A team of Rocky River High School students took first place in the Ohio Stock Market Challenge.

Team members Oliver Clingain, Grant Eversman and Sonny Fricano competed against 507 teams from throughout Ohio to win the $150 top prize. They were among teams in Social Studies and Business teacher Matthew McLaughlin’s economics and entrepreneurial ventures classes participating in the contest in the fall through Ashland University.

The Ohio Stock Market Challenge is a statewide competition for personal finance, math, social studies and other classes. Students compete in the realistic investing game by making decisions on how to invest $100,000 in virtual funds in the stock market.

Using software provided by the StockTrak Gropu, students research stocks, obtain quotes, look up ticker symbols, submit trades and review the team’s ranking. Stocks are online by typing in the ticker symbol and the transaction. Trades are filled in real-time, using the latest available bid/ask prices from the market. In addition, the platform provides players a real-time glimpse into the performance of the top players through a streaming leader board component.

Students can borrow on margin and can buy any stock, mutual fund or ETF on the exchange during the three-month contest, which lasted October to December.

McLaughlin said the contest is part of the high school economics curriculum, which includes finance. This is the second year RRHS has participated in the contest. Last year a Rocky River team finished in second place.

The challenge is run through the Ohio Council on Economic Education.