A Pro Nat-Last! Jennifer DeJoya won her class and clinched IFBB status at the Nationals Saturday night. Photo: Dan Ray, Muscular Development.com.

Your intrepid blogger can’t help feeling like a token purveyor of good fortune today.

Cheerfully touting Jennifer DeJoya‘s vast experience in my last post, I chirped she’d be cool as a cucumber heading into this weekend’s Nationals in Atlanta. Little did I know just how cool.

Jennifer breezily responded by winning her class in Saturday night’s show, at last capturing the IFBB pro card that had eluded her after many years and competitions. It was a great — if belated — birthday present for the Golden State figure girl, who turned 40 this autumn.

It wasn’t easy. Jennifer had to go up against another extremely competitive B class including the reigning Arnold Amateur champ, Candice Houston, who came in heavily favored but wound up settling for second…again. (After placing second at the National, second at the USA, and third at the Team Universe this year, Candice might be checking her ankles for snake bites.)

The win was a huge turnaround for Jennifer, who rebounded from two mediocre finishes — 9th place at USAs and 8th at Junior Nationals — in a dramatic climb to the top. It was her first win since the 2006 Orange County Muscle Classic.

While the overall title eventually went to Erin Stern — a stunning newcomer out of the tall class — it had to be a thrill for Jennifer to finally get her pro card in the blockbuster NPC season finale. She certainly earned it.

Cool as a cucumber on her way to the stage — hot as a firecracker once she got there.

-Dean