Members of the Mount Hebron team that took top honors at this year’s premier high school economics competition are, from left, Joseph Phelps, Nathaniel Ritter, Mehin Pandya, and Satvik Marripalapu.

Students from Mount Hebron High school in Ellicott City earned first place honors in the Council for Economic Education’s 2023 National Economics Challenge. With support from the Wells Fargo Foundation, more than 6,500 high school students entered the competition that engages, motivates, and rewards high school students for their knowledge of economic principles and the world’s changing global economy.

This marks the sixth straight Challenge in which a Mt. Hebron team has been a finalist or national champion.

“For these students, economics is not a mystery or a puzzle,” said Nan J. Morrison, CEE president and CEO. “The NEC makes learning economics fun by asking each team to apply its skills and knowledge to real world problems, while promoting collaboration and teamwork along with a healthy dose of competition – all useful capabilities for their futures.”

The tools of economic analysis also teach students to think logically, use data smartly, and build analytic and problem-solving skills, Morrison added. Only half the states require a course in economics, according to CEE’s latest Survey of the States.

Working in teams with teachers and others serving as coaches, participants competed for cash prizes, recognition, and bragging rights in state championships and ultimately in two divisional national finals held in New York City.

The top-finishing Mt. Hebron team members in the NEC’s David Ricardo Division for first-time competitors who have taken no more than one economic course are Nathaniel Ritter, Mehin Pandya, Joseph Phelps and Satvik Marripalapu. Their coach is Vann Prime.

CNBC senior economics reporter Steve Liesman moderated the final quiz bowl rounds of the Challenge. Portions of the in-person final competition were broadcast live from Wall Street by CNBC.