Wheeling, OH -- The rainy weather was not enough to keep the Marines of Recruiting Sub-Station Zanesville from taking part in the festivities during the 69th Annual Rudy Mumley Ohio Valley Athletic Conference All-Star football game July 28.
The game features high school standouts from Ohio and West Virginia who fall under the Ohio Valley region.
As with most events that the Marine recruiters are part of, the pull-up challenge played an integral role.
“People are pretty competitive so we decided to have the challenge be more of an Ohio versus West Virginia thing than just the normal pull-ups for a certain prize,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua Young, a canvassing recruiter in Permanent Contact Station Ohio Valley.
Even the dreary weather did not stop the fans from trying to beat the competition on the bar.
Local NBC affiliate WTOV-9 was on hand, providing live coverage of the game and took some time to speak to the Marines and film attendees taking on the pull-up challenge.
“Even with the weather not being ideal, I was happy to see people coming up to the table and getting on the bar,” said Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Gager, staff noncommissioned officer in charge of RSS Zanesville. “We have done this game for a few years now, and it seems to have always been successful for us.”
The event, which was in part set up by Scholastic Sports Marketing, gave the Marines a prime opportunity to really interact with the attendees. From the strategic location of the pull-up bar and H-3 marketing vehicle to the public service announcements played throughout the game, the recruiters were able to have a pretty successful event.
“This is my area, so I was very happy to be a part of this,” said Young.
There was also just as much excitement on the field as there was at the Marines booth. Despite fighting their way back from 13-point deficit at halftime, the West Virginia team ultimately lost to the Ohio team 27-26.