Quick, what's the medical term for avascular necrosis of the lunate?
Give up? A group of UNLV 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 UNLV 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 UNLV program's first national championship.
Teams qualified for the national competition by winning regional challenges throughout the spring. UNLV dominated its district competition in April, beating schools from Nevada, California and Hawaii. At one point during the district event, UNLV 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 UNLV was great as there were very few answers we didn't know. We just had confidence in our ability and let it go."
The UNLV 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 UNLV's athletic training program and free access to professional development opportunities.
Bremner and Jinnouchi graduated in May and will enter UNLV's graduate program in kinesiology this fall; Samson will enter her final year as an undergrad in athletic training.
UNLV'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.
