Ilwaco High School

Last week was a big one for Ilwaco High School, and our students showed up in a big way across multiple events. We kicked things off with a schoolwide sendoff assembly to cheer on our SkillsUSA competitors as they headed to state—and they represented IHS incredibly well.

At the SkillsUSA State Competition, we had an outstanding showing. Juniper Huntley Stern was selected as the Southwest Region Representative for the 2026/27 school year, which is a huge accomplishment. In the events, Seth Robertson earned silver in Roofing, Keith Clarson took gold in Electrical, and the Entrepreneurship team of Andrew Walls, Blayden Estrada-Best, Keith Clarson, and Sylus Hardister brought home silver. In Sublimation, Halle Manning earned bronze, Liz Knox earned silver, and Beth Naicavacava took gold. Addison Cox earned silver and Jenna Karnofski took gold in Nail Care, Liam Taft earned gold in Plumbing, Andrew Walls earned silver in Engineering, and in screen printing Ana Petry earned silver and Blake Eisbrenner took gold. We are so proud of the skill, effort, and dedication these students demonstrated.

In June we will send the qualifiers off to compete at Nationals in Georgia including Juniper Huntley-Stern, Keith Clarson, Blayden Estrada-Best, Sylus Hardister, Andrew Walls, Luca Jimenez, Liam Taft, Blake Eisbrenner, Beth Naicavacava and Jenna Karnofski.

In addition, our WAHSET team had a great weekend as well. Bailey Womack and Alexis Ahlers both qualified for the WAHSET State competition that will be held in May. Together they qualified in the 2-man bi-wrangle and Bailey also qualified individually in Pole Bending, Keyhole, and Figure 8.

We are incredibly proud of all of these students for their hard work and for representing Ilwaco High School so well.

On Wednesday, we celebrated 11 of our seniors, who, after graduation, will each travel to another state for an all-expenses-paid trip through the American Exchange Project. This year, our seniors will travel to New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, Tennessee, Georgia, and Wisconsin as part of the program.

American Exchange is a nonpartisan program designed to help students step outside their comfort zones and experience life in another part of the country. Participants stay with host families, explore their communities, and connect with students whose day-to-day life may look very different from their own.

As part of the program, we also host 11 students from all over the country. We are blessed to have 9 families who have stepped up to host. Their willingness to do this makes this experience possible for our students. If you are interested in hosting next year, please reach out to Kelly Jacobsen, the Exchange Manager for this project. The 11 traveling Seniors will organize Hometown Week, plan activities, and make connections with the visiting seniors.

This year, our seniors will travel to New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, Tennessee, Georgia, and Wisconsin as part of the program.

This is our first year participating in the American Exchange Project, and we are excited to make this program an annual experience. It gives our students the chance to go outside the Peninsula, step into someone else's version of America, and think more deeply about community and what civic engagement looks like. We are very excited to hear all about their adventures, to welcome the 11 visiting seniors from across the US, and to show off all that our Peninsula has to offer.

See more on the American Exchange Project with this video: https://youtu.be/LDAnlDl3aYA?si=Qfwl6Z_tLnJr2J-3