West Salem took six first places and had 14 state qualifiers to lead all high schools in the 46th annual DECA District One Career Development Conference held Saturday, Jan. 6, at University of Wisconsin-Stout.
A total of 54 winners and runners-up advanced to the State Career Development Conference March 5-6 in Lake Geneva. The state event will have approximately 1,500 qualifiers.
The competition at UW-Stout drew 642 students from 20 area high schools. They competed in 18 individual and eight team events.
Eau Claire Memorial had the second-most qualifiers with seven, including five first places. Next were Chippewa Falls, six qualifiers; Eau Claire North, five; Hudson and Holmen, four; Menomonie, three; Glenwood City, Sparta and Superior, two; and Altoona, La Crosse Central, La Crosse Logan, Ladysmith and Tomah, one.
Other schools competing were Ashland, Maple-Northwestern, Stanley-Boyd and St. Croix Falls.
Since 1946 DECA has provided co-curricular programs for students around the world interested in marketing, finance, hospitality and management careers.
The competition was hosted by the UW-Stout marketing and business education undergraduate program and its affiliated Marketing and Business Education Association.
The UW-Stout student coordinator for the District One event was Allison Rigotti, of West Salem, a sophomore majoring in marketing and business education.
Along with UW-Stout students, faculty and staff volunteers, industry professionals from the region volunteered as event judges.
UW-Stout offers a bachelor’s degree in marketing and business education, the only such program in the UW System.
Results / State Qualifiers
DECA District One Career Development Conference
Saturday, Jan. 6
UW-Stout, Menomonie, Wis.
Individual events
Accounting applications: 1. Danny Southard, Eau Claire Memorial; 2. Dagan Hemker, West Salem
Apparel and accessories marketing: 1. Hazel Peterson, Ladysmith; 2. Jackson Schaefer, Eau Claire North
Automotive services marketing: 1. Aleshia Furlano, West Salem; 2. Erica Kinnard, Menomonie
Business finance: 1. Madelyn Zenner, Chippewa Falls; 2. Ryan Schlimgen, West Salem
Business services marketing: 1. Riley Barnhardt, Eau Claire Memorial; 2. Brittany Kothari, West Salem
Entrepreneurship: 1. Ben Smith, Hudson; 2. Danielle Miller, West Salem
Food marketing: 1. Max Schumacher, West Salem; 2. Abi Willmore, Superior
Hotel and lodging management: 1. (tie) Micah Mravik, Holmen; Mason Phillips, Eau Claire North; 2. Makayla O’Brien, Glenwood City
Human resource management: 1. Madeline Bushbeck, Eau Claire North; 2. Sierra Schwier, West Salem
Marketing communications: 1. Cassidy Cooper, Eau Claire Memorial; 2. Tatianna Briggs, Tomah
Principles of business management and administration: 1. Chloe Oehler, Menomonie; 2. Anna Baumel, West Salem
Principles of finance: 1. Callie Ziebel, Sparta; 2. Max Goetz, West Salem
Principles of hospitality and tourism: 1. Jordyn Schultz, Chippewa Falls; 2. Jay Hall, Chippewa Falls
Principles of marketing: 1. Emma Kettelson, Holmen; 2. Isaac Hennemann, Hudson
Quick serve restaurant management: 1. Ally Neidermyer, Menomonie; 2. Lane O’Meara, Glenwood City
Restaurant and food service management: 1. Jazlyn Schumaker, La Crosse Central; 2. Bethany Hedlund, Eau Claire North
Retail merchandising: 1. Rebecca Michael, West Salem; 2. Carissa LaBarge, Eau Claire Memorial
Sports and entertainment marketing: 1. Matt Courtney, Hudson; 2. Brady Kays, Eau Claire North
Team events
Buying and merchandising: 1. West Salem (Kendra Ames, Abby Sharp); 2. Sparta (Dalton Mayer, Luke Wendorf)
Business law and ethics: 1. West Salem (Hunter Wakefield, Shane Skaar); 2. Chippewa Falls (Noah Anderson, Dante Vokovan)
Entrepreneurship: 1. (tie) Holmen (Alexa Breske, Braden Nissen), Eau Claire Memorial (Courtney Smith, Mae Sommerfeld); 2. Superior (Max Curtis, Trevor Dalbec)
Financial services: 1. West Salem (Nate Krien, Grady LaJuenesse); 2. Altoona (Isaac Colbert, Christian Theyerl)
Hospitality services: 1. La Crosse Logan (Alison Foust, Brittany Wieland); 2. Eau Claire Memorial (Elayna Chambers, Jessica Massey)
Marketing management: 1. Eau Claire Memorial (Colleen Wille, Anahi Castro); 2. Holmen (Malorie Olson, Katherine Temp)
Sports and entertainment marketing: 1. Hudson (Audrey Fredricksen, Isabelle Hanson); 2. West Salem (Ryan Berger, Luke Kelsey)
Travel and tourism: 1. Chippewa Falls (Jacob Caron, Blake Trippler); 2. Chippewa Falls (Matthew Fries, Cole Oliver)
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