SJHHS Academic Decathlon competed at Westminster High School and received group awards as well as many individual honors.

“There were two days, one of them was where we had speech, interview, and an essay; basically the free response part of the competition. The other day we took tests, all of them focusing on different academic areas,” said Academic Decathlon leader, Evan Morgan (12).

The decathletes were tested in seven academic subjects; math, economics, science, social science, art, music, and literature.

“This year’s central theme was focused on energy and innovation, so the tests in each subject were kind of centered around that topic,” said Morgan.

Decathlon members felt prepared for the tests; they had been given study guides a few weeks prior to the competition. One study guide was close to 170 pages, and students spent hours reviewing.

Academic Decathlon was extremely successful overall, and the class is proud of their accomplishments.

“For our division we placed fourth as a team,” said Jeanne Perez (12), Academic Decathlon leader.

Individual medals were also awarded for any student who performed exceptionally well in a section of the competition.

“I won first place on my individual interview. I didn’t think I was going to win, but I was really proud,” said Maria Gasch (12).

Each student was able to find success in one area or another.

“There’s also, at the end, something called the ‘Super Quiz’ which takes place on the gym floor. There are 12 questions and last year I got 10 out of the 12 correct. One of last year’s seniors, Ryan Brady, was texting me this year and telling me I had to go get those 2 economics questions right this time around. So this year I ended up getting 12 out of 12 and, when I was done, I texted Brady and I was like ‘I got them’…That was a super cool moment,” said Morgan.

Morgan’s accomplishment marked a moment in which all of his hard work and dedication manifested itself on the gym floor.

Academic Decathlon holds a large impact on the students, they are given lessons and confidence that will be extremely useful in their lives.

“This class has helped me become a better speaker, that’s been a huge benefit of the interview section. I’ve learned a lot from being involved in [the class],” said Perez.

The lessons learned in Academic Decathlon stretch far beyond the books, and the class has prepared and inspired many students to succeed.