01.27.08
Kern County Academic Decathlon - 02/02/08
Arvin gives Stockdale a run for its money in academic decathlon
BY ANDY KEHE, Californian staff writer
e-mail: akehe@bakersfield.com | Saturday, Feb 2 2008 10:45 PM
Last Updated: Saturday, Feb 2 2008 11:05 PM
photos HERE
videos HERE
Tyler Murray isn’t normally much of a morning person, he says. But on Saturday, he was wide awake early, ready to be tested on his knowledge of a variety of topics, including the Civil War.
With no cheats, peeks, copies or saves to bail them out, Murray, his teammates from Stockdale High and students from 17 other Kern County high schools fired away at questions and wrote essays about music, art, literature, social science, math, economics and finally, in the marquee oral Super Quiz competition, the Civil War.
In the end, it was defending champion Stockdale, paced by Laura Stearns, that recorded seven individual category wins, emerging as the winner of the 28th Kern County Academic Decathlon held at Bakersfield College.
Stockdale High will represent Kern County in the California Academic Decathlon March 7-10 in Sacramento. The state winner advances to the national finals April 30-May 3 in Garden Grove.
The victory did not come without intense pressure from the Arvin, Cesar Chavez and Bakersfield highs — particularly during the afternoon’s nerve-wracking Civil War-themed session during which Stockdale rallied late with its Honors team to forge a tie for the oral Super Quiz championship with Arvin.
Stockdale and Arvin will share the coveted Milo Hall award designating the winner of the Super Quiz competition.
“I appreciate the opportunities Arvin gives its students,” said senior Estephani Garcia, delighted that her Arvin team will share the Hall award with Stockdale. “We mostly come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and to have the opportunity to compete and show that we can be as good as anybody is an honor in itself.”
Arvin finished fourth overall. Cesar Chavez, last year’s runner-up, was third and BHS, third in the Super Quiz, was second overall.
The morning session tested students’ general knowledge, but from 2 to 3:30 p.m. it was all Civil War, all the time. Students faced 30 questions in all, asked in rapid fashion and in front of family, teachers and friends.
Each school had nine members, divided into three three-member divisions — Varsity, Scholastic, and Honors. With all the schools lumped together in the Gil Bishop Center gym, each division took a turn fielding 10 questions each.
By the time the Honors teams were facing question No. 10 — the 30th and last overall — Stockdale led Arvin by one point.
But three Arvin students to two for Stockdale knew the answer to what Confederate Gen. George Pickett believed to be the reason why the Confederates lost the Battle of Gettysburg — Pickett remarked that he “always thought the Yankees had something to do with it.”
The Arvin team was ready for it, even though it was not a specific question it prepared for.
“That was something we had made fun of when we were preparing — of course he would say the Yankees had something to do with it,” Garcia said.
Murray said he knew the answer as well, but facing his first Super Quiz competition, was surprised by how challenging it was.
“The oral, it was pretty intense,” he said. “Everybody’s looking at you and the questions are coming at you left and right.”
Stearns and the next six highest finishers from Kern County will be honored on March 11 in Sacramento with the first ever Governor’s Academic Recognition Award.
The others in order of finish were Melissa Couch, Johnathan Shih and Michael Brown from Stockdale High, Jordan Goh and Grant Paulson from Bakersfield High and Stephen Wight, Stockdale.
