MARINE CORPS RECRUITING STATION SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Marines and poolees from Recruiting Station Springfield gathered at Westover Air Reserve Base May 1, for a day-long competition to determine who had the best poolees in the area.
Nearly 400 poolees from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont competed in six events, but only one team could win it all.
The day's events included pull-ups, a 1.5-mile run, crunches, fireman's carry, dizzy-izzy and a tug-of-war.
Each event was scored on a point system predetermined by the RS. The winner of each event would score 20 points and subsequent teams would earn fewer points based on their placement in each event.
Before the competition began, talk amongst recruiters hinted at a Recruiting Substation Springfield victory, and after the first event it seemed the talk might be true.
The first event, appropriately named the pull-up challenge, put RSS Springfield ahead of the pack. They put their top poolees up to the bar and were able to outwork the competitors and set the standard for the remainder of the pool meet.
The following two events, the 1.5-mile run and the crunch challenge, sparked an interest in a new team - RSS Worcester. Team Worcester did not buy into the RSS Springfield hype. Instead, they had their own game plan and stuck to it. During the run and the crunches, RSS Worcester beat out all competitors by a clear margin and took first place in each event.
Recruiting Substation Worcester's camaraderie and teamwork contributed to their success, said Nathen Werner, RSS Worcester poolee. "It is a great feeling, being out here and seeing what it is really like working as a team."
Worcester took a back seat to Springfield during the fireman's carry, but came back to win the dizzy-izzy.
Entering into the final event, RSS Worcester was in first place and RSS Springfield was in fourth. Although, never taking a first place victory, RSS Fall River held second and RSS Bridgeport held third.
The tug-of-war pitted the strongest and most determined poolees against each other in several matches that can only be described as intense. Once the dust cleared, RSS Springfield proved to have the strongest team in the tug-of-war, but it was not enough to win the entire event.
Overall, RSS Worcester took home the first place victory. Finishing second was RSS Bridgeport and third was RSS Springfield.
Staff Sgt. Anthony M. Lanza, noncommissioned officer in charge, RSS Worcester, said the reason his team is so successful is due to the dedication of the recruiters and the motivation amongst the poolees.
"The individual recruiters work with them the most, we demand that they stay motivated, because they know the key to graduating boot camp is to be motivated so we hold them accountable to that," said Lanza.
"We knew we were going to do it," said Joshua Breen, RSS Worcester poolee. "The recruiters and Staff Sgt. Lanza, stayed on top of us and made sure we had our game plan all set."
"I am continually impressed by the high quality, young men and women who want to serve their country," said Maj. Alan D. Thoburn, commanding officer, RS Springfield.
Although Worcester ultimately won the event, no one went home a loser, said Sgt. Maj. Cevet A. Adams, sergeant major of RS Springfield.
"The purpose of this pool meet is to build teamwork, camaraderie, motivation and promote a friendly competition between [recruiting substations]," said Adams. "The end results for this event were to promote a friendly competition between the RSS's and screen our summer shippers. Both of these were accomplished."
In addition to a day of great competition, a Marine Corps drill instructor was on hand during the screening to help motivate the poolees and give them a taste of what to expect at recruit training.
Adams says he plans to make this pool meet a semi-annual event, taking place in November and May. With new recruits enlisting daily and the possibility of two events a year, there is no telling who will hold the first place trophy in the future.