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Lemoore's Middle College High captures 8th Academic Decathlon title in a row
The local high school, housed on the West Hills College Lemoore campus, easily outdistanced its nearest competitor – Lemoore High School – amassing an impressive total of 47,925 points, easily outdistancing its sister school’s 32,5325 points.
Third place went to Hanford High School (28,565 points) while Corcoran High, Hanford West, Avenal, and Sierra Pacific rounded out the seven top places.
Students from all schools, at three levels of teams (A, B, and C), competed in a rigorous set of academic examinations built around the overall them of “In Sickness and in Health.” Team members competed in 10 grueling events, including art, economics, mathematics, music, language and literature, Social science, and science. Contestants delivered speeches, wrote essays, and participated in interview sessions.
The culminating activity was the Super Quiz, where all teams responded to a variety of questions. Lemoore Middle College School swept away the competition, easily outdistancing its nearest competitor (Lemoore High) by 25 points.
Several hundred enthusiastic spectators were on hand Saturday afternoon to cheer on their respective teams.
Leading the way was Lemoore’s Clayton Lahodny, named by organizers as the event’s top decathlete. Lahodny was awarded a $1,000 scholarship for his efforts. Middle College students also swept the Varsity (Ethan Reis), Scholastic (Beau Reynolds), and Honors (Lahodny) divisions. Each participant earned a $500 scholarship.
Lemoore Middle College High School advances to the State Academic Decathlon competition scheduled in Sacramento in March. The team is also gunning for a third national title in a row.
While it may appear that Lemoore’s Middle College team breezed through the competition, its success didn’t come without a strong work ethic, said the team’s instructor, Allen Tong.
“I just think it’s this tradition that we have where the students know that when they walk into my classroom, there’s a constant reminder of the past success that we’ve had,” said Tong. “And so here they are, and they’re the next wave, so I think there’s a desire to want to continue being the best, whatever that means, whatever it takes.”
Tong said that several of this year’s team members were first-timers. “Seven of the 10 on the team are brand new. They walk into the room, and they see the banners. They see the success, and I think they want a part of that.”
Tong admitted that they work hard for the success, even working over the Christmas break. “We asked them if they’d be willing to give up some of their time, and most of them were willing to do that,” he said.
The hard work and the extra hours certainly paid off for the talented team as the Middle College students swept most of the scholarship categories.
At the event awards ceremony following the competition, the Kings County Office of Education awarded individual medals and scholarships to this year’s participants. More than $5,500 in scholarships were awarded to top placing Kings County students.
Top Decathlete – Clayton Lahodny, Lemoore Middle College High School, $1000 scholarship
Top Varsity Student - Ethan Reis, Lemoore Middle College High School, $500 scholarship
Top Scholastic Student - Beau Reynolds, Lemoore Middle College High School, $500 scholarship
Top Honors Student – Clayton Lahodny, Lemoore Middle College High School, $500 scholarship
School winners
Top Student Avenal HS- Angel Gonzalez, $250
Top Student Corcoran HS- Jessica Chavez, $250
Top Student Hanford HS- Laila Almurisi, $250
Top Student Hanford West HS- Kevin Camey, $250
Top Student Lemoore HS- Denham Turcotte, $250
Top Student Lemoore Middle College HS- Clayton Lahodny, $250
Top Student Sierra Pacific HS- Dylan Zelsdorf, $250
Other scholarship winners included:
Language & Literature: Elizabeth Sexton, Lemoore Middle College High School, $125
Music: Beau Reynolds, Lemoore Middle College High School, $125
Science: Dylan Zelsdorf, Sierra Pacific High School, $125
Art: Ethan Reis, Lemoore Middle College High School, $125
Mathematics: Mane Gevorgyan, Hanford High School, $125
Economics: Ethan Reis, Lemoore Middle College High School, $125
Social Science: Beau Reynolds, Lemoore Middle College High School, $125
Essay: Jessica Chavez, Corcoran High School, $125
Speech: Clayton Lahodny, Lemoore Middle College High School, $125
Interview: Carlos Vega, Corcoran High School, $125
Ethan Reis, Lemoore Middle College High School, $125
