PA Students Claim First Place at the California State CAPA Challenge Bowl Chapman beat out KGI and LaVerne to earn the top prize at this year's competition!

November 14, 2024

At this year’s CAPA Challenge Bowl Crean College’s PA Student team took First Place!

The competing team members were 2^nd year students Isaac Gutierrez and Stephen Rossi, and 1st year student Brianna Straley. The alternate team members (who worked just as hard, just in case!) were 2^nd year student Amanda Hamilton, Kayla Mathiowetz, and Kristen McIlrath. The students earned a thrilling victory and won the California state championship, going against KGI and LaVerne in the finals.

The California Academy of PAs (CAPA) has been an organization to support the PA profession for over 45 years. Every year during PA week in October, California Academy of PAs (CAPA) holds an annual conference for general medicine and specialty PAs: CAPACon. The Student Challenge Bowl is hosted by CAPA during CAPACon. This year, 15 California PA schools entered the competition. Each school sent a team of 3 plus an alternate team of another 3 students.

The event was streamed live on Facebook, and Chapman’s front-row-center cheering section commanded the room. Students, alumni, family, and colleagues viewing from home sent screen shots to cheer their team on and celebrated afterward at a program reception for all.

Professors Anne Walsh and Mayngan Stone would meet weekly for at least an hour and a half to go over different topics to prepare for the challenge bowl.

PA Professor Anne Walsh remarked, “What I love most about coaching our CAPA team is the enthusiasm and commitment of our students. They come to practice with their bright smiles, despite a heavy workload of classes and studying. The last time Chapman came out on top was in 2022! We are very proud of our students. Their win was well-deserved, and they were such a pleasure to work with. We truly appreciate the program’s support of their participation in these important events. They are so excited to compete in the national challenge bowl next spring in Denver!”

Mike Burney, Chair of the PA program remarked, “The California PA community was very impressed by our student’s academic preparation and performance. The team represented Chapman in the best way possible with integrity, grit and commitment! A big thank you to our faculty for your continued dedication to our students and the program.”