Story originally printed in the Holmen Courier or online at www.holmencourier.com

Published - Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Area schools sweep top spots in JA contest

Two teams from La Crosse Central High School and one team from Holmen High School proved themselves to be titans of industry with their first-, second- and third-place sweep of the Regional Junior Achievement Titan Business Challenge held on April 23 at the CENEX World Headquarters in Inver Grove Heights, Minn.

Teams competed head-to-head against 16 total teams from across Minnesota and western Wisconsin during three intense rounds of competition.

Tim Jeske, Brandon Temte, Morgan Ayed and Danielle Schank, from left, members of one of Holmen High School's Junior Achievement team's, work on answering question's during the recent state competition. Contributed photo

Holmen’s team included Brandon Temte, Morgan Ayed, Danielle Schank and Tim Jeske, and was coached by Kristi Johnson. They triumphed over teams from Minneapolis, St. Cloud, and the Mankato areas.

Fifty-six students competed against each other and the clock in this exciting online business simulation game that engages students in making critical economic and management decisions.

JA Titan lets budding young entrepreneurs manage their own virtual manufacturing business, and the success or failure of their company is based on how well they manage such key issues as setting prices, determining production levels, establishing marketing plans, investing in research and development, and capital investment.

In addition to participating in the event, the students who participated are also eligible for $5,000 in scholarships from Minnesota State University, Mankato; Bethany Lutheran College; Gustavus Adolphus College; South Central Technical College and Rasmussen College.

The winners of the Regional JA Titan Business Challenge advance to the next qualifying round, held May 19, where they will compete for the chance to advance to the National JA Titan Business Challenge.

JA Titan is a nationally recognized business simulation for high school students and is sponsored by Best Buy and the Best Buy Children’s Foundation.

La Crosse Central is no stranger to advancing to the national competition as they have accomplished this three years in a row (2004, 2005 and 2006), wining the national championship in 2005 and 2006 and placing second in 2004.

All stories copyright 2006 Holmen Courier and other attributed sources.