AcaDec Takes Third at L.A. Decathlon

ALAN TAM
News Editor
AHS’ Academic Decathlon (AcaDec) team took part in the Los Angeles Unified School District Annual Academic Decathlon (LACAD), which was held on Feb. 10.
Of the 45 schools competing in the event, the team managed to take third place in the overall standings, scoring 41,495 points out of 60,000.
AHS senior Bob Qian earned the most individual points at the decathlon: 8,514 out of 10,000. He also took home 12 out of a possible 13 medals in specific events.
First, second and third place medals were awarded for each subject, which include Math, Science, Music, Art, Social Science, Economics, Language and Literature, Essay, Interview and Speech. Every member of AHS’ team earned at least one event medal at LACAD.
“This year has been our strongest showing at the competition, and we have scored the highest ever,” said senior Clinton Tran. “Our Academic Decathlon team is highly competitive, and we have earned a significant amount of medals every year we have competed.”
AcaDec’s performance at the competition qualified the team to attend the California Academic Decathlon, which was held in Sacramento from March 11-13.
They are currently ranked as a Division II team, just barely missing the cutoff points necessary to enter Division I.
The team placed 27th at the State Decathlon. In order for them to compete at the national level, AcaDec had to defeat all of the teams at the state competition, including Division I teams.
AcaDec credits the dedication of volunteer teachers and faculty members for their high performance at the LACAD and State Decathlon.
“[We’d like to give] special thanks to Ms. Keenan, Mr. and Mrs. Sedano, Ms. Cardona, Ms. Cannon, Mr. Levie, Mr. Walsh and all of the other teachers and staff members that have provided support for our team,” said senior Clarence Nguyen. “[We’d also like to give] a big thank you to Ms. Malonek for guiding us through the school year. We are going to put forth our best effort to try to make nationals.”