VIRGINIA BEACH — Three Princess Anne High School students were among 148 competitors at the national championship held in Atlanta June 13-15, and the group returned here with three of the top national awards.
More than 357,000 students took over 800,000 tests in Microsoft Office Specialist Applications, but only 148 students won state championships to qualify for the national competition, according to a news release from Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
At the championship, students competed in one of six Microsoft program categories: Word 2013 and 2016, Excel 2013 and 2016, as well as PowerPoint 2013 and 2016.
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Cameron Pillatsch, a junior at Princess Anne, earned first place in PowerPoint 2013; freshmen Alexis Deynes won second place in Microsoft Word 2016, and junior Joseph Litz won second place in Microsoft Excel 2016, according to VBCPS.
Princess Anne High School Business Education teacher Jason Barefoot attended the competition to support the students.
Pillatsch received $3,000 as well as a medal of achievement, trophy and certificate, according to VBCPS. As second place winners, Deynes and Litz received $1,500 along with a medal of achievement and certificate.
As a first place champion, Pillatsch received an invitation to compete at the MOS World Championship in Orlando, Florida, July 28 through Aug. 1.