YHS advanced sports medicine shines, takes first place at regional competition in California

The 12 members of Yelm High School’s advanced sports medicine program shined bright in Pasadena, California, on Saturday, March 14, as the students secured a first place finish in the medium school-size division in the American Academic Competition Institute (AACI) Regional competition.

Gary Clinton, in his final year as YHS sports medicine and medical careers instructor, told the Nisqually Valley News on Wednesday, March 18, that he’s incredibly proud of his students for travelling to California and succeeding in the AACI Regional competition.

Some of the program’s accolades accumulated while in California include first place as a team in the medium school-size division, a fourth place finish for the anatomage team and third place in the super teams competition. Additionally, Sofie Miera earned first place in the National Athletic Training Student of the Year category. She also earned second place in the sports medicine student advanced division.

Noah Riutta took second place in the medical abbreviations event, while Cali Stein placed fourth in the sports medicine intermediate division. Bruce Polley also took fifth place in the sports medicine student intermediate division.

“The kids worked really hard and achieved what they were capable of achieving. They by far exceeded my expectations,” Clinton said. “It was shocking to me. In my history of 30 years of teaching, I’ve never had a team that’s finished in first place as a team. Traditionally, a good year would be anywhere between fourth and 10th place in our state competition. Down in California, you just never know how they are and there’s a lot of great schools. It’s a competitive event, and there’s a lot of variables where we have to identify how to prepare the kids when there’s a lot of unknowns.”

The sports medicine team arrived in California on Thursday, March 12, and was able to enjoy some sightseeing before dialing it in for the competition. According to Miera, the students were able to walk around Hollywood, visit the Oscars set, enjoy some sunshine at Santa Monica Beach and thrill-seek at Universal Studios.

Her classmate, Stein, agreed with Miera’s statement and noted she had a great time in California — especially being able to bond with her classmates and make lifelong memories.

“The experience in California was great, especially the recreational activities. We went to Universal Studios and it was a great time,” Stein said. “Overall, I was most excited for the competition part. I was very shocked and pleased with myself. I ended up placing fourth in the oral practical. I would say that my studying definitely reflected that. I worked my butt off and so did everybody else.”

Despite all of the student’s preparation ahead of the trip to California — and ultimately the team’s overall success — Miera said that she, and several of her classmates, entered the competition with smaller expectations.

“I can tell you that, basically, all of us went into that competition with low expectations,” Miera said. “We felt a little underprepared, especially in a state that we’re not from. We weren’t sure if they were going to ask California-specific curriculum questions.”
Riutta agreed.

“We were really nervous that we weren’t going to do that good because we felt like we didn’t study enough,” he said. “It was a lot easier once we got into the classroom. The testing and competition was pretty awesome. With medical terminology, I was really concerned when I got into the classroom because I didn’t get an official study guide and had to wing it. I had to guess around a little bit and see what made sense and what didn’t. But it ended up working out well.”

Despite all of the nerves and some self-doubt, the 12 Tornados were able to triumph and secure several championship finishes and multiple placers overall. Stein said the emotion behind the victory was tremendous.

“I was definitely emotional,” she said. “Leading up, knowing our first win would be Sofie, watching her, I got very emotional. It was overall a very great experience. I have never felt as much joy in my life as I did then. When we found out we placed first overall in the medium schools (category), I don’t think I’ve ever screamed that loud in my entire life. It was so rewarding.”

According to Clinton, the advanced sports medicine team will compete again next month in the state championship competition. He noted this event will span from April 16 through April 18 at the Tacoma Convention Center.

“When I asked the students what their goal was, they said their goal was to finish in the top three,” Clinton said. “Similarly to California, our goal is to finish in the top three. If we exceed that, like we did in California, that’s even better. Obviously, whatever we do, we want to do our best. With this group of students, they continue to overachieve and I’m looking forward to the state competition.”

While the team has high aspirations of a top three finish, Clinton noted the preparation will be slightly different than how they prepared for California due to different competitions.

According to Clinton, instead of 12 students contributing to the team’s average, there will be 14 students broken up into five different competitive events. He added the top scores from each event will be taken and calculated into a team score.

“Rather than relying on all 14 to excel, we’re relying on students to do well in their individual events that they do. It will contribute to a team score,” Clinton said. “Six students will do an oral practical, describing and demonstrating how to perform skills. Two students will do a written and identification anatomy and physiology test. Two students will do medical terminology, which is like 100 questions and multiple choice. Two students will do CPR and first aid. The last one is strength and conditioning.”