Students from Kansas, Minnesota take top honors at K-State Sales Team tryouts
Friday, May 6, 2022
Participants in the K-State Sales Team tryouts. Front row, from left: Huhtamaki representatives Harrison Carney, Kristi Sics and Brett White; second row — Ashley Grills, Huhtamaki representatives Shawn Reckrodt and Ann O'Hara, Lydia Johnson and Kirsten Jackson; third row — Kendall Batten, Kacy Lewallen, Grant Longwell, Cooper Champlin, Aidan Taylor, Sam Schlote and Jack McGuire; fourth row — Halle Zwetow, Cameron Pavelschak, Jared Russell, Hunter Hartner, Charles Kuenzi, Taylor Moorman and Jake Keller; and back row — Cashe McVey, Colton Williams, Kaley Coffman, Blaine Kramer, Brian Vanderhoof and Jadin O'Reilly. | Download this photo.
MANHATTAN — The National Strategic Selling Institute at Kansas State University recently hosted tryouts for the 2022-2023 K-State Sales Team. The tryouts were sponsored by Huhtamaki and consisted of three rounds over two days.
The sales competition event allowed students to compete against each other. Each round consisted of a fictitious role-play scenario with a representative from Huhtamaki acting as the buyer and facilitating the conversation.
"The National Strategic Selling Institute program at Kansas State University attracts high-caliber students, a fact that was made evident as we watched the students compete for a spot on the K-State Sales Team," said Shawn Reckrodt, head of supply chain planning and special projects at Huhtamaki. "We continue to be impressed by the students' poise, preparedness and selling skills. They really stand out when compared to students from other universities with similar sales programs. We consider it an honor to support the National Strategic Selling Institute and look forward to many more years of partnership."
Students competed for both student merit awards and an opportunity to interview for a spot on the K-State Sales Team. All 27 students who participated in the competition received a $50 student merit award for the first round. The students who advanced to the second round and the final round received an additional $50 merit award for each round of participation.
Blaine Kramer, junior in professional strategic selling, Atchison,placed first and received a $500 student merit award. Lydia Johnson, senior in professional strategic selling and Spanish, Prior Lake, Minnesota, placed second and received a $400 student merit award. Jack McGuire, sophomore in professional strategic selling and marketing, Shawnee, placed third and received a $300 student merit award. Ashley Grills, senior in management, Overland Park, placed fourth and received a $200 student merit award.
The following students also competed in the K-State Sales Team tryouts:
Kaley Coffman, junior in professional strategic selling and finance, and Samuel Coffman, freshman in business administration pre-professional, both from Bonner Springs; Hunter Hartner, sophomore in professional strategic selling and marketing, Belleville; Taylor Moorman, sophomore in business administration pre-professional, Emporia.
From Greater Kansas City: Sam Schlote, sophomore in professional strategic selling, Fairway;Kendall Batten, junior in marketing, and Kirsten Jackson, senior in marketing, both from Olathe;Jake Keller, freshman in business administration pre-professional, andAidan Taylor, junior in professional strategic selling and marketing, both from Shawnee; and Grant Longwell, freshman in business administration pre-professional, Stilwell.
Matt Goodale, sophomore in finance, Hays; Kayla Kohrs, freshman in business administration pre-professional, Leavenworth;Jared Russell, freshman in business administration pre-professional, Manhattan; Colton Williams, senior in professional strategic selling, Osage City;Charles Kuenzi, junior in professional strategic selling, Sabetha;Cashe McVey, junior in professional strategic selling, St. John.
From Wichita: Cooper Champlin, junior in industrial engineering; Jadin O'Reilly, sophomore in computer science; Brian Vanderhoof, junior in professional strategic selling; andHalle Zwetow, junior in professional strategic selling and marketing.
From out of state: Cameron Pavelschak, senior in professional strategic selling, Mascoutah, Illinois; Kacy Lewallen, junior in professional strategic selling and marketing, Kansas City, Missouri; and CJ Fernandes, freshman in business administration pre-professional, Flower Mound, Texas.
"We greatly appreciate Huhtamaki's support in providing this opportunity for our students," said Kellie Jackson, managing director of the National Strategic Selling Institute and sales team coach. "Their team provided eight Huhtamaki representatives to facilitate this event. The continuous support and partnership they provide our program is very important to us as we continue to educate and develop the next generation of sales talent."
The K-State Sales Team is in the College of Business Administration's National Strategic Selling Institute, which has been named one of the top sales programs in the country for 10 straight years by the Sales Education Foundation. The team consists of students who are enrolled in the major or certificate in professional strategic selling.
For more information on the K-State Sales Team, please contact Jackson at kelliejackson@k-state.edu.
