DURANT, Okla. (KTEN) — Five Durant High School students competed in a national anatomy competition earlier this month, and they took home a prize.

"Each time it just gets more exciting when you hear your team name called," said Durant student Riley Samrow.

"It looked like a game show," said student Bryce Langford. "They had two tables set up right next to each other for the two teams to compete at the same time."

The 2023 National Anatomage Tournament involved teams from across the United States who spent months memorizing different parts of the human body.

"When I grew up in high school, I never learned the anatomy to that degree," said Jack Sessions, a teacher at Arcadia High School in California. "So to take students that I felt could have the capabilities of retaining that level of information was pretty admirable."

Durant teacher Toni McLemore said they have more equipment for students to practice on than most schools in the nation, thanks to thousands of dollars in grants.

"It's like an $87,000 machine," said Sessions. "But almost everyone going into the national competition has found a way to get one or two into their schools."

And the team from Durant brought home the second place prize, which put $1,000 in each student's pocket... something they can all save for medical school.

"I want to be a nurse, so I figured that would help me in the long run," said Durant student Addie McLemore. 

"I'll be taking anatomy in college since I want to go into the medical field," added student Katelyn Ortiz.

Some students are following in their parents' footsteps.

"My dad's actually a firefighter... firefighter/EMT," said Langford. "He'd tell me stories about things he would do as a first responder, and it sounded really cool, and that made me think I want to do something in the med field."