Lindsay Lee, a Limestone senior from Gaffney, kisses the Regional Championship trophy after Limestone's win. The Limestone College SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) Team returned to Gaffney as winners after participating in the Atlanta, Ga., SIFE USA Regional Competition on April 5.

The Limestone SIFE team won League I at the competition, beating out Georgia Southern University, the University of Florida, Southern Polytechnic State, and Alabama A&M. The team was awarded a championship trophy and $1,500 in prize money.

In addition, Limestone was recognized as a National Finalist in the Market Economics category sponsored by AFLAC. As a finalist, the Limestone team will also compete for a national championship in Market Economics. In addition to the regional championship trophy, they were given a trophy for being named as a national finalist in Market Economics and awarded $1,000.

"We were huge underdogs, facing much larger colleges and universities," said Dr. Michael Scharff, Assistant Professor of Business and Faculty Advisory for SIFE. "However, our students worked extremely hard and put together a superior program this year. This is the best showing Limestone College has ever had."

With their victories, the team has been invited to compete at the National Championships May 6 to 8 in Dallas.

"We will again be underdogs facing large Division I schools," Scharff admitted. "But I'm sure our students will represent the school well and make Limestone College proud."

SIFE is an international non-profit organization active on more than 1,400 university campuses in 48 countries. SIFE teams create economic opportunities in their communities by organizing outreach projects that focus on: market economics, entrepreneurship, personal financial success skills, and business ethics.