County schools add 8 new state champions

Eight Wayne County teens won state championships through Business Professionals of America, and 70 have advanced to the organization’s national competition.

BPA’s State Leadership Conference took place March 8-10 in Indianapolis.

Beyond faring well in individual contests, several members received BPA’s Statesman Torch Award for earning 50 points in each of seven categories (leadership, service, cooperation, knowledge, friendship, love/hope/faith and citizenship).

BPA’s National Leadership Conference will take place May 6-10 in Nashville, Tennessee. Chapters welcome donations sent to their schools to defray student costs, and fundraisers are being organized.

Centerville

Centerville students brought home two state championships and two runner-up awards among their national qualifiers.

The website design team of AJ Brock and Zach DeHoff won their event, as did Cheyanne Junco, who excelled in intermediate word processing.

Twenty-seven Bulldogs advanced to the national contest. Four qualified to compete in two events.

Centerville students also received broader recognition for their service. Ellie Cox served as Region 9 president as part of Indiana’s Officer Leadership Team.

Madison Adkins was named Chapter All Star for her dedication to the local chapter.

Centerville’s chapter was also recognized with Cares awards in Community Service, Environmental Action, Marketing and Communications, and Chapter Activities Award of Excellence, said adviser Bonita Klein.

Lincoln

The Golden Eagles soared this season, with 43 students participating in state competitions.

While in Indianapolis, Western Wayne Schools’ delegation earned two state championships and six second-place finishes.

Karson Ulerick earned first in SQL Fundamentals and Audrina Johnson won in the Fundamental Desktop Publishing category.

Twenty-one LHS students advanced to nationals, and four of them qualified to compete in two events.

Addy Ross, chapter president, said she and her fellow members have a lot of fun dedicating time to BPA, and she’s proud of those who are advancing to nationals.

“Some of my favorite memories of high school come from BPA SLC, whether it’s dinner with friends, late night talks when we really should be getting rest for our competitions the next morning, or cheering on the chapter members at the award ceremony that advance on to nationals,” Ross said.

Garrett Singer and Ron Puckett advise the chapter; Amy Puckett and Annabelle Keen served as chaperones.

Northeastern

In their second year as a chapter, the Knights have their first-ever BPA national qualifiers among 20 students who advanced to state. Parker Brooks placed fourth in computer modeling and will head to Nashville.

“This is a huge achievement for our chapter,” said Caleb Larsh, chapter president. “Having a student qualify for nationals shows what is possible in this chapter, and I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”

In addition, Nicolas Markward received the Statesmen level Torch Award at state, and then learned he achieved the Ambassador level for Torch, qualifying him for the National Leadership Conference as well. 

Adviser Tyler Hostetler, who receives assistance from Trisha Peters, said he’s incredibly proud of all the members who attended the state conference. He said they worked very hard and had “a ton of fun.”

“We have many young members that will do great things in the coming years and those seniors who laid the groundwork for a great chapter will be missed greatly,” Hostetler said.

Richmond

Twenty members qualified for nationals, including four state champions, and two Red Devils were elected to state leadership roles in the upcoming school year.

“I am extremely proud of how these young business professionals represented Richmond High School and the state of Indiana, and I am looking forward to sharing in their accomplishments at the National Leadership Conference,” said Denise Selm, who received BPA’s John Hendrickson Distinguished Service Award for her own chapter leadership. Carl Siders also serves as an adviser.

RHS earned four state championships and five second-place awards. Hannah Stearley won two championships in economic research (individual) and health research presentation, while Remy Luangsingotha won for computer modeling and Yuvraj Prajapati took top honors in medical coding.

Two RHS students will serve on the State Officer Leadership Team in 2026-2027. Stearley was elected as state president. Alice Couch was elected Region 9 president.

Stearley said she’s incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve as Indiana’s president.

“I’m excited to collaborate with our other state officers to represent members across the state and expand opportunities for students in BPA,” she said.

Ashlee Grieswell and Stearley also attained the Statesman Torch Award.