Respiratory Care students win state title, advance to national competition

A team of senior respiratory care students at Youngstown State University won the state Sputum Bowl and will make a return appearance in the national competition next month.

The team of Brendan Hardie from Boardman, Kayce Miller from Salem and Joseph Costello and Alicia Baugh, both from Austintown, won the state Sputum Bowl contest in Columbus earlier this summer, clinching its second berth in the national competition that will be held in October in San Antonio.

During the state tournament, the YSU Sputum Bowl team posted an undefeated record against nine other teams in the field comprised of other Ohio schools. The YSU team had previously appeared in the national Sputum Bowl in Las Vegas in 2014.

A Sputum Bowl contest is formatted in the style of the syndicated quiz show Jeopardy! only with two teams of contestants as opposed to three contestants playing against each other. Questions asked during Sputum Bowls pertain to respiratory therapy topics. At the end of a 15-minute time period, the team with the higher point total wins the match.

In the week of Oct. 14 through the 18, the nationwide Sputum Bowl will be contested during the American Association for Respiratory Care International Congress.

To help to defray and cover the travel and event expenses for the trip to Texas, the team has set up pepperoni, ice cream scoop and Chipotle sales.