CATOOSA, Okla. –
It was the annual ‘Marine Takeover,’ where Marines come in and lead a workout for students and athletes at the school for the day.
One workout in particular was the combat fitness test that the actual Marines do every six months for their own training, and it’s absolutely brutal, they say, but most importantly, it’s an opportunity to challenge yourself.
Staff Sgt. Avery Tolbert said, “Some of the kids that come here say, ‘This is way harder than I thought.’ They wonder how we do it. They ask about our times and everything, but it’s again, it’s just proving it to yourself that you can do it. It’s challenging yourself, and it’s always trying to stay at the top. Be physical fitness, be the best you can be.”
“I think it’s just a great opportunity for our kids to compete in a different way and also just do some different things physically that help them prepare,” said Catoosa’s strength and conditioning coach Joe Brown.
“The combat fitness test today, we only ran the 880-meter sprint for the warm-up, and then we did the ‘maneuver under fire,’” added Staff Sgt. Tolbert. “That was just a quick sprint, low crawl and high crawl. Then running a zig-zag, dragging your partner’s body, carrying your partner’s body, and then running with the ammo cans”
Kaysin Morgan, an eighth grader at Catoosa, said, “I think the hardest part was carrying your partner on your shoulder; that really tired me out.”
“It was really hard, and I honestly wanted to quit the whole time. My forearms hurt really bad,” said eighth grader Justin Cross.
Coach Brown also mentioned that the Marines will be back in July for summer pride to lead the workouts again this summer.