The Pryor Times – PJHS wins national PE competition
PRYOR, OK — Pryor Junior High is using technology to stay in shape, and the results are some of the best in the nation.
“At the junior high we use heart rate monitors (HRMs) every day during physical education classes,” Pryor physical education teacher Kirk Emerine said. “The HRMs record the students’ heart rates during PE and then they upload it to software via my laptop right after PE.”
The data from the system, called the Spirit System, goes to Interactive Health Technologies (IHT) in Austin, Texas, where it is compared against other schools’ data all across the nation.
Students are encouraged to raise their heart rates to Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity Zones, or MVPA. “These zones are where we get the most benefits during workouts,” Emerine said.
In the month of October, IHT recorded all of the schools and students using its software. Six Pryor students took first or second place in four different categories, which included competition from schools all over the nation including the University of Oklahoma.
Tanay McKinney took first place out of 2,500 girls in overall time spent using the Spirit System. Rebecca Mullen took second place. Jarret Biggs took second place in the boys division, which included over 3,000 participants.
William Knapp was first in the Most Time Spent in MVPA category for the boys. Cameron Baig took second place. Eve Williams finished in first place for the girls.
Each national champion will receive a $125 gift certificate. Runners-up will receive a $50 certificate.
The school finished in second place overall behind OU in time spent using the system and will receive a Sand Bell Package as the runner-up. Pryor also finished in ninth place in time spent in MVPA.
“All in all, our junior high PE students represented us very well across the nation,” Emerine said.
Staff Writer
Chuck Porter
