SAN DIMAS/LA VERNE – The San Dimas High School sports medicine program wrapped up its season in top form, finishing in sixth place in the American Academic Competition Institute (AACI) 2024 California High School Sports Medicine Competition, Small Schools Division, held in March at Cal State Northridge.

The outstanding effort paves the way for the team to advance to the AACI National competition, held throughout May, for the fourth consecutive year.

“I’m very proud of our students. The enthusiasm they bring to class and the athletic field is matched only by their practical skills in sports medicine,” San Dimas High athletic trainer and teacher Jessica Truax said. “Many students receive their first exposure to athletic training through these classes, which help prepare them for the rigor of college and the possibility of a lucrative career.”

Truax teaches both basic and advanced athletic training, as well as biomedical science, and serves as the school’s athletic trainer, leading students on the field as they acquire practical experience during sports contests. Truax also serves as the sports medicine club moderator and coaches the competition team.

San Dimas’ sports medicine club has 16 members and a full schedule of events that keep the students busy and the athletes safe. A typical week of extracurricular activities for the club includes monitoring multiple sports events at the varsity, junior varsity and freshman levels – including football, basketball, baseball, softball and more – and participating in clinics and practices.

San Dimas senior Andrew Reyes earned an individual fifth-place finish out of nearly 340 AACI competitors in the Novice Division. New to the program this year, Reyes quickly found a new and exciting career path.

“I joined the sports medicine team because I wanted to know more about the medical field and what it had to offer,” Reyes said. “While the team was mainly focused on athletic training, there were other opportunities to expand my knowledge. This program has inspired me to explore kinesiology as well as set me up with general medical knowledge that I will need in my future.”

The impact of the sports medicine team is personified by junior Mayah Vazquez, a Saints athlete who was hurt during a game and went into concussion protocol. Vazquez was so impressed by the care she received from Truax and her team that she immediately enrolled in the class and joined the school’s sports medicine club. Vazquez was recently selected as captain for the 2024-25 school year.

“Joining sports medicine has helped me gain hours of experience when covering games and helping athletes,” Vazquez said. “Mrs. Truax has helped me learn skills in first aid, taping and more. Not only that, but I have countless memories with the team that I will never forget.”

The AACI competition consists of 150 general knowledge questions, followed by a series of sports medicine procedures, including tape jobs, anatomical palpations, first-aid skills, and orthopedic examinations. The first-aid skills are presented randomly, with the student being asked to demonstrate their skills, whether performing CPR or a cranial nerve exam.

The results are a fitting tribute to Truax, who will be stepping away from her duties as head athletic trainer at the end of the 2023-24 school year. Truax, who came to San Dimas High in 2020, will continue to teach, moderate the sports medicine club, and serve as competition coach, but will no longer take the field with her students during sports events.

“San Dimas High has a history of highly competitive athletics, and a program at this level needs an athletic training team that is fully prepared and ready to assist at a moment’s notice,” San Dimas High Principal Omar Mayen said. “Jessica Truax has done an amazing job instilling confidence in her future trainers, and the team’s performance at the AACI competition is no surprise.”

PHOTOS:

BUSD_AACI1: San Dimas High School’s sports medicine team is all smiles after their sixth-place finish in the AACI 2024 California High School Sports Medicine Competition, Small Schools Division, held in March at Cal State Northridge. Led by athletic trainer and teacher Jessica Truax, the outstanding effort paves the way for the team to advance to the AACI National championships for the fourth consecutive year.

BUSD_AACI2: San Dimas High School senior Andrew Reyes earned a fifth-place finish out of nearly 340 competitors in the Novice Division at the 2024 California High School Sports Medicine Competition, held in March. Though Reyes is in just his first year as a sports medicine student, the class has inspired him to explore kinesiology as a career path.