Quick, what's the medical term for avascular necrosis of the lunate?
Give up? A group of 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ athletic training students didn't, and their correct answer netted them the National Athletic Trainers' Association quiz bowl national championship. (If you're curious, the answer is Kienbock Disease)
The 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ team - students Cody Bremner, Christine Samson and Shun Jinnouchi - bested 10 top schools from around the nation June 21 in a Jeopardy-style competition held during the association's annual conference in New Orleans. This is the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ program's first national championship.
Teams qualified for the national competition by winning regional challenges throughout the spring. 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ dominated its district competition in April, beating schools from Nevada, California and Hawaii. At one point during the district event, 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ led the competition by more than 10,000 points.
"We were hoping to win, but didn't expect to win by such a large margin," said team member Cody Bremner. "We realized throughout the competition that our education at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ was great as there were very few answers we didn't know. We just had confidence in our ability and let it go."
The 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ trio, true to their Las Vegas roots, continued to take calculated risks throughout the national championship, twice wagering all their points for a chance to build their lead.
The risks paid off.
The Rebels' 28,303 points nearly tripled the second-place team from the University of Florida, which finished with 11,011 points.
"Our strategy was all-in; we were focused on winning and not on second place," said Bremner.
About that final question?
"It's a very tough question," Bremner added. "Our professors talked with their colleagues and many of them didn't even know the answer."
With the win, the team earned $1,000 for the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's athletic training program and free access to professional development opportunities.
Bremner and Jinnouchi graduated in May and will enter 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's graduate program in kinesiology this fall; Samson will enter her final year as an undergrad in athletic training.
51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's Athletic Training Education Program is housed in the School of Allied Health Sciences and is the only accredited program of its kind in Nevada. Alumni work in a variety of settings, from amateur and professional sports organizations and sports medicine facilities to the U.S. Navy and even several Cirque du Soleil productions on the Las Vegas Strip.
