The De La Salle Collegiate DECA team is heading to the Michigan DECA State Career Development Conference this weekend in downtown Detroit.

The team won 38 District Championships earlier this year. Read more 

The DLS contingent includes 45 students; some students are in categories that did not have a district competition. 

The team leaves Thursday, March 5, and will be staying at the AC Hotel Detroit at the Bonstelle located near Little Caesar's Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Pistons.

Regina Students Also Attending

Students from Regina High School will also be attending and staying alongside the team, adding to the collaborative atmosphere of the weekend.

This is Regina’s first year with DECA. De La Salle DECA students, along with their moderator Mr. Dennis Koch, have practiced with Regina to help both teams get better.

Competition Schedule

• Thursday: Written exam
• Friday: Role-play scenarios at Huntington Place
• Saturday: Awards ceremony and closing session

In addition to competition, the team will enjoy some well-earned fun. Plans include dinner and bowling at Garden Bowl with Regina, dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, and DECA-led activities.

First-Year DECA Member Ready for State Competition

Senior Joshua Kosanke is a first-year member of the DLS DECA team and ready for this weekend’s competition.

“I’m really excited,” Joshua said. “It’s definitely been a good experience so far — coming in, joining, and learning a bunch of new stuff.”

Josh chose Human Resource Management, an individual category that requires both a comprehensive exam and live role-play scenarios.

“I picked Human Resource Management because it kept my interest,” he explained. “I have family in the business world, and they’re always talking about HR departments. I felt like it was something I could definitely use in the future — no matter what field of business I go into. It’s kind of universal.”

That choice paid off.

He earned District Champion honors.

Preparing for the Next Level

Preparation for states has intensified.

“We’ve been doing a lot more practice tests,” Joshua said. “Mr. Koch gave us a packet of five different practice exams, and we’ve been working through those. At districts, a lot of students did really well on the role play, but the test scores were what held some people back. So we’re really focusing on improving the test and just perfecting the skills we had in the role plays.”

That balance — mastering both the written content and the performance aspect — is what makes DECA such a challenging and rewarding competition.

For a first-year member, earning a district championship and heading to states is no small accomplishment. Excited and well-prepared, he and the rest of the team are ready to represent De La Salle on Michigan’s biggest DECA stage.

District Champions – Seniors

• Anthony Bitonti
• Aidyn Bradt
• Anthony DiRezze
• Aidan Elher
• Caleb Fulton
• John Gaidos
• Vincent Houlihan
• Joseph Hupfel II
• Evan Kelley
• Joshua Kosanke
• Andrew Larimer
• Ed Martel
• Troy Nyugen
• Aaden Osiborkski
• Corbin Richert
• Ender Straughen
• Zachary Sufczynski
• Andrew Tiedt
• Zack Wagner

District Champions – Juniors

• Vince Bitonti
• Luigi D’Agostini
• Dominic Fernandez
• Jacob Kmiec
• Julian Sinishtaj
• Dominic Tamulevich
• Gavin Velicevic

District Champions – Sophomores

• Peter Barrett
• Kevin Erickson
• Brandon Hargis
• Rhys Smith
• Brendan Tafel
• Graham Tobin
• Michael Tosch
• Antonio Viviano
• Thomas Watson

District Champions – Freshmen

• Lucas Elher
• Cooper Gaffrey
• Mason Sizemore