specifically to dominate a Challenge. Camila, Cara, and others have consistently improved their bodies to do better in the game. Jenna’s focus is on her looks for her modelling career.
Decent swimmer, nice length, bigger than other girls, but not the best upper body or core strength.
Not a great track record in daily missions.
Social & Mental Game: Generally, Jenna has been one of the most well liked female competitors in the house. Last season that turned, as the underdog girl group of Ashley/Amanda and lesser girls went against her. That was partially due to competition, and it was smart, in that house, Jenna was the “vet”. Going into this game, she should have friends in the house, Kailah will be her #1, and from there, I am not sure.
Jenna is bad at puzzles. It cost her any hope of second place during the Bloodlines final.
Eliminations: She is 5–0 in eliminations. Not impressive wins. Then again, winning two eliminations in a row is impressive, five is a crazy amount. It will be interesting to see if Jenna will be able to hold that up. Jenna historically is not good at daily Challenges, she’s only been on the winning side of 2 individual or pair challenges in 4 seasons. Even in team Challenges, she was famously on the Blue team from Bloodlines that lost every single daily mission.
History says Jenna will be in multiple eliminations this season or none.
Final Potential & Endurance: Her endurance is solid. She has a good body type and is able to traverse multiple terrains with ease. Her problem when it comes to the final, is that she does not have the mental strength to push herself. She can’t do puzzles, she can’t eat, and she only paces herself to do well enough. It’s hard to imagine her winning a final if there are other good competitors there. Jenna is the barbie beast, but she mentally needs to get to another level in order to win this game.
Final Score: 86/100
