WC student-athletes assist Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel in introducing Fitness Challenge at Miami Trace Elementary
The Wilmington College contingent is pictured with the elementary school students in the background. The front row features WC President Corey Cockerill and former OSU star Devier Posey. (Submitted photos)
Lt. Governor and former Ohio State University Football Coach Jim Tressel enlisted a handful of Wilmington College student-athletes to assist him in welcoming Miami Trace Elementary School as the newest member of the Tressel Fitness Challenge on Sept. 30.
The WC contingent — including mascot Quakerman — assisted with demonstrations of push-ups, sit-ups, planks and other calisthenics for school kids in grades four through eight at the elementary school near Washington Court House.
Tressel, OSU’s championship head coach from 2001 through 2010, said the challenge was created as part of Governor Mike DeWine’s efforts to make Ohioans healthier and help every person live up to their full potential. Led by Tressel, the challenge strives to assist students across Ohio form healthy habits in fitness, nutrition and sleep through individual goal setting. Some 635 Ohio schools have opted into the challenge, serving more than 655,000 students.
“Ohio always wants to be the best,” he said, claiming the state is tops in the nation for attracting business and for its state parks. “The governor said we also want to be the healthiest state in America.”
Tressel, who started the challenge a year ago, has been taking his fitness message on the road, visiting schools throughout Ohio. He brought former OSU players Joshua Perry and Devier Posey to help lead the charge for fitness at Miami Trace. Also, WC’s Aidyn Denison discussed the role nutrition plays in fostering fitness and mental acuity, while Athletic Director Matt Croci offered an impressive demonstration of the physical demands of timed planks in a fitness routine.
"We created this challenge so it's truly for everyone — from the super athlete to the student who needs an adaptive exercise, from the very active to the less active and everything in between," Tressel said. "We want kids to be excited about living a healthy life. Our goal is to teach them good habits that will shape their behavior, self-image and overall health and show them how beneficial it is to carry those habits through life."
