Dressed in knee-length skirts and ties, a group of Renton teens could easily be confused for university business students.

Hazen High School’s DECA team, a student marketing association, is sending nine kids to a national competition next week, where professional dress is required.

The success is another notch in the school’s about 40-year history with the association.

For the kids, it’s a way to challenge themselves and a place to fit in.

“In business you have to be competitive,” student Jael Yamamoto said. “You just can’t be lazy.”

Hazen’s club has about 110 students, most of them in the school’s three marketing classes. Five of the students will return for their third year at nationals.

“Sometimes marketing is a way kids can find recognition,” said Ray McCabe, who has been teaching marketing classes at Hazen for 21 years.

Students began competing in January, moving their way up to the top. The challenges stem out of the club’s 19 projects this school year.

Students run everything in the student store, The Edge, from sales to security.

If they forget to submit a product order on Friday, McCabe lets them sweat it out through the week, he said. “They handle their own problems.”

This year’s trip to Louisville, Ky., will be partially funded from the store’s roughly $25,000 in annual profits, he said.

Students will compete in four different categories this year.

The Student Based Enterprise team submitted an 80-page manual detailing The Edge’s operating procedures.

Three students will give a short presentation on a customer- service study they developed for the store.

The team’s largest project this year was partnering with Renton Technical College, Small Business Administration and the Internal Revenue Service to organize a business fair.

The event drew about 2,500 participants and 40 to 50 booths in addition to guest speakers.

Bumgarner organized about 30 student volunteers, introduced guest speakers and used social media Web sites to promote the event.

For the competition he’s partnering with two others for a 15-minute presentation on the project. The team has already submitted a 30-page manual.

The competitions and projects teach students how to work under pressure, said student Ai-My Dinh. “DECA has really promoted how we can use marketing in everyday life.”

An English teacher commented to McCabe that she can tell the DECA students by their speaking abilities, he said.

“The kids learn real marketing concepts,” he said. “A lot of these kids are going into business.”

About 12,000 students from around the country are expected to compete April 24-27.

“Our state is one of the top in the nation,” McCabe said. He expects most of his students will make top 10 in their category.

“They’ve done some high-level stuff,” he said.