Earlier this summer, students from the School of Kinesiology and Recreation had the opportunity to participate in the Illinois Athletic Trainers’ Association annual Quiz Bowl. This was Illinois State University’s first time taking a team to this event since 2019.
Brandon MacTrinder ‘22, a senior athletic training student at the time of the event, was one of the team members. “Overall, participating in the quiz bowl event was a great experience,” he said. “We were on stage in a room with a few hundred seats for spectators. It felt pretty surreal to look out at all those people cheering for us.”
The quiz bowl was set up as a Kahoot game with six different categories and a final jeopardy question. The team won the state competition, and then advanced to the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers’ Association’s quiz bowl, where they competed against collegiate teams from five other states in the Midwest. Beating several of those teams qualified them to compete at the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s annual Quiz Bowl. This is the highest level of academic competition that athletic training students can achieve.
“We competed against 10 other teams each representing a different Athletic Training District, with us being the first-ever District 11 representatives,” MacTrinder said. ISU’s team beat out hundreds of other athletic training programs’ students to make it to the national stage.
The quiz bowl event was an excellent way for MacTrinder to wrap up his time as a student at Illinois State, where he was able to pursue his passion of athletic training.
“Growing up, I was always interested in science classes the most and always wanted a career path in which I could actually help people,” he said. “Combine all that with a love for sports, and once I found out about this profession through my high school athletic trainer, I knew that it was perfect for me.”
Once he decided to pursue athletic training, Illinois State was a natural fit.
“The program has a high percentage of students that pass the certification exam on their first attempt,” he said. “As a bonus, it was only a few hours from home.”
MacTrinder was glad he had the opportunity to participate in the quiz bowl event as he finished up his undergraduate years.
“Although we did not end up winning, I am very happy we were able to make it all the way to the final,” he said.
MacTrinder, who graduated in May, will continue his education as a graduate student at Missouri State University. He will pursue a master’s degree in athletic training while working as a graduate assistant athletic trainer for MSU’s football team.
