UW-Whitewater Collegiate DECA completes competitive season with record-setting results

March 17, 2020

UW-Whitewater is proud to share that the UW-Whitewater Collegiate DECA chapter returned from the Midwest Case Study Competition held on March 5 – 7 in Delavan, Wis., with a record 150 individual and team awards—including the DECA Diamond Award for Chapter of the Year.

Forty-eight students—the highest number of delegates the chapter has ever achieved—represented the university at the state conference. The team’s honors included first-place awards in four events, second-place awards in nine events, and third-place awards in eight events. In addition to earning the DECA Diamond Award, the team also brought home a first-place award in the Civic Consciousness category and a Membership Award recognizing the largest membership in the state.

UW-Whitewater students also earned the top two honors in the state Student of the Year awards. Dylan Otwell, senior information technology management major, earned first place, and Emily Hayden, senior marketing major, earned second place.

Based on their exceptional performances, all 48 students were qualified to advance to the International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Ga., in April. Ten years ago, when the UW-Whitewater chapter first started in 2009 – 2010, just six students advanced to ICDC.

Chapter advisor Frank Lanko shared, "This year’s student performance was truly historic. Not only did the chapter bring a record-tying 48 students to the conference, but the level of competition was greatly increased because this year’s event had almost twice as many competitors as last year. To see all of our students qualify in their events — some in multiple events — against talented Collegiate DECA students from across Wisconsin and Iowa, really speaks to the time and effort put into preparation by our students under the leadership of our talented and dedicated executive board."

The International Career Development Conference event has been canceled along with most other large events and conferences. With this sudden end to their collegiate DECA competitive careers, we want to share the extensive list of senior awards below.

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Student of the Year

• Dylan Otwell – 1st place
• Emily Hayden – 2nd place

Individual/Team Awards

Accounting

• Mike Brown – 2nd place
• Payton Munson – 3rd place
• Kai Newman – National qualifier

Advertising Campaign

• Team of Tayler Jones and Natalie Hummelt – 1st place
• Evan Nightingale – 2nd place
• Team of Treise Langhammer and Lauren Hanson – National qualifiers

Business Ethics

• Team of Lauren Power and Colin Casey – National qualifiers

Business-to-Business Marketing

• Team of Emma Sinden and Roma Luedtke – 3rd place
• Team of Jim Widmer and Dylan Otwell – National qualifiers
• Team of Matt Schweinert and Eric Kirst – National qualifiers

Business Research

• Devontae Sisk – 3rd place
• Laura Flores-Cortes – National qualifier

Corporate Finance

• Brendan Clementi – 2nd place
• Brenden Scheuermann – National qualifier

Emerging Technology - Marketing Strategies

• Team of Michelle Anderson and Chris Tomes – 3rd place

Entrepreneurship

• John Weber – 3rd place
• Emily Hayden – National qualifier
• Team of Emma Sinden and Roma Luedtke – National qualifiers

Entrepreneurship Operations

• Evan Nightingale – 1st place
• Grady Gruchow – 2nd place

Event Planning

• Team of Treise Langhammer and Lauren Hanson – 1st place
• Team of Hannah Matysiak and Anna Johnson – National qualifiers
• Team of Kelsey Clark and Lauren Reid - National qualifiers

Financial Statement Analysis

• Team of Quinn Ryan and Grayson Koehler – 2nd place

Hotel and Lodging

• Emily Hayden – 1st place
• John Weber – 2nd place
• Chris Tomes – National qualifier

Human Resource Management

• Alexis Craft – National qualifier

International Marketing

• Team of Kaylee Koenig and Skyler Gosse – 2nd place
• Team of Mary Domich and Anthony Gailloreto - National qualifiers

Marketing Communications

• Team of Kiley Stromberg and Natalie Sankey – National qualifiers
• Team of Bridget Thompson and Anusha Barath – National qualifiers

Marketing Management

• Kyle Fritz – National qualifier
• Tatiana Zemlicka – National qualifier

Professional Sales

• David Zehner – 2nd place
• Kyle Fritz – National qualifier

Restaurant Management

• Tayler Jones – 3rd place
• David Zehner – National qualifier
• Ryan Nowicki – National qualifier

Retail Management

• Natalie Hummelt – 3rd place
• Will Rudd – National qualifier
• Devontae Sisk – National qualifier

Sales Management Meeting

• Spencer Jahnke – 2nd place

Sports and Entertainment  Marketing

• Team of Cody Olson and Brandon Gersek – National qualifiers

Travel and Tourism

• Michelle Anderson – 3rd place