Carthage High School’s Technology Student Association (TSA) delivered an outstanding performance at the Regional TSA Competition, qualifying 34 of the 38 events entered for the Texas TSA State Competition. This year’s regional contest was especially competitive, with two additional high schools joining the region and a significant increase in total entries, making the Carthage students’ accomplishments even more impressive.
Students from Carthage competed across a wide variety of STEM and Career & Technical Education events, demonstrating skills in engineering, biotechnology, digital media production, graphic design, photography, and problem solving. The Bulldogs earned 11 regional championships, six runner-up finishes, and six third-place finishes, along with numerous additional regional finalist placements.
Regional champions included the Biotechnology Design team of Harley Chandler, Anastasia Dewberry, Camellia Laura, and Ruby Laura; the Fashion Design and Technology team of Katie Brown, Elise Cawthon, Anastasia Dewberry, and Ruby Laura; Flight Endurance champion Jack Laura; and the On Demand Video team of Anthony Davis, Jakob Gentry, Nicole Lee, Tristan Quick, Jaxon Ruso, and Averey Williams.
Carthage also earned strong finishes in several other team engineering and technology events. The Fashion Design and Technology team of Micaelah Burns, Meira Dodda, Madelynn Pugh, and Crosbie Walters placed second, along with Ruby Laura finishing second in Flight Endurance. Third-place finishes included Audio Podcasting (Crosbie Walters and Makayla Dominguez), Board Game Design (Garrett Baldobino, Timothy Cocklin, Anthony Davis, Elijah Emmons, and Kable Parks), Chapter Team (Micaelah Burns, Meira Dodda, Elijah Emmons, Madelynn Pugh, Cooper Walters, and Crosbie Walters), Children’s Stories (Crosbie Walters, Meira Dodda, and Madelynn Pugh), and Technology Problem Solving (Ruby Laura and James Zimmerman).
In addition to the competitive engineering events, Carthage students submitted a large number of Career and Technical Education design projects, which require students to follow professional guidelines while completing detailed documentation and project submissions. Several of these entries earned first-place honors, including Dakota Pierce in Business Cards, Jasmine Brakefield in Certificate Design, Jayla Hunnicutt in Letterhead Design, Ashly Rodriguez in Calendar Design, Josie Ritter in Safety Poster, Benny Smith in Sublimation and Product Advertisement, Omar Gomez in Screen Print, Averey Williams in Nature Landscape and Nature Wildlife Photography, and Jayda Dizmond in Nature Sunrise/Sunset Photography.
Additional strong finishes came from students across multiple graphic design and media categories, including second-place finishes by Kira Marshall in Business Cards, Maile Orr in Certificate Design, Shaliya Anderson in Flyer Design, Ashley Dean in Safety Poster and Product Label, and Kason Raines in Screen Print. Third-place finishes were earned by Ashley Dean in Business Cards, Giselle Arellano Carbajal and Cayden Campbell in Certificate Design, Kyla Brown in Flyer Design, Briley Reid in Safety Poster, and Morgan Gunn in Yearbook Layout. Numerous additional students placed among the top finishers in their respective categories.
Overall, the Carthage TSA chapter’s performance highlights the strength of the district’s Career and Technical Education programs and the dedication of students who have spent months designing, building, documenting, and refining their projects. With 34 events now advancing, Carthage students will represent the school at the Texas TSA State Competition later this year, where they will compete against the top qualifiers from across the state.
The success at regionals reflects the creativity, innovation, and technical skill of Carthage students and continues to demonstrate the impact of hands-on STEM learning opportunities offered through the district’s CTE programs.
The Carthage TSA program will also host a TSA Showcase today, Tuesday, March 10th, from 5:00–6:00 PM in the CHS Commons. The showcase will give students an opportunity to display their competition projects for the community while also preparing for the upcoming State Contest. Community members, families, and local professionals are invited to stop by, view the projects, ask questions, and provide feedback as students continue refining their work before competing at the state level.