February 25, 2019
More than 325 students competed for scholarships, other prizes at SIU Carbondale’s Accounting Challenge
CARBONDALE, Ill. — More than 325 high school and community college students from across the region competed for college scholarships, trophies and other prizes at Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s 21st annual Accounting Challenge on Feb. 22.
Individual contest winners could earn scholarships
Sponsored by the School of Accountancy, the challenge tested participants’ accounting knowledge and skills as well as their problem-solving expertise. Chancellor John M. Dunn and Marc Morris, accountancy school director, welcomed the group and then the action kicked off with contestants completing in individual written accounting quizzes. Those earning the highest scores in each division won certificates and scholarships worth up to $500 if they attend SIU Carbondale and major in accounting.
Top individual honors
Winners of the individual contest in each category, along with their schools, grades and potential scholarship earnings, include:
Accounting I – High School
- First place – Logan Altenberger, senior, Hillsboro High School, $500.
- Second place – (tie) Brooks Harlan, sophomore, Centralia High School, and Alex Tillock, sophomore, O’Fallon Township High School, $300.
- Third place – (tie) Brady Martinez, sophomore, O’Fallon Township High School, and Rayne Niederhofer, junior, Centralia High School , $200.
Advanced Accounting II – High School
- First place – (tie) Tyson Stoecklin and Jesse Strang, both seniors, Marion High School, $500.
- Second place – Matt Crabtree, senior, Marion High School, $300.
- Third place – (tie) McKenzie Orange and Cathryn Dunn, both seniors, Marion High School, $200.
Community College
- First place – (tie) Wyatt Graves, freshman, Shawnee Community College, and Roy Worthen, sophomore, John A. Logan College, $500.
Teams faced unique challenges
During the team portion of the competition, students took on two unique challenges, conceived by Larry Busch, an emeritus SIU School of Art and Design faculty member. The first task was to create the tallest free-standing tower possible, using just a couple of manila folders, a paper plate, a four-foot strip of masking tape and scissors. Points were awarded based on the tower’s height: the tallest measured an amazing 99 inches.
Next came a unique human version of the popular “Hungry, Hungry Hippos” children’s game. Five teams competed at a time. One person per team laid on a floor creeper while a team member grabbed his or her feet to push the creeper around, something akin to the old human wheelbarrow game. The goal was to capture as many balls as possible from the floor in two minutes using a gallon pitcher with a hole cut in the lid. The top team gathered 40 balls.
There was plenty of laughter and intense rivalries throughout the team competition. The students’ scores for the two challenges comprised 75 percent of their team challenge score while the remaining 25 percent of their total came from their marks in the individual testing. Trophies went to the top teams, along with individual trophies for team members.
Team winners
The team competition winners, listed by division along with the names of team members, were:
Accounting I – High School Team
- First place – Hillsboro High School: Jude Bertolino, Drew Willman, Cooper Holcomb, Logan Altenberger.
- Second place – O’Fallon Township High School: Will Vastine, Alex Tillock, Brady Martinez.
Accounting II – High School Team
- First place -- Marion High School: Tyson Stoecklin, McKenzie Orange, Jesse Strang, Matt Crabtree.
- Second place -- Marion High School: Cathryn Dunn, Island Martin.
Community College Team
- First place – Shawnee Community College: Wyatt Graves, Rebecca Walker, Jake Wright, Bethany Bell.
SIU students led the way
More than 50 SIU accounting student volunteers assisted in making the 2019 Accounting Challenge a big success. Coordinators for the event, which drew students from more than 20 schools, including some as far as nearly 100 miles away, were:
- Joshua Hill, a senior accounting major from Du Quoin.
- Emily Hillis, a junior accounting major from Jacksonville.
- McKenzie Mohring, a senior accounting major from West Frankfort.
Piquing interest in accounting
“The Accounting Challenge is a big event for the School of Accountancy. It shows that the SIU accounting program might be the right stuff for prospective students,” Hill said. “It’s also a testament to the volunteers and faculty reach out across the region to welcome students to the challenge. With about 325 students from around the region, it’s the biggest I’ve ever seen and really shows that people are interested.”
High school and community college participants also received T-shirts to commemorate the day.