Seniors DePue, Hussey and Lishman in final round with Illinois universities

North Central College’s athletic training students returned from competition at the 2012 Illinois Athletic Trainers Association (IATA) College Bowl, an annual event held during the two-day IATA State Meeting and Clinical Symposium. This year’s contest of knowledge and skill was held Nov. 4 at the Wyndham Lisle-Chicago Hotel.

North Central’s competitors—seniors Matthew Hussey, Kristi Lishman and Jason DePue—represented the College’s athletic training education program, with Trevor Magnotti standing ready to serve as alternate.

Of the 10 competing teams—including Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, Aurora, Lewis, Millikin, North Park, Northern Illinois, Trinity International and Western Illinois universities—North Central finished fourth, behind Illinois State, Northern Illinois and North Park universities.

Lishman, president of Cardinal Athletic Training Students (CATS), said, “All the schools we competed against have awesome athletic training education programs, but I honestly believe no other school can compare to North Central. Ours is one of the best in the country, not only because of the content but because of the people we learn from. They’ve had a huge impact on our education.”

The College Bowl utilizes a “Jeopardy” format, including multiple-choice questions and progressive scoring (more points awarded for quick answers), with three rounds and a final question. Round one involved all 10 teams, round two narrowed to seven teams, and rounds three and four included four teams.

Taking fourth place, Hussey, Lishman and DePue made it through rounds one and two, qualifying for the final rounds in third place.

“The best part of the day was making it to the final round,” said Lishman. “We wished we had come back to beat North Park but felt satisfied with our performance. My teammates were awesome. We all worked together and made sure we agreed on an answer before answering.”