The Academy DECA chapter was a force to be reckoned with at the DECA State Career and Development Conference March 2-3. Of the 86 students who competed in Monday’s preliminaries, 62 advanced to the finals on Tuesday, where 27 were crowned state champs. And 48 qualified to compete at the international level in Atlanta in April.
“We are incredibly proud of our chapter members for this impressive achievement,” said Coach Amy Lucero. “They worked tirelessly this year studying for qualification exams and practicing for improv role-plays or preparing 20-page business proposal projects.”
DECA is an academic program that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management through career and technical education.
Out of 31 total events, Academy took 17 first-place titles.
Additionally, the highest scorer for each testing discipline is recognized each year; Chargers placed first in three of the seven disciplines. The Academy team also took first place in Quiz Bowl, a timed Jeopardy-style competition based on the DECA curriculum.
Top State Testers
- Harrison Schiek ’26: Personal Financial Literacy
- Keith Lee ’29: Business Administration
- Lur Jacoby ’27: Entrepreneurship
First Place Quiz Bowl Team
- Jameson Paternoster ’26
- Lur Jacoby ’27
- Timo Maez ’26
- Greyson Staley ’27
First Place
- JR Zhao ’27: Business Finance Services
- Sabine Craig ’27/Ella Julian ’27/Emilia Tohen ’27: Franchise Business Plan
- Kira Kampschmidt ’27/Nishta Koli ’29/Bella Padilla ’27: Innovation Plan
- Chelsea Avila Rodriguez ’30: Middle School Innovation Plan
- Lur Jacoby ’27: Entrepreneurship
- Ajay Keerthy ’28/Creedance Snyder ’28: Entrepreneurship Team
- Caden Ross ’26: Food Services Marketing
- Nik Paul ’28/Leo Xia ’28: Financial Services Team
- Sophia Serino ’27/Xaviera Vrankra ’27: International Business Plan
- Chelsea Brodie ’26/Timo Maez ’26: Marketing Management Team
- Saharsh Cheppalli ’28: Principles of Business Management
- Harrison Schiek ’26: Personal Financial Literacy
- Keith Lee ’29: Principles of Finance
- Antonella Begay ’26/Dana Manriquez ’26/Brooke Ponte ’26: Community Awareness Project
- Irene Arce-Cortazar ’29: Principles of Marketing
- Arjun Grandhe ’27/Rishi Menon ’27/William Shore ’27: Sports and Entertainment Marketing Operations
- Hannah Ceranski ’26/Alexis Limary ’26: Travel and Tourism Team
Second-Fourth Place
- Gabriel Canaca ’28: Accounting
- Matthew Babinski ’27: Automotive Services
- Asher Faber ’27: Automotive Services
- Cole Foster ’26/Landon Fout ’26: Business Law and Ethics
- Michael Franco ’26: Business Services Marketing
- Alex Burd ’26: Business Services Marketing
- Calvin Olson ’26: Entrepreneurship
- Isaac Lacerda ’27/Jude Luehring ’27: Financial Services Team
- Sofia Sterling ’29/Stella Marin ’29: Financial Services Team
- Jadon Olson ’26/Dana Poon ’26/Lucia Roth ’27: Hospitality & Tourism Operations Research
- Elliot Hickey ’26/Riley Stanford ’26/Aarush Tutiki ’26: International Business Plan
- Lili Gati ’27: Marketing Communications
- Lana Pace ’28: Marketing Communications
- Phillip Skarbek-Borowski ’26: Quick Serve Restaurant Management
- Jameson Paternoster ’26: Sports and Entertainment Marketing
- Ian Marin 26/Leo Griscom ’26: Travel and Tourism Team
