A total of 36 students from the West Islip High School Marketing Club, accompanied by chapter adviser Diana Saadat and chaperones Jennifer Delaney and Meghan Linderman, participated in DECA’s Suffolk County Regional Competition, with numerous West Islip students earning trophies.

Held on Jan. 8 at Suffolk County Community College in Selden, the event featured more than 1,800 students from schools across the county.
First place trophies were awarded to Isabella D’Avanzo and James Sladky in Marketing Management Team, and Giavanna Genna and Jenna Ostrove in Business Law and Ethics Team.

Additional West Islip trophy winners included Jillian Brickman in Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Jake Buonocore and Joe Montiglio in Accounting Applications, Matthew Cairo in Human Resources Management, Kayla Dixon and Lily Gilmore in Buying and Merchandising Team, Caden Dragelin and Charles Labeck in Entrepreneurship Team, Kendalyn Grunenberg and Maya Marino in Travel and Tourism Team, Patrick Henry and Ryan Wilson in Entrepreneurship Team, Catherine Lang and Holly Schweitzer in Financial Services Team, Konrad Maciejny in Entrepreneurship, and Paisley Narra in Hotel and Lodging Management.

The winning students will advance to the 59th annual DECA New York State Career Conference, where they will compete against more than 4,000 DECA members from high schools throughout the state. The state event will be held Feb. 25-28 at the Riverside Convention Center in Rochester.

West Islip students who were awarded honorable mention in their DECA regional events were Cassidy Cullen and Alyssa DiPietro in Sports and Entertainment Marketing Team, Olivia DiStefano in Marketing Communications, Gianna Fioravanti and Delaney O’Shea in Marketing Management Team, Sophia Hofer in Business Management and Administration, Brian Kilkelly in Business Finance, and Courtney Metzger in Accounting Applications.

Other participating West Islip DECA students included John Basile, Jay Carpinello, Ty Carpinello, Alex Czarnomski, Joseph D’Avanzo, Hayley Dreyer, Noelle Fallon and Erin Spence.