Students from Catholic Central’s DECA chapter earned top honors at the Michigan DECA State Career Development Conference, capturing a first-place state championship and advancing to the international stage.

The conference took place March 5–7, 2026, at Huntington Place in downtown Detroit, where thousands of students from across the state gathered to compete in business and marketing events through DECA Inc.

Representing Catholic Central, a group of Shamrocks competed in the Career Development Project category with their Build a Better Business Club initiative. What began as a classroom idea between three students developed into a fully realized project focused on entrepreneurship and community impact.

Their work stood out among teams from across Michigan, earning first place and state champion honors in the competition.

On the same day, Jack Dorgan ’26, Jackson Leiter ’27, and Sam Masek ’27 competed at the DECA conference and later joined their teammates for the MHSAA Division 1 Ice Hockey State Championship game. That evening, the Shamrocks won the 2026 state title, marking the program’s seventh consecutive championship.

With the victory, the team now advances to the DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC), which will take place this April in Atlanta. At the international competition, they will represent both Detroit Catholic Central and the State of Michigan while competing against top DECA students from around the world.

The milestone also carries special meaning for the group, as they dedicated the achievement to Charlie Siracusa, whose encouragement and belief in the project helped inspire the team throughout its development.

As the Shamrocks prepare for the international competition this spring, the Catholic Central community will be cheering them on as they take their project from a school idea to the global stage.