Coyotes Win World Titles

By Todd Pittenger April 25, 2025

A quartet of Coyotes are world champions.

According to Kansas Wesleyan University, four students earned world championship honors, fueling another excellent effort by the school’s DECA program at the organization’s annual international competition, held earlier this month in San Francisco.

Senior Clay Gagnon and sophomore Paige Chauncey prevailed in the Sports Marketing event, while freshmen Shelby Davidson and Delanie McMullen won the Event Planning category. Chauncey, Davidson and McMullen were competing at the international meet for the first time.

The quartet of world titles gave the Coyotes 15 in the past four years and marked the third year in a row Kansas Wesleyan had world champions in multiple events.

“I’m incredibly proud of the time and efforts students commit to DECA to be exceptional,” said Dr. Trish Petak, associate professor of business and accounting and the team’s coach. “The behind-the-scenes preparation is where their growth really happens, shaping them into confident presenters and strategic collaborators.”

All told, 13 Coyotes competed in the April event and 12 advanced to the final round. Ten recorded top-10 results.

More than 1,300 students from more than 100 institutions competed, including those from Arizona State, Clemson, Pepperdine, North Carolina and UNLV.

DECA is an organized business competition that provides students with problems and requires them to present solutions. Some disciplines require a report written beforehand, while others involve an exam taken prior to the competition. All involve presentations with varying amounts of time to prepare, sometimes as little as 30 minutes.

A full capsule of KWU’s top-10 finishers appears below.

First Place Finishers

  • Paige Chauncey (sophomore) and Clay Gagnon (senior) – Sports Marketing
  • Shelby Davidson (freshman) and Delanie McMullen (freshman) – Event Planning

Second Place Finishers

  • Oriana Botz (junior) and Tru Haesemeyer (junior) – Marketing Communications

Other Top-10 Finishers

  • Courtney Auld (sophomore) and Caleigh Evans (senior)  – Entertainment Marketing
  • Auld and Gagnon – Business Research
  • Tiana Marion (senior) and Madelene McVey (sophomore) – International Marketing

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photo via KWU