BROWNWOOD – February 28, 2019 – Students from Howard Payne University’s athletic training program scored its highest in a three-year history of competing in the Southwest Athletic Trainers Association’s (SWATA) Quiz Bowl. The event, which took place on February 1, is part of the SWATA Student Competency Workshop and was hosted by Texas State University in San Marcos.
The “Jeopardy”-style competition requires each university to select a three-member team with an alternate. The HPU team consisted of Kaitlyn Harrison of Watauga, Brittany Cortez of Forney and Reagan Ridlehuber of Frisco, with Foga’A Solomona-Afoa of Fort Hood serving as the alternate.
The majority of the participating teams were from large universities and master’s-level accredited programs. HPU’s team competed against students from institutions such as Sam Houston State University, University of the Incarnate Word, University of Houston and The University of Texas at Arlington. HPU was the smallest university and one of only a few undergraduate programs to compete in the Quiz Bowl.
“It’s an opportunity for students in accredited undergraduate and graduate athletic training education programs to prepare for their board exams,” said Mike Terrill, chair of HPU’s Department of Kinesiology and assistant professor of athletic training. “The ability of Howard Payne University’s team to compete at such a high level with larger universities and graduate programs demonstrates the quality of the students and education at Howard Payne.”
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Cutline: HPU students competing in the SWATA Quiz Bowl were Kaitlyn Harrison, Brittany Cortez and Reagan Ridlehuber, with Foga’A Solomona-Afoa (not pictured) serving as the alternate.