Osky PD Vs FD Will Go To Final Round

The Oskaloosa Police Department took the triathlon round in a friendly competition between themselves and the Oskaloosa Fire Department.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – A little friendly competition between the Oskaloosa Fire Department and the Oskaloosa Police Department.

The Fire Department took the early lead by claiming the win at the annual clay target shoot.

The third annual OFC SprintTri had approximately 30 participants this year. The triathlon is something OFC sees as an opportunity to offer people in the area a group activity, especially as interest in triathlons grow.

The triathlon included a 500 meter swim, a 12 mile bike ride, finishing it off with a 3 mile run.

Lisa Alderson, one of the coordinators for this year’s event, said that they have seen continued growth in the event. “People want to do this.”

For the police department, the Oskaloosa Crossfit Triathlon was the do or die moment for them.

This whole thing between the two departments started back at the end of June when Fire Chief Mark Neff put out the challenge. It was not only a challenge to the PD but also to his own department, to help motivate them as well. The occasional “smack talk” between the two departments is all in fun.

Those “smack talk” moments had historically been settled at softball games between the two departments, “but we’re going to try something a little different this time,” said Neff.

The two departments work hand-in-hand often and with great efficiency, being there for each other during those emergency situations.

But Saturday, it was all on the line. One more win, and the fire department guys would have it all sealed up.

The Oskaloosa Police Department came with the deck stacked on Saturday. Joshua Starkey lead off the PD in the swim. “So far, we have a pretty significant lead,” said Oskaloosa Police Chief John “Jake” McGee. “We’re pretty humble.”

McGee was cautiously optimistic, as a flat tire could have taken them out of contention, but the PD had their crack cyclist, Gary Kutcher, who clicked off a an average speed of 18.8 miles-per-hour.

Firefighter Mark Tennison, who was about to run for his department, was feeling the pressure as the PD runner, Austin Rogers, was off to the races. “We’re already behind,” Tennison commented.

Tennison said that if the FD doesn’t win on the day, “we’ll just come up with another competition… something in our favor.”

Rogers almost handed the race to the fire department when he took off, without having made the proper tag from Kutcher. Rogers was chased down, and the proper tag was made.

“I’ll give them credit for trying,” McGee said of the fire department’s performance on Saturday.

“Yeah, I think they beat us on this one,” Chief Mark Neff said laughing. “It’s not over. This is the rubber match.”

It could be that the loser waxes the other department’s vehicles. The PD guys said they don’t want to wax the fire trucks because of all the surface area, while Neff said it would be hard to wax the PD’s vehicles because they’re all dented up.

Who will be the ultimate winner in PD vs FD. We will have to wait until the next round is completed.