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Following the DECA district competition, 50 Washington High School students qualified to compete in the DECA State competition.
DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) is an association of students that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.
Washington High School’s DECA students recently participated in the district competition at Columbus State where they completed a 100 question exam and a role play scenario. The role play scenario judges students on their ability to develop and communicate sound, creative, and thorough solutions to problem situations in a variety of industry categories.
The Blue Lions finished the district competition with 22 first place finishers, 15 second place, seven third place, five fourth place, and one fifth place finisher.
“We originally had 70 students registered to compete,” said David Penwell, WHS DECA advisor, “however, due to issues with COVID-19, only 53 were able to participate that day.”
In order to advance to the state competition, students had to place in the top four in the “Teams” and “Principles” categories and in the top five in the “Series” events. Out of the 53 Washington High School students that competed, 50 earned a place on the podium and their ticket to the state competition.
“I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of our DECA students,” said Penwell. “They’ve worked countless hours after school to prepare, and their hard work has paid off.”
The state competition will be held at the Columbus Convention Center on March 11 and 12. The community’s Blue Lions will compete against over 2,500 students from across Ohio for a chance to qualify for the national competition in Atlanta, Georgia.
First place in district:
Andrew Callendar – Apparel and Accessories Marketing Series
Ryan Elrich – Accounting Applications Series
Drew Ferguson – Automotive Service Marketing Series
Mac Miller – Business Finance Series
Aiden Daugherty – Business Services Marketing Series
Om Patel – Hotel and Lodging Management Series
Landon Miller – Principles of Business Management and Administration
Joshalynn Worth – Quick Service Restaurant Management Series
Grace Bailey – Restaurant and Food Service Management Series
Morgan Cartwright – Retail Merchandising Series
Jordan Mead and Lilly Shaw – Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making
Madison Hayes and Addie Chambers – Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making
Bevin Wilson and Panth Shah – Financial Services Team Decision Making
Aaralyne Estep and Maggi Wall – Hospitality Services Team Decision Making
Allie Mongold and Natalie Woods – Marketing Management Team Decision Making
Charles Souther and Blake Bagheri – Sports and Entertainment Team Decision Making
Second Place in district:
Isabel Fernandez – Food Marketing Series Event
William Miller – Principles of Finance
Maddy Allen – Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
Megan Sever – Restaurant and Food Service Management Series
Mason Coffman – Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series
James Kelly and Blake Walker – Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making
Calleigh Wead-Salmi and Addie Shiltz – Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making
Jon Rader and Nathan Upthegrove – Hospitality Services Team Decision Making
Trevor Crocker and Maggie Copas – Marketing Management Team Decision Making
Alizae Ryan and Laurel Marting – Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making
Third place in district:
Chelsea Dawson – Business Finance Series
Arik Patel and Carson Langley – Entrepreneurship Team Decision Making
Tamia Hardin and Lauren Joseph – Hospitality Services Team Decision Making
Ian Rogers-Wright and John Wall – Sports and Entertainment Team Decision Making
Fourth place in district:
Tyler Tackage – Hotel and Lodging Management Series
Toby Lovett – Principles of Hospitality and Tourism
Kaithlyn Maquiling – Sports and Entertainment Marketing Series
Gabe Tayese and Garrett Wahl – Travel and Tourism Team Decision Making
Fifth place in district:
Jordan McCane – Marketing Communication Series
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