Academic Decathalon Gears up for Upcoming Competitive Year After Past success

By Faye Witherall

Feature Editor

The South Pasadena High School Academic Decathalon team, which enjoyed a breakout season last year, is getting into intellectual shape for the upcoming season. The team competed in its first scrimmage on Friday, September 18 at John Marshall High School, and placed third out of the nine teams.

The team broke LA Country records last year, raising the expectations for this year’s competitive performance after taking first place in a countywide competition against 55 teams and placing third at the California State Championship.

“It’s sometimes hard to live up to the legacy last year’s team left behind,” junior Tim An said. “However, that doesn’t mean that we cannot succeed. As a team, we know that we cannot dwell on the past and that we need to look to our future. I think this allows us to truly work together and to truly help one another grow.”

The team is heading into its fourth year since the inception of South Pasadena’s Academic Decathalon squad in 2012.

Decathletes participate in five different types of competitive events: the Super quiz, speech, interview, essay, and a test of knowledge. Each school must have three different GPA divisions represented by including team members with a 3.75 or greater, a 3.75 to 3.0, and a 3.0 or below GPA.

“The team’s goals for this year are to do well in state, go to nationals, and hopefully be national champions,” An said.