Sgt. Kevin Fisch represents Camp Pendleton at 2019 HITT Championship

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Story by Lance cpl. Melissa Ugalde

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

 The feeling of accomplishment, victory, and overwhelming pride is what U.S. Marine Sgt. Kevin Fisch, a motor transportation mechanic with 1st Maintenance Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 15, 1st Marine Logistics Group, felt after finishing the 2019 High Intensity Tactical Training Championship as the fittest male in the Marine Corps.

Fisch, a native of Lockport, Illinois, enlisted in the Marine Corps in July 2017 at 24 years old after completing his bachelor's degree in criminal justice at Illinois State University. Fisch says his lifelong dream is to help and serve, and being in the Marine Corps would help further his knowledge and skills in his future career in criminal justice.

In 2018, when Fisch was assigned to 1st Maint. Bn. on Camp Pendleton, he was able to focus on his love for fitness. His passion and love of fitness helped his career as a Marine. One day, he volunteered to participate in a HITT Challenge. Unknown to him, winning that competition would land him a spot to compete against Marines from all over the Marine Corps.

“They offered it and I didn’t know what it was,” Fisch said. “All of a sudden one of the events we went to turned out to be the HITT prelims. I was fortunate enough to win and at the end they told me ‘Cool, by the way you’re going to go to Lejeune.’” 

Fisch, then a corporal, went on to win the 2018 HITT Championship. 

 Fisch received 1st place Male Champion during the 5th Annual 2019 High Intensity Tactical Training Championship on Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, Sept. 12. 

This year, the championship took place at Quantico from Sept. 9-12. The top female and male competitors from the HITT Challenges held on bases across the Marine Corps continued on to the championship at Quantico. Over the four day event, Marines competed in seven rigourous events, including a live-fire fitness event, combat swim, and pugil sticks to test their speed, strength, and tactical skills. All winners of the championship received a kettlebell trophy, while the 1st place winners received a championship belt. 

“Everything was on a higher level this year, the competition was better, the events were more strenuous, the mental game,” Fisch said. “Last year was a genuine competition, this year was the same thing but they just had way more moving parts.” 

The HITT Challenges aren’t the only way Fisch looks to challenge himself. In March he competed on the television show “American Ninja Warrior.” Fisch is also a martial arts instructor, and plans to return next year to the HITT Championship and defend his title for the third time. His next challenge is learning how to be the best at his job, and how to become a better noncommissioned officer. 

“I’m just always jumping for the next challenge, the next opportunity,” Fisch said. “Constant improvement is pretty much the name of the game.”

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