AHS DECA students move on up to next level

ARLINGTON — The weekend of March 8-10 saw Arlington High School's DECA team compete among 3,500 high school students in 44 different events, and the AHS team remained extremely competitive, with its students placing in several categories.

Arlington's Amanda Hayward and Coty Vandewerfhorst competed in the team event of Sports and Entertainment Marketing, finishing third overall and only 2.5 points shy of first place. They'll go on to contend for a top 10 spot on stage at the DECA International Career Development Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, from April 27 through May 2.

The Chapter Awards Project — consisting of Arlington's Allison Langley, Kaylee Aune and Carley Petersen — also qualified for the DECA International Career Development Conference.

The following Arlington students placed in the top 25 of various categories:

Aune also came in ninth place in Fashion Promotion Plan, and was also called on stage for a medal for a top five test score.

Odin Atkinson came in 12th place in Accounting Applications, and was called on stage for a medal for top five role play as well.

Kevin Emery ranked 20th in Accounting Applications, while Summer Dingman ranked 22nd in Hotel and Lodging Marketing. Wendy Hughes scored 23rd in Hospitality and Tourism Professional Selling, while Hailey Mellick scored 24th in Retail Merchandising. Wyatt Raphael rounded things out at 25th place in Human Resource Management.

The Arlington High School DECA team will be sending Mellick to attend the Leadership Development Academy, Zach Cerna to attend the Senior Management Institute, and Eric Weaver and Elysia Whitis to attend the Chapter Management Academy.

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