Three seniors and five juniors in Wesleyan's athletic training program have been invited to present their research at the 2002 West Virginia Athletic Trainers' Association (WVATA) annual meeting, which will be held on Friday, March 22, at the Ramada Plaza City Center Hotel in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Each year students majoring in athletic training at all West Virginia colleges and universities are invited to enter the WVATA Student Oral Presentation and Poster Presentation competitions. To enter, students are asked to submit an abstract of their research. Each abstract is then reviewed (blind review) by a panel of WVATA members and rated. The top selections are invited to participate as either speakers or poster presenters at the meeting. Participation in this type of event is an important step in the professional preparation of the athletic training student.

"The senior thesis allows students to better understand the process by which a research study is designed and how data is collected and analyzed," said Jean Fruh, director of athletic training and assistant professor of physical education. "Our students are always surprised to learn just how hard it is to formulate a hypothesis, gather subjects, and collect data. I am confident that by going through this process our program graduates will be better prepared for graduate level study."

The following Wesleyan senior athletic training majors were selected to present their senior theses:

   Jason Gessel: "Ergogenic aids: Usage rates on a Division II Collegiate football team      and coaching staff's perception"

   Alicia Stickel: "Perceptions of eating disorders among NCAA Division II coaches"

   Jesse Thomaselli: "Can exercise put you in a good mood?"

"Our junior level students find it challenging to present their research in a poster format," Fruh said. "Overall, I think these types of experiences help students to begin to understand how critical research is to current theory and practice in the profession of athletic training."

The following junior athletic training majors were selected to present their research papers in poster format:

   Mary Fantone and Beth Porter:   1st place award
    "Left ulnar nerve transposition"

   Brian Potter, Bethany Horton, and Julie Carder:   2nd place award
    "Distal biceps tendon rupture"

Fruh concludes, "It is an honor to have our athletic training students chosen to present their research. Our students have worked very hard and deserve the recognition they are receiving."