North Bay Decathlon Teams Compete At State Level

From Solano County Office of Education: The results are in from the 2017 North Bay Regional Academic Decathlon and the California State Academic Decathlon. This year, over 275 students from 13 high schools across Napa, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo counties participated in the North Bay Region's Academic Decathlon. The Academic Decathlon is a competitive event modeled after the Olympics to stimulate academic achievement and honor "athletes of the mind." The competition provides students the opportunity to participate in an educational forum, which fosters a deep respect for knowledge, cooperation, and self-esteem. The theme of this year’s academic decathlon contests was “Africa.” "The Academic Decathlon is a rigorous academic program and team competition which develops students' confidence and improves their study skills," said Lisette Estrella Henderson, Solano County Superintendent of Schools. "As a result, students are more prepared for career and post-secondary education options.”

Teams participating in this year's competition came from Dixon High School in the Dixon Unified School District, Armijo High School, Fairfield High School, and Rodriguez High School in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, Vanden High School in the Travis Unified School District, MIT Academy and Vallejo High School in the Vallejo City Unified School District, Maria Carrillo High School in the Santa Rosa City Schools District, Casa Grande High School in the Petaluma City Schools District, American Canyon High School in the Napa Valley Unified School District, Davis Senior High School in the Davis Joint Unified School District, and River City High School in the Washington Unified School District.

Schools moving on to the statewide competition in Sacramento representing their respective counties include Vanden High School from Solano, Casa Grande High School from Sonoma, American Canyon High School from Napa, and Davis Senior High School from Yolo competing amongst 70 top high schools across the state. At the state competition, Vanden High School finished eighth out of 29 teams in their division after winning its 16th consecutive Solano County championship. Led by Coach David Kenyon, the team represented Solano County proudly with five students taking home 11 medals at state: Nathan Abiera gold medal (Speech), silver medal (Science); Mukt Sandhu, gold medal (highest scoring decathlete by school), silver medals (Music & Social Science) bronze medals (Economics & Literature); Maha Syed, gold (interview), bronze medal (Science); Sameer Syed, bronze (interview) and Corrina Vande Voort bronze medal (Science). “We congratulate Vanden High School for their great accomplishment and all the participating schools for their willingness to compete,” says Lisette Estrella-Henderson. “The Academic Decathlon provides high school teams with a rich opportunity to show their knowledge and to demonstrate their team work. Their commitment to excellence was especially evident during the excitement of the Super Quiz.”

“Congratulations to our outstanding decathletes and their phenomenal coaches,” added Lisette Estrella-Henderson. “We are inspired by your drive, hard work, and competitive spirit. Thank you for proudly representing our county and neighboring counties well.”

In 36 years of national competition, California has placed first 24 times and second 13 times. California currently holds the national title for the past 15 consecutive years!

For more information about the Academic Decathlon, please contact Ken Scarberry at 707-646-7603 or kscarberry@solanocoe.net.

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