The Clay County Middle School and Clay County High School TSA teams recently competed at the WV State Competition at Cedar Lakes in Ripley, West Virginia. Led by their Advisor Jessica Ramsey, 54 students made the trip, 26 from middle school and 28 from high school. This year’s conference theme was The Wild West.
TSA is the Technology Student Association. It is a student organization where students work and learn about STEM, or the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The competitions are all strategy, problem solving or research based. Each student worked many hours perfecting projects. Their hard work and dedication paid off.
Clay County Middle captured 12 first place, six second place, and five third place victories. CCMS was named Outstanding Middle School Chapter in the state of West Virginia. The award is determined by the total number of awards taken away from the conference. Clay County High School captured nine first place, nine second place, and four third place finishes. CCHS placed second overall. In total, 23 students earned the honor to compete at the national TSA competition in Washington, D.C. from June 22 to June 26, 2026.
Clay Middle winners were as follows:
First Place: Biotechnology – Marissa Atha, Kinley Ramsey, and Layla Stewart; Career Prep – Gunner Dobbins; Challenging Tech Issues – Gunner Dobbins and River Schoolcraft; Children’s Stories – Lyla Titus; Community Service Video – Gunner Dobbins; Construction Challenge – Addy Jones and Kinley Ramsey; Creed – Lyla Titus; Mass Production – Marissa Atha, Layla Stewart and Addy Jones; Medical Technology – Marissa Atha and Layla Stewart; Prepared Speech – Lyla Titus; Technical Design – Marissa Atha and River Schoolcraft; and Fishing Tournament – Silas Corwell.
Second Place: Mass Production – Sadie Bird, Carson Brown and Colton Hersman; Prepared Speech – Gunner Dobbins; Promotional Marketing – Madison Holcomb; System Control Technology – Gunner Dobbins, Trenton Parker and Eli Wilmoth; Technical Design –Jenna Paxton and Reagan Payton; and Fishing Tournament – Aiden Adkins.
Third Place: Inventions and Innovations – Sadie Bird, Carson Brown and Colton Hersman; Leadership Strategies – Reagan Payton, Paisley Adkins and Charlotte Elliott; Problem Solving – Aiden Adkins and Silas Corwell; Technical Design – Sadie Bird and Sophia Boggs; andWater Bottle Rockets – Aiden Adkins and Eli Wilmoth.
Clay High winners were:
First Place: Biotech Design – Alivia Gilliland and Cadence Williams; Children’s Story –Ariel Dobbins and Lillian Starcher; Debating Technology Issues – Sophia Berberich and Camryn Williams; Future Technology Teacher – Juliann Gallaher; Geospatial Technology –Jaxon Brown, Alivia Gilliland, and Roxy Schoolcraft; Prepared Presentation – Sophia Berberich; Robotics – Alex Holcomb and Canaan Payton; STEM Mass Media – Ariel Dobbins and Hannah Gandee; and Tech Problem Solving – Alivia Gilliland and Cadence Williams.
Second Place: Animatronics – Brooke Cliver and Cora Weaver; Data Science & Analytics – Jaxon Brown; Debating Technology Issues – Hannah Gandee and Parker Taylor; Chapter Team – Jaxon Brown, Alivia Gilliland, Juliann Gallaher, Cheyenne Adkins, Sophia Berberich and Camryn Williams; Digital Video Production – Ariel Dobbins and Lillian Starcher; Extemporaneous Speech – Parker Taylor; Logo Design – Cheyanne Adkins; Music Production – Jaxon Brown; and Water Bottle Rockets – Cruz Cottrell and Mckinley Mahan.
Third Place: Children’s Story – Adrianna Belt; Fashion Design – Abigail Grandon, Brooke Cliver and Cora Weaver; Forensic Science – Presley Shamblin and Lillian Starcher; and Music Production – Abagail Grandon, Brooke Cliver and Cora Weaver.
At Cedar Lakes, state officers for the 2026-2027 school year were also elected: Juliann Gallaher will be State President and Lillian Starcher will be Sergeant-at-Arms. Ariel Dobbins is the outgoing State President and Juliann Gallaher is outgoing Sergeant-at-Arms. Additionally, Jaxon Brown won the Most Outstanding Member Scholarship for excellence in his TSA events throughout his high school career.
Five Clay High students were also honored with awards in the TSA Achievement Program Pathways to Excellence. It encourages TSA members to engage in the areas/categories of service, leadership, STEM immersion, and personal/professional development. Students participate in activities in these areas and are able to earn sequentially a bronze, silver, and gold award. Impressively, Alivia Gilliland, Jaxon Brown, Juliann Gallaher, Lillian Starcher and Presley Shamblin each earned all three – bronze, silver and gold achievement awards.
Ms. Ramsey is very proud of these students for not only being successful in competition, but for their success in their behavior too. They are carrying on a strong tradition set by TSA students over the past decade. Ms. Ramsey would also like to thank Mrs. Lindsay Schoolcraft, Ms. Elizabeth Gallaher, Mr. Barry Payton, and Mrs. Luella Dancy for their time and hard work helping students with projects or serving as chaperones along with the parents, grandparents, and family members who help make sure the students’ projects are complete.
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and the same can be said about TSA. It takes a community to bring success and CCMS and CCHS students are fortunate to have that community support. This success would also not be possible without the support of the administrations at Clay County Middle School, Clay County High School, the Clay County Schools Administrative Staff and the Clay County Board of Education. We thank you! The School Board will recognize the students for their achievements at the next Board Meeting to be held on June 16, 2026.
