The Cape Fear High School DECA competitive team competed in Greensboro at the North Carolina DECA State Conference and had its best performance since being established in 2021.

The competition kicked off Thursday morning with everyone taking the entrepreneurship test, with many scoring very high scores. Later in the day, two teams competed in their events, where they had to demonstrate teamwork and confidence during their role plays.

Later that night, DECA held its opening session where Cape Fear was honored as a Diamond Chapter and six members were recognized with the Marketing Management Certificate. Those six members were Brady Tucker, Christopher Shick, Collin Shick, Isabella Alvarez, Scarlett Tetlow, and Ayonna Smith.

The next day, Cape Fear DECA had 27 members compete in 14 different events ranging from automotive sales marketing to personal financial literacy. Each competitor completed role-plays and presented their ideas in front of judges, showing their knowledge, confidence, and professionalism. Many students also took the marketing fundamentals test where Christopher Shick and Vincent Raspberry got a proficiency ribbon.

And That night, Cape Fear attended the first awards ceremony, where the chapter earned four medals , the most in school history. Brady Tucker received a medal for his automotive exam, Christopher and Collin Shick earned a medal for their Sports and Event Marketing Team Decision Making role play, and Lillian Dudley earned a medal for her Personal Financial Literacy role-play.

Brady Tucker, a first year competitor said this about how he felt about his performance. “As a first year DECA competitor in Automotive Marketing, I think I did pretty good. It was a new experience with the test and role-play, but I learned a lot and gained confidence,” Tucker said. Looking ahead to next year, he said, “Next year, I want to improve my test score and be more confident and prepared for the role-play scenarios.”

On the last day, Cape Fear attended the final awards and closing ceremony, where Christopher and Collin Shick placed ninth in the entire state, finishing just one spot away from earning a trophy and advancing to ICDC, DECA’s international competition. They are the chapter’s first finalists since 2023 and only the second finalists in school history.

DECA advisor Mrs. Cox said she was extremely proud of the team’s overall performance. “I was very proud of how everyone did. I think we represented Cape Fear well. We made our presence known with four medals, the most we’ve ever had, and we are in the NC Hall of Fame. The team was very excited and passionate,” Cox said. She also highlighted standout performances, adding, “I think Chris and Collin did the best. They made state finalists and were just short of making ICDC, and I think Brady Tucker surprised me the most because I’ve never had a freshman get a medal before.”