Exercise science team wins first at TACSM Student Bowl, advances to nationals

A team of exercise science students from Lamar University claimed first place at the Texas Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (TACSM) Student Bowl, outperforming more than 40 teams from universities across the state.

The competition, which tests students across a wide range of kinesiology topics, including cardiopulmonary physiology, biomechanics, and anatomy, featured teams from institutions such as Rice University, Baylor University, Texas A&M University and the University of Texas.

Lamar's winning team included Jenny Tu, Kayla McKinley and Ellis Prudhome, who relied on knowledge from their coursework and teamwork under pressure to secure the victory.

"To win, students must be prepared to answer questions from any field within kinesiology," Shannon Jordan, the team's faculty advisor said. "Our team was ready for any topic given to them. It highlights what amazing scholars they are and the hard work they put into this extracurricular endeavor."

Each team was assigned a faculty judge, and Lamar University's team was evaluated by Dr. Rodriguez Augusto, chair of kinesiology at Rice University.

"When we won, Dr. R was super supportive and even took a selfie with us," McKinley said.

For McKinley, the experience was about more than competition.

"This win means a lot, but what meant even more to me was that I had a chance to compete alongside my friends," she said. "I told Ellis and Jenny before the competition that no matter the outcome, I was just glad to be sitting next to them one last time at TACSM before they graduate."

Despite balancing demanding course loads, jobs and campus involvement, the team credited their academic preparation at Lamar University for their success.

"Our kinesiology classes have taught us what we need to know to have a good knowledge base of important concepts in exercise physiology and sports medicine," McKinley said, citing faculty members including Jordan, Daniel Chilek and Alan Moore.

The competition's final round required teams to wager points before seeing the last question - a high-risk move that proved decisive.

"I was nervous about wagering everything, but my amazing teammates convinced me to go all in," McKinley said. "That ultimately helped us win. I learned that trusting your teammates equals winning."

McKinley was also recognized individually with the TACSM Undergraduate Scholar Award.

The Lamar University team will next represent Texas at the American College of Sports Medicine national student bowl competition, held during the organization's annual meeting in Salt Lake City in May.