OVERALL STUDENT WINNERS
1st — Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Michael Brown, Stockdale, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity
2nd — Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
3rd — Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Stephen Wight, Stockdale, Scholastic; Anthony Goyette, Bakersfield, Varsity
INDIVIDUAL STUDENT CATEGORY WINNERS
Language and Literature
1st — Laura Stearns, Honors, Stockdale; Michael Brown, Stockdale, Scholastic; Phillip Viramontes, Arvin, Scholastic: Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity, Micaela Neira, Stockdale, Varsity, Anthony Goyette, Bakersfield, Varsity
2nd — Christopher Anderson, Bakersfield, Honors; Angelica Torres, Wasco, Scholastic; Ingrid Martinez, Arvin, Varsity; Eduardo Figueroa, Wasco, Varsity
3rd — Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Evelyn Zuniga, Arvin, Honors; Stephen Wight, Stockdale, Scholastic; Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity
Music
1st — Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Sean Panick, Bakersfield, Varsity
2nd — Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Michael Brown, Stockdale, Scholastic; Cynthia Rivera, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
3rd — Abigail Orfano, Cesar Chavez, Honors; Juliet Kidwell, Mojave, Scholastic; Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
Science
1st — Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity
2nd — Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Stephen Wight, Stockdale, Scholastic; Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
3rd — Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Estephani Garcia, Arvin, Honors; Alejandro Martinez, Wasco, Honors; Wesley Elrich, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Corina Ruiz, Wasco, Scholastic; Micaela Neira, Stockdale, Varsity
Art
1st — Michael Brown, Stockdale, Scholastic; Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
2nd — Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors, Anthony Goyette, Bakersfield, Varsity
3rd — Dafne Luna, Cesar Chavez, Scholastic; Alejandro Martinez, Wasco, Honors; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity; Matthew Miller, Bakersfield, Varsity; Sean Panick, Bakersfield, Varsity
Mathematics
1st — Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Stephen Wight, Stockdale, Scholastic; Anthony Goyette, Bakersfield, Varsity
2nd — Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Christopher Underhill, Bakersfield Christian, Honors; Grant Paulson, Bakersfield, Honors; Edwin Nunez, Cesar Chavez, Scholastic; Christine Hagerman, Centennial, Scholastic; Benjamin Bradley, Wasco, Scholastic; Miles Johnson, Liberty, Varsity
3rd — Abigail Orfano, Cesar Chavez, Honors; Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Michael Brown, Stockdale, Scholastic; Jairus Vasquez, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity; David Escobar, West, Varsity; Edward Jones, West, Varsity
Economics
1st — Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Stephen Wight, Stockdale, Scholastic; Sean Panick, Bakersfield, Varsity
2nd — Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Gatz Nieblas, Stockdale, Varsity
3rd — Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Jeffrey Cooke, Frontier, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity; Anthony Goyette, Bakersfield, Varsity
Essay
1st — Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Manuel Barrios, East Bakersfield, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity
2nd — Amanda Scales, West, Honors; Patrick Arvizu, West, Scholastic; Micaela Neira, Stockdale, Varsity
3rd — Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Tyler Murray, Stockdale, Scholastic; Gatz Nieblas, Stockdale, Varsity
Speech
1st — Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity; Michael Brown, Stockdale, Scholastic; Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Anthony Goyette, Bakersfield, Varsity; Jairus Vasquez, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Benjamin Bradley, Wasco, Scholastic
2nd — Paulina Gamez, Arvin, Honors; Mark Trujillo, Arvin, Scholastic; Isamar Garcia, Mojave, Scholastic; Cynthia Rivera, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
3rd — Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Edwin Nunez, Cesar Chavez, Scholastic; Gatz Nieblas, Stockdale, Varsity; Matthew Miller, Bakersfield, Varsity
Interview
1st — Estephani Garcia, Arvin, Honors; Matthew Rodgers, Highland, Honors; Jazmin Morales, Bakersfield Christian, Varsity; Tyler Murray, Stockdale, Scholastic
2nd — Diana McDermott, Liberty, Honors; Jairus Vasquez, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Cynthia Rivera, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
3rd — Aubrey Singh, Frontier, Honors; Juliet Kidwell, Mojave, Scholastic; Gatz Nieblas, Stockdale, Varsity
Super Quiz
1st — Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity
2nd — Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Phillip Viramontes, Arvin, Scholastic; Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
3rd — Evelyn Zuniga, Arvin, Honors; Stephen Wight, Stockdale, Scholastic; Eduardo Figueroa, Wasco, Varsity
Preview below:
Super Quiz is scheduled to start at 2:00 in the B.C. gym and awards are scheduled for 5:30 in the indoor theatre.
you should go to this event. the super quiz is great. the questions are on a big screen and after each question the scores are updated like a basketball game.
all time driller scores HERE
for more info on Kern County Academic Decathlon go HERE.
photos HERE
California Academic Decathlon info HERE
Administrator said,
February 4, 2008 at 11:01 am
from mr. reese:
Congratulations to our Academic Decathlon team for a second place showing at this weekends AcaDec Kern County competition. They lost to a very strong Stockdale team despite having only one student who ranks among the top 25 students in the school (class ranking) and having 2 sophomores( Grant Paulsen and Christopher Anderson) on the team. Along with senior Jordan Goh one of those sophomores, Grant Paulsen, was one of the top 7 individuals in the entire event . Coaches Don Wilmot, Gigi Fotis-Smith, and Hugh Smith deserve hearty congratulations along with all the teachers on campus who gave up precious individual time to assist.
