DECA competed at the State conference in Manhattan Kansas on Sunday, March 3 through Tuesday, March 5.

On Sunday night, the team took the 100 question test that goes with their category. The following day, each member competed in two role-play scenarios where they presented a solution to judges in response to a problem. Members who competed were placed into top five ranks for their categories.

On Tuesday morning, grand awards were held where students found out if they made it to nationals. Seniors Bennett Haist, Alec Schiffman, Dylan Wootton, Seth Hobson and juniors Thomas Babcock and Josh Glunt all secured a spot at Nationals which are held on Saturday, April 27 through Tuesday, April 30.

2019 DECA State placements:

Abby Layton- 4th in Personal Financial Literacy

Maverick Shuler- 5th in Personal Financial Literacy

Anthony Pentola- 8th in Sports and Entertainment Marketing

Caroline Rutledge- 10th in Marketing Communications

Seth Hobson- 1st in Entrepreneurship

Alec Shiffman and Bennett Haist- 8th in Travel and Tourism

Ryan Remijo and Adam Bachoroski- 4th place Buying and Selling merchandise

Josh Glunt and Dylan Wootton- 4th place in Business Law and Ethics

Andrew Kostynuk– 6th place Principles of Hospitality and Tourism

Thomas Babcock- 1st in Principles of Finance

Aiden Taylor- 4th in Principles of Business Management and Administration

Sammie Volkamer– 7th in Principles of Business Management and Administration

Adam Bachoroski- 8th in Place Marketing Cluster Exam

Josh Glunt- 1st in Business Management and Administration Exam

Abby Layton- 2nd in Financial Literacy Exam

Maverick Shuler- 8th in Financial Literacy Exam

Thomas Babcock- 1st in Business Administrative Exam

Aidan Taylor- 5th in Business Administrative Exam

Mini Awards

Abby Layton- Top 5 for Personal Financial Literacy

Thomas Babcock- Top 5 for Principles of Finance

Aneesa Ismail– 2nd place role play

Aidan Taylor- Top 5 role play

Nick Shmidt- 2nd in role play Principles of Marketing

Seth Hobson- 1st in role play Entrepreneurship

Josh Glunt and Dylan Wootton– 2nd place in Business Law and Ethics

Junior Josh Glunt, who placed 1st in Business Management and Administration Exam, 2nd place in Business Law and Ethics, and 4th place in Business Law and Ethics, thought that the team did very well.

“We had a lot of team members place and DECA as a whole is looking forward to more success at Nationals,” Glunt said. “I very much enjoyed my experience at DECA State. It was a great environment overall and was a great learning experience.”

Other students such as junior Nick Schmidt agree that the experience was enjoyable. Schmidt placed 2nd in his role play category of Principles of Marketing.

“It was great. I gained a lot of experience competing at the state level and I also enjoyed spending time with the rest of the team,”  Schmidt said.

Junior Aiden Taylor believed that the team did better than they have in years past.

“[I] thought [state] went pretty well, 18/20 [people qualified] and a decent amount medaled multiple times,” Taylor said. “6 ICDC qualifiers are probably above average.”

Taylor had many placing; he received 5th in Business Administrative Exam, Top 5 for his role play category, and 4th in Principles of Business Management and Administration.

With state behind them, the DECA team now has their eyes set on Nationals in April.

Senior Alec Schiffman, who placed 8th in Travel and Tourism category is excited for the opportunity to compete at Nationals.

“[Senior] Bennett Haist and I look forward to competing together one last time at the international competition in April,” Schiffman said.