A group of Thomas More students traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan to attend the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Midwest Chapter in October.

Students were accompanied by Micah Garcia, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of Health Sciences at Thomas More, as they presented research involving running cadence and high school cross-country athletes.

Under the guidance of Dr. Garcia, students have helped collect and analyze data in two research areas – one examining music in relation to running cadence, and a second analyzing the effectiveness of an AI software that’s used to capture runners’ biomechanic data during these studies.

Using the data they collected, students were encouraged to write and submit abstracts for the ACSM Midwest’s 52^nd annual meeting.

Dason Herrington ’27, an exercise science major, said the experience and opportunity to present his work were invaluable.  “Going to the ACSM conference really helped me grow both personally and professionally,” Herrington said. “I learned a lot about working with others and sharing my research, and I realized that pushing myself out of my comfort zone can lead to some really great experiences.”

“Throughout the entirety of the conference, I realized how essential research is to the growth of science,” reflected Megan Childs ’27, who is double-majoring in biology and exercise science. “Listening to others present, seeing the diversity of topics, and talking with people who were genuinely excited about their findings really made me appreciate the process in a deeper way. It also made me reflect on my project and the journey that led up to it.” Childs says she still meets with Dr. Garcia regularly and is working on a paper on her research, with the hope of submitting it for publication.

The exercise science will present their running research at Thomas More’s 2025-26 Student Research Forum held on Monday, April 20, 2026, in Ziegler Auditorium.