Anonymous said,
February 4, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Perennial powers tie in Super Quiz event
By Rebecca Trounson
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
February 3, 2008
North Hollywood and El Camino Real high schools tied for first place Saturday in the Super Quiz portion of the local Academic Decathlon, each scoring 56 out of a possible 60 points in the grueling contest.
The two schools, perennial powerhouses in the prestigious competition, were among 64 entered in the L.A. Unified School District’s Super Quiz event, which was held at UCLA. El Camino, in Woodland Hills, is the reigning national champ in the Academic Decathlon.
Palisades Charter High School placed second with 54 points in the Super Quiz, which featured questions about the U.S. Civil War. Granada Hills Charter, last year’s LAUSD decathlon champion, finished third with 52 points.
Dorsey High, the school judged the district’s “most improved” last year when it placed 17th in the local decathlon, tied for ninth with Grant High School. Crenshaw High School, Dorsey’s neighborhood rival, finished in a three-way tie for seventh with Van Nuys and Manual Arts high schools.
The Super Quiz, the only public part of the two-day competition, accounts for about 5% of the total scores. The district will announce the overall winner Tuesday.
In a regional Super Quiz competition, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Office of Education and held Saturday at USC, Alhambra’s Mark Keppel High School finished first with 52 points. Beverly Hills High School was second with 48 points. Duarte High School and West High School of Torrance tied for third. San Marino High School took fourth. The overall winner will be announced Thursday.
rebecca.trounson
@latimes.com
Times staff writer Jean-Paul Renaud contributed to this article.
Anonymous said,
February 4, 2008 at 12:50 pm
In athletics and academics, they’re rivals — and boosters
By John L. Mitchell
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
February 2, 2008
Over the years, Dorsey and Crenshaw High Schools — two athletic powerhouses known for waging historic battles in basketball, football and track and field — have enjoyed one of the most intense neighborhood rivalries in the nation.
But while the Dorsey Dons and Crenshaw Cougars routinely attract large crowds and widespread attention in sports, they usually don’t generate the same level of excitement when it comes to events like the Academic Decathlon.
Indeed, in nearly a decade of coaching Dorsey’s Academic Decathlon team — last year’s most improved school in the Los Angeles Unified School District — Donald Singleton has never had to worry about the other guys — until now.
This year, Crenshaw stepped up its game by hiring, as a “consultant,” the coach of last year’s regional championship team from Granada Hills Charter High School in the San Fernando Valley.
Now the Dorsey-Crenshaw match-up will be a key feature of today’s regional LAUSDAcademic Decathlon at UCLA, where more than 500 students on 64 teams will compete to determine this year’s champs and decide which teams will proceed to the state level in March.
Eric Redd, a 17-year-old senior and Crenshaw’s only veteran decathlon team member, says the competition with Dorsey is more than heated. “They are our main rivals,” said Redd, who competed as a 10th- and 11th-grader. “No matter what sport, it’s a natural feeling.”
The district competition, which has launched 10 national champions since 1987, will also feature heavyweights El Camino Real High, which won national titles in 2004, 2005 and 2007, and Taft High, the winner in 2006.
Back when the event was still in its infancy, Dorsey High was among the district’s elite, winning the Super Quiz five times during the 1980s.
Singleton, a barrel-chested man who teaches law and is called “Daddy” by his students, wants to rekindle some of that winning fire in a team whose members have an average grade-point average of 2.6. What the nine team members lack in grades they make up in grit and determination, he said. “Many of our best and brightest avoid the team like the plague because it requires so much work,” he added.
