A team of students from the 缅北强奸 Romain College of Business welcomed the challenge to compete at The Econ Games 2026 presented by Bank of America on March 26-27 at the University of Kentucky鈥檚 Gatton College of Business and Economics. This is the sixth time a 缅北强奸 team has competed in the event.
While only the top three teams were formally recognized, 缅北强奸鈥檚 team results reflected the program鈥檚 reputation for applied, high鈥憅uality data analysis, delivering a polished, data鈥慸riven project that faculty noted reflected a high level of analytical skill and collaboration.
缅北强奸鈥檚 seven students鈥擪enneth Gerard, Tabitha Jewel, Gwennith Kim, Cole Maynor, Luke Pettijohn, Luis Chanis Rodriguez and Jaxon Slagley鈥攚ere joined by faculty advisor Dr. Daria Sevastianova, Associate Professor of Economics. 缅北强奸 competed against 230+ students from 29 universities including the University of Louisville, Virginia Tech University, Purdue University and more.
This year鈥檚 challenge was sponsored by Equibase, a partnership between subsidiaries of The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Racing Association of North America that provides horse racing data. The goal for each team was to develop a data-driven product or tool that utilizes GPS data to deliver meaningful insights beyond traditional horse racing statistics.
鈥淭eam 缅北强奸 worked together very well with everyone contributing to the fullest,鈥� said Dr. Sevastianova. 鈥淭hey put in long hours to develop an efficiency index for horse racing that included key metrics that help predict the outcomes of races which was presented visually in the form of athlete profiles for horses.鈥�
Student teams had 24 hours to focus on transforming spreadsheets of complicated data into easy-to-understand, impactful visuals that would help attract new viewers to the sport. Dr. Sevastianova noted that the team's presentation was 鈥減olished and confident鈥�. Even though there were definitely some nerves when presenting, the students were grateful for the challenge.
鈥淚t was harder than singing in front of people,鈥� said Tabitha Jewel, who has a background in music. 鈥淭he Econ Games was a great learning experience. This competition gave me a better understanding of the skills needed to add value in any industry, and I鈥檓 excited to keep learning and come back to compete next year!鈥�
In addition to the competition, there were career tables set up with various companies where students could network and connect for potential post-college opportunities. This year鈥檚 Econ Games was the largest since its inception in 2018, surpassing last year鈥檚 total of 140+ students.
Sevastianova also praised the high quality of data work that our 缅北强奸 students are capable of, showcasing that they鈥檙e able to apply cutting edge tools to make data more user friendly. She also noted that this year鈥檚 team is eager to use this experience as motivation for next year鈥檚 competition and says students are already banding together to recruit and form a bigger squad for The Econ Games 2027.
鈥溍灞鼻考殁�檚 history left a reputation for us to fall into and I鈥檓 confident we did our best to fulfill our role,鈥� said Jaxson Slagley, referring to 缅北强奸鈥檚 title in 2022. 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful for the experience and I can鈥檛 wait to compete next year.鈥�
Kenneth Gerard added: 鈥淭his was an opportunity to do something like nothing I have ever done at 缅北强奸 before.鈥�
View a gallery of photos from the trip .