Students at Muskogee High School are excited about dozens of pieces of exercise equipment donated by Muskogee Regional Medical Center.

Leo Arriaga, 15, was one of 14 athletes, mostly members of the wrestling team, who came to Comprehensive Rehab Services on South York Street to load the equipment into a truck.

“I think it’s going to help us out a lot; I think we’ll get a lot stronger,” he said. “I think it will boost us mentally, too, because we’ll feel better about being in good shape.”

The fitness devices included treadmills, stair steppers, free weights, and Cybex equipment. There were also parallel bars, exercise balls, mats, and cabinets containing basic medical supplies.

Arriaga said the wide-ranging types of equipment was an important feature of the donation.

“You have a wider variety in the muscles you can work out,” he said. “I think we’ll get stronger all around, too.”

Just moving the equipment turned into somewhat of a workout. Most of it was heavy and awkward, and some had to be partly taken apart to get it through doorways.

Donaco Watts, assistant wrestling coach, said he was glad to see how much of the equipment was designed for rehabilitation.

“It’s going to be good thing for our school, especially the rehab athletic training,” he said. “One benefit is that it will help us to compete. It will keep our players healthy and on the field, and it will improve the overall health of our team.”

Coach Bobby Jefferson said the effects of the donation will go beyond the athletics department.

“This will impact a bunch of students,” he said. “Not just athletes, but anybody enrolled in health education can make use of this apparatus. If we were to buy this brand new, it would cost us at least $150,000. We’re going to find a place for everything.”

Ched Wetz, MRMC director of risk management, said he and Chief Executive Officer Stephen W. Mahan decided on the donation.

“We had a lot of businesses calling us,” he said. “But we didn’t want to piecemeal it out through a donation or a sale. These are designed to exercise the body in a systematic way. So we decided to donate all of it to the school. It’s good for the kids and in keeping with the mission of the hospital.”

The building that housed Comprehensive Rehab Services and Health Solutions will remain in the MRMC system.