There are stories of hardship on both the Dorsey and Crenshaw teams — illness, parents who’ve been in jail, families homeless or unemployed — but they are the kinds of ills that healthy competition helps soothe.
It was the challenge that drove 17-year-old Dale Anderson, a Dorsey senior, to quit the football team after an injury and join the decathlon squad.
“You can only go so far in sports,” he said. “I want to build myself up in other ways, not just go home and watch TV. I kept hearing how smart the [people on the decathlon team] were. I figured I’m just as smart as a 4.0 student. I can do it.”
In the days before the competition, the teams have been gleaning minute facts about the Civil War — the literature, the art, the music — which is the focus of the questioning in this year’s Super Quiz, the final competitive event and the only one open to the public.
The preparation involves studying at least four to five hours each day — with some students taking material home and challenging one another in early morning phone calls.
In the end, Singleton said, the hard work and perseverance pay off. Over the years, 85% of the students on Dorsey’s decathlon team have attended four-year colleges; most are the first in their families to attend college.
What’s more, last year Dorsey placed 17th out of more than 60 schools in the overall district competition, an accomplishment that earned the Dons the title of “most improved school.” Crenshaw, meanwhile, was living in Dorsey’s shadow — a reality that gnawed at Cougar pride.
Jeff Goldberg, Crenshaw’s advanced-placement history teacher, took over the team last year after he transferred from Huntington Park High School. Organizing a team that first year was tough.
“It was like herding cats,” he said. “The kids didn’t want to show up.” Crenshaw went to the LAUSD championships and placed 54th out of 62 teams. “Hey, that was good,” said Goldberg, who has an easygoing style with his students. “I was glad we weren’t last.”
Determined to field a stronger team this year, Goldberg recruited a sharp core of students from his history class and put out the word that he needed an assistant.
“I got real lucky,” he said.
Nicholas Weber, the coach of last year’s winning Granada Hills squad, had left to pursue a graduate degree and agreed to work at Crenshaw as a consultant. He helped Goldberg reconstruct the team, particularly in the area of motivation. Weber posed a simple question to the members: What do you want to accomplish?
Their response was simple as well. ” ‘We want to do better than any Crenshaw team has ever done,’ ” Weber recalled the students saying. “They said, ‘We want to leave a lasting impression.’ ”
To motivate them, Weber showed how the progress enjoyed by the Granada Hills title team compared favorably with their own achievement.
“One of the things I did is show them they were capable of going where they want to go,” Weber said. “I said, ‘Here is how we did it last year,’ and I showed them how their scores were on the same path as Granada Hills. The kids at Crenshaw never lost faith and motivation in themselves. That was one of the keys to success.”
Soon Crenshaw was ready to deliver a message to the rest of the district. In November, the team placed 14th in a scrimmage with more than 60 other schools and is a good bet to be this year’s most improved. Dorsey was 24th.
“They trounced us in that scrimmage, and they had never beaten us before,” Singleton said.
Over the winter break, students at Crenshaw and Dorsey — campuses less than three miles apart — held joint practices. The competition was fierce.
“It’s really exciting to see the rivalry,” said Dan Spetner, a former Dorsey coach who led the team to Super Quiz wins in the ’80s and now heads a decathlon preparation company. “When you have a neighborhood rivalry, kids study harder. El Camino and Taft push each other and then Granada Hills jumped in. There is no question that the rise of Crenshaw this year will push Dorsey to another level.”
Despite the rivalry, the teams are pulling for each other.
“They are a good team,” said Dorsey team captain Ro’Dasha Johnson, a 17-year-old senior. “I respect them. They’ve worked hard and I want them to succeed.”
But her desire to win hasn’t diminished, said Johnson, who traded a position on the school’s track team for one as an academic decathlete
The respect is mutual.
“Dorsey is a great team,” said Josh Frost, a senior at Crenshaw. “If I see Dorsey on the stage [getting an award], I’ll be cheering because I know what it’s like to come from an inner-city school. I want to show them my support.”
Students from both teams said they were seeking to redefine the image of their schools.
