Angela Montano was the only female graduate in the Honolulu Police Department's 158th academy class, but that's not what makes her unique. She and her husband Ricardo are the first married couple to graduate from the academy together.

"It was so great to have him by my side," Angela Montano said before last night's graduation ceremony for the 20-officer class. "He always supports me, no matter what."

The possibility of husband-and-wife police cadets didn't appear all that likely in the beginning. Ricardo's mother set the two up on a date seven years ago when they were living in Washington state, but they didn't immediately hit it off.

"She introduced us and she knew we were both interested in becoming police officers," said Angela, 26.

But "the first date — she dogged me," Ricardo, 28, said laughing.

The two went on a few more dates and were drawn together by similar interests, Ricardo said.

"Ever since then, we've been inseparable," he said.

The recent batch of cadets at Ke Kula Maka'i — the police academy in Waipahu — just completed 6 1/2 months of rigorous training and officially graduated last night at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. They'll now start six months of field training, where they will be paired with veteran police officers.

The Montanos are among an increasing number of out-of-state applicants to HPD. Some 200 out-of-state recruits have joined HPD since 2004, according to the department.

Angela, who has relatives in Hawai'i, said they were drawn by the respect that HPD has in the law enforcement community.

"The department has a great reputation, even back home," she said.

The couple was part of a group of seven non-Hawai'i residents who applied to the police academy. They were the only ones to complete the six-month training process.

"There were so many tests and opportunities where one of us could have failed out," Angela said. "But we just kept each other positive and kept each other's strength up."

The couple even resorted to some competition to keep motivated.

"With the pushups, I was at 50 or something and someone said, 'Hey, she passed you.' Oh, my goodness, I had to cram out six more," Ricardo said.

The two would even make wagers about who would have a better score on written exams.

They knew the stakes were high.

"Every test, every physical — any time you fail, you're done. At any time, you could go home," Ricardo said.

Seven women started in their recruit class. Only Angela made it.

"I'm very proud of her. She never really showed signs of stopping. She's 5-foot with a 6-foot voice," Ricardo said.

The couple does admit to having an unfair advantage, however.

"At the end of the night, we could go home, study together, help each other out," Angela said.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.