92 MIHS DECA Students Qualify For State Championships

Merce Island, WA, January 31, 2024 – Mercer Island High School DECA students have been preparing all fall to compete in the Area 3 DECA competition, which was held on January 10.

Each of the 246 DECA students studied, took practice tests, role-played business case studies, honed their extemporaneous speaking skills, and, for some of them, wrote long involved business plans, of up to 20 pages, and business research papers.

DECA Area 3 is one of the most competitive in the nation with several schools that are powerhouses in the DECA world. The MIHS DECA leaders are so proud of the students and their results from this event. The high school had 92 students qualify to compete at the State DECA Championship in early March.

MIHS DECA Co-Advistor Jen McLellan was exuberant in her praise of all DECA students.

“Even more so than our incredible results of our state-bound students, is the impact and results of ALL our students. Watching a student learn and gain confidence to go in front of DECA judges and pitch a proposal and grow from that experience is profound. We are so proud of ALL our DECA students at MIHS and how they all showed up and competed with poise, intellect, and courage.”

The number in parentheses after a name indicates where they finished in the Area 3 DECA competition.

2024 Mercer Island High School DECA State Qualifiers
34 papers and 58 role plays - 92 state qualifiers

Consulting Presentation
Financial Consulting - Catherine Chen

Individual Role Plays
Accounting - Shirly Li (6th)

Apparel and Accessories Marketing - Rhea Hanspall (12th), Baird Sirianni (13th)

Automotive Marketing - Mateo Mar (3rd), Mayuko Tobaru (4th), Maya Evans-Riera (5th), Ava Zhang (6th), Jordan Benitez (9th), Amuktha Josyula (10th) Ryan Jacobson (12th)

Business Finances - Emma Shi (2nd), Quinn Harper (3rd), Matthew Walzer (4th) Alexander Findlay (9th), Joe Shleifer (10th), Silas Burkey (12th)

Business Services Marketing - Jessica Xing (1st), Priyanka Thiagarajan (5th), Zach Said (10th)

Entrepreneurship - Nikesh Woerner(4th), Cece Wang (5th)

Food Marketing - Keegan Wang (3rd), Elisabeth Grove (8th), Dan Mezistrano (10th)

Hotel and Lodging - Nathan Wen (6th), Maya Talby (9th), Brooke Newall (11th), Maya Lawrence (12th)

Human Resources Management - Logan Remington (13th)

Marketing Communications - Katharine Shao (7th)

Quick Service Food Management - Cooper Pomering (9th), Elizabeth Sadlier (7th), Amy Zhou (12th)

Restaurant and Food Service Management - Jess Geoghagan (8th), Will McDonald (11th)

Retail Marketing - Anthony Wang (1st)

Sports and Entertainment Marketing - Jane Loo (1st), Maggie Blohm (5th), Raquel Libman (13th)

Principles of Business Administration - Levi Mezistrano, Isabella Brown, Eden Freedman, Levi Jones, Meg Dalhin, Sofia Johnson

Principles of Finance - Massimo Maggiani

Personal Financial Literacy - Ryan Wood

Team Role plays
Business Law - Lena Youn and Hannah Zhou (9th)

Entrepreneurship - Oliver Bellin and Jackson Wold (8th), Quincy Tintle and Sebastian Gonzalez (9th), Amelia Han and Rachel Garton (11th)

Marketing Management - Julia Weisfield and Kate Wesifield (10th)

Sports Entertainment and Marketing - Charles Park and Chase Koehler (5th)

Travel and Tourism - Parker Friedman and Rose Haba (9th), Abigail Butson and Sophia Westphal (10th)

Written Events
Business Operations Research (13) - Jess (Norman) Geoghagan and Quinn Harper, Ceciia Wang and Yuki Ye, Josephine Beebe, Estella Roodman and Petra Videriksen, Quincy Tintle and Sebastian Gonzalez, Kate Patton and Margaret Blohm, Amuktha Josyula and Cathrine Chen

FOR (5) - Chase Warnick and Maxwell Martin, Jessica Xing, Rachel Garton, and Sophia Loiselle

Buying and Merchandising Research (4) - Ava Schwartz and Chloe Simpson, Katelyn Fuchs and Madison Dolence

Hospitality and Tourism Research (5) - Baird Sirianni and Eli Parmenter, Priyanka Thiagarajan, Charlie Chatalias and Nolan Chatalas

International Business Plan (7) - Ela Hanspal, Claire Jacobs and Maya Lawrence, Logan Remington and Sophia Pacecca, Matthew Walzer and Nikesh Woerner