“We just don’t want to be known for athletics,” said Crenshaw senior Rochelle Dopson-Witz, a 4.0 student who hopes to attend Stanford next year. “We want to show that we’re capable of great things in other ways.”
john.mitchell@latimes.com
Administrator said,
February 6, 2008 at 8:14 am
2008 Academic Decathlon Winners
Stockdale High School’s Gatz Nieblas did not have time on Feb. 2 to contemplate who had the best chance of winning the NFL Super Bowl the next day. Not being distracted paid off. Stockdale High School received the Claude W. Richardson perpetual trophy as the overall team winner of the 28th annual Kern County Academic Decathlon held on Feb. 2 at Bakersfield College. Approximately 200 students from 19 high schools participated. The theme for the event nationwide was The Civil War. Nieblas had another name for the Decathlon, “the Intellectual Super Bowl.”
Stockdale outscored Bakersfield High, which finished second and Cesar Chavez High from Delano, which finished third.
Stockdale will represent Kern County in the California Academic Decathlon scheduled March 7-10 in Sacramento. The state winner advances to the national finals April 30-May 3 in Garden Grove, CA.
Other schools placing in the overall top 10 were: Arvin High – fourth, Wasco High – fifth, West High – sixth, Mojave High – seventh, Centennial High – eighth, Frontier High – ninth and Shafter High – tenth.
Each school’s team consisted of a maximum of nine students: three “A” (honor), three “B” (scholastic) and three “C” (varsity) entrants. They competed against other students in the same divisions. The team compiling the most points captured first place. Individual Medals were also awarded to first, second and third place finishers in each category and division.
The Academic Decathlon is made up of 10 events, including Art, Economics, Essay, Interview, Language and Literature, Mathematics, Music, Science, Speech and Super Quiz (written and oral).
Paced by Laura Stearns, who recorded seven individual category wins and had the highest individual points of all the competitors, Stockdale placed first in all 10 team categories. Stearns and the next six highest finishers from Kern County will be honored on March 11 in Sacramento with the first ever Governor’s Academic Recognition Award. The others in order of finish were Melissa Couch, Johnathan Shih and Michael Brown from Stockdale High, Jordan Goh and Grant Paulson from Bakersfield High and Stephen Wight, Stockdale. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will recognize the top 177 academic students from the state’s 58 counties with a dinner in their honor.
Stearns, a three-year member of Stockdale’s Academic Decathlon team, also led the way last year, when Stockdale also won.
“This one was broader than last year,” Stearns said. “It had many more in depth questions that dealt with the opinions of historical figures. I’ve been doing it for three years because the Decathlon gives me an opportunity to broaden my area of study from what I learn in the classroom. To give you an example, last year, when we were studying China for Decathlon, I discovered how the Chinese tune musical instruments much differently than we do.”
Arvin High achieved a bit of school history with its first ever victory in the oral Super Quiz competition, an honor it shared with Stockdale High by virtue of a tie between the two. The two schools will share the Milo E. Hall Super Quiz Trophy, a non-scoring award that goes to the winner of the oral portion of the Super Quiz. “The Civil War” was the theme for Super Quiz. Super Quiz consists of a written test and a 30-question, orally-administered quiz show kind of format where schools’ teammates, family and friends cheer every time the numbers are flipped over to reveal who is leading.
“I cried,” said Arvin High team member Estephani Garcia. “This was my third year competing in Academic Decathlon. Never before had we ever won a Super Quiz. It was a shock. What a proud way to end my senior year.”
In overall Super Quiz, where the team score counts, Stockdale High placed first, Bakersfield High second and Arvin High third.
The following are the final individual results.
