Criminal Justice Students Compete In OCSO's Physical Fitness Challenge

Criminal Justice students from all over Oklahoma received a lesson in the physical demands of law enforcement on Friday.

About 200 teenagers competed in the 7^th Annual Criminal Justice Physical Fitness Challenge at the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office training grounds.

The students are in career tech programs and want to go into law enforcement one day. The competition is like a real police academy.

“You have to be able to go and chase after somebody if they run from you or be able to help somebody if you need to,” said Treveon Reed who attends Francis Tuttle Technology Center.

The contest mimics what the students can expect when applying for a law enforcement job because they will have to pass a fitness test to get hired.

“I've always wanted to since I was a little girl,” said Andrea Wood who attends Metro Tech.

“It's been my dream ever since I was 4-year-old,” Reed told News 9.  “I enjoy going out there and helping people, putting a smile on someone's face, knowing that I can make a difference in someone's life,” he added.

The competitors do as many sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups as they can in one minute. Then they run a mile and a half and compete in a team obstacle course.

“It's enjoyable and it's a good thing to come around with all the other schools and do things together as a team,” said Kertyesie McNack who attends Francis Tuttle.

Each participant said they felt like they were part of the team.

“We are all from different places and we really are competing, but when it comes down to it, we are all cheering for each other,” Wood explained.

Each agency has different requirements for their fitness tests, but they all share the same goal of serving and protecting.

“It's our future, a lot of us old guys are phasing out and it's very energizing to us to know that the future is bright,” Johnnie Loudermilk said.

Loudermilk is a reserve deputy with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office and an instructor at Francis Tuttle.