Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Central wins national JA Titan championships

By TERRY RINDFLEISCH | La Crosse Tribune

La Crosse Central High School captured its third national championship and its first team championship today in the Junior Achievement Titan Business Challenge.

Central finished ahead of seven other teams in the country, including second-place Boston Latin High School, and high schools from the Chicago and Cleveland area. Matt Bollman, K.C. Peck, Tyler Shaker and Hannah Boldt made up Central’s team.

In the JA Titan competition, students play an online business simulation game in which they have to make critical economic and management decisions.

“It was a tough competition, and I’m so proud of the students,” said Jim Berns, Central’s economics teacher and the team’s adviser. “They built a long-term strategy to win, and it was one of the best national games we have played.This is one of the best teams I’ve had in the finals."

Central has qualified for the nationals for four of the last five years. In 2006, Central swept the top three awards when Nick Grays won the national title, David Ranscht was second and Johanna Ley was third.

In 2005, Central's Greg Dihlmann-Malzer won the National JA Titan title, while Central teammate Nick Manske placed second. In 2004,Central's Adam Solyst took second place at nationals.

Last year, when Central did not qualify for nationals, JA Titan became a team competition instead of an individual contest. More than 45,000 students participated in the JA Titan competition this year.

For more on this story, see Thursday's Tribune or check back at www.lacrossetribune.com.