OVERALL STUDENT WINNERS (Student-School-Division)
1st – Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Michael Brown, Stockdale, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity
2nd – Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
3rd – Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Stephen Wight, Stockdale, Scholastic; Anthony Goyette, Bakersfield, Varsity
INDIVIDUAL STUDENT CATEGORY WINNERS:
Language and Literature
1st – Laura Stearns, Honors, Stockdale; Michael Brown, Stockdale, Scholastic; Phillip Viramontes, Arvin, Scholastic: Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity, Micaela Neira, Stockdale, Varsity, Anthony Goyette, Bakersfield, Varsity
2nd – Christopher Anderson, Bakersfield, Honors; Angelica Torres, Wasco, Scholastic; Ingrid Martinez, Arvin, Varsity; Eduardo Figueroa, Wasco, Varsity
3rd – Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Evelyn Zuniga, Arvin, Honors; Stephen Wight, Stockdale, Scholastic; Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity
Music
1st – Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Sean Panick, Bakersfield, Varsity
2nd – Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Michael Brown, Stockdale, Scholastic; Cynthia Rivera, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
3rd – Abigail Orfano, Cesar Chavez, Honors; Juliet Kidwell, Mojave, Scholastic; Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
Science
1st – Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity
2nd – Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Stephen Wight, Stockdale, Scholastic; Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
3rd – Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Estephani Garcia, Arvin, Honors; Alejandro Martinez, Wasco, Honors; Wesley Elrich, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Corina Ruiz, Wasco, Scholastic; Micaela Neira, Stockdale, Varsity
Art
1st – Michael Brown, Stockdale, Scholastic; Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
2nd – Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Anthony Goyette, Bakersfield, Varsity
3rd – Dafne Luna, Cesar Chavez, Scholastic; Alejandro Martinez, Wasco, Honors; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity; Matthew Miller, Bakersfield, Varsity; Sean Panick, Bakersfield, Varsity
Mathematics
1st – Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Stephen Wight, Stockdale, Scholastic; Anthony Goyette, Bakersfield, Varsity
2nd – Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Christopher Underhill, Bakersfield Christian, Honors; Grant Paulson, Bakersfield, Honors; Edwin Nunez, Cesar Chavez, Scholastic; Christine Hagerman, Centennial, Scholastic; Benjamin Bradley, Wasco, Scholastic; Miles Johnson, Liberty, Varsity
3rd – Abigail Orfano, Cesar Chavez, Honors; Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Michael Brown, Stockdale, Scholastic; Jairus Vasquez, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity; David Escobar, West, Varsity; Edward Jones, West, Varsity
Economics
1st – Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Stephen Wight, Stockdale, Scholastic; Sean Panick, Bakersfield, Varsity
2nd – Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Gatz Nieblas, Stockdale, Varsity
3rd – Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Jeffrey Cooke, Frontier, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity; Anthony Goyette, Bakersfield, Varsity
Essay
1st – Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Manuel Barrios, East Bakersfield, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity
2nd – Amanda Scales, West, Honors; Patrick Arvizu, West, Scholastic; Micaela Neira, Stockdale, Varsity
3rd – Johnathan Shih, Stockdale, Honors; Tyler Murray, Stockdale, Scholastic; Gatz Nieblas, Stockdale, Varsity
Speech
1st – Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity; Michael Brown, Stockdale, Scholastic; Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Anthony Goyette, Bakersfield, Varsity; Jairus Vasquez, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Benjamin Bradley, Wasco, Scholastic
2nd – Paulina Gamez, Arvin, Honors; Mark Trujillo, Arvin, Scholastic; Isamar Garcia, Mojave, Scholastic; Cynthia Rivera, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
3rd – Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Edwin Nunez, Cesar Chavez, Scholastic; Gatz Nieblas, Stockdale, Varsity; Matthew Miller, Bakersfield, Varsity
Interview
1st – Estephani Garcia, Arvin, Honors; Matthew Rodgers, Highland, Honors; Jazmin Morales, Bakersfield Christian, Varsity; Tyler Murray, Stockdale, Scholastic
2nd – Diana McDermott, Liberty, Honors; Jairus Vasquez, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Cynthia Rivera, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
3rd – Aubrey Singh, Frontier, Honors; Juliet Kidwell, Mojave, Scholastic; Gatz Nieblas, Stockdale, Varsity
Super Quiz
1st — Laura Stearns, Stockdale, Honors; Jordan Goh, Bakersfield, Scholastic; Grant Brady, Stockdale, Varsity
2nd — Melissa Couch, Stockdale, Honors; Phillip Viramontes, Arvin, Scholastic; Roman Garza, Cesar Chavez, Varsity
3rd — Evelyn Zuniga, Arvin, Honors; Stephen Wight, Stockdale, Scholastic; Eduardo Figueroa, Wasco, Varsity
Academic Decathlon is co-sponsored by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools and Kern County Academic Decathlon Association.