McAuley Academic Decathlon Team Finds Success At State Championships

CHICAGO, IL -- Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School’s academic decathlon team found success at the 2017 Illinois Academic Decathlon State Championship at Northeastern Illinois University on March 11. Students competed in seven academic subjects, speeches, essay and interviews. This year's theme was World War II.

The Mighty Macs came in second among non-Chicago public schools. Clare Graney-Dolan '19 (Morgan Park) received a bronze medal for her third place in the interview category overall teams and took an eighth in math. Graney-Dolan held the highest McAuley score and ranked 35th overall.

“I was really excited to go down state for Academic Decathlon because our team worked really hard this year to learn as much as we could and it paid off,” she said. “It was great having a team that supported each other and was enthusiastic about the whole experience.”

Other team scores included:

• Kaleigh O'Hara '18 (Evergreen Park) scored 5th overall in Math and 17th in Economics.
• Elizabeth Ward '19 (Oak Lawn) held five scores in the top 20, ranked 18th in Essay and 37th overall.
• Colette Manahan '19 (Evergreen Park) held three scores in the top 20, 12th in Art and 47th overall.
• Kate Monahan '19 (Garfield Ridge) held four top 20 scores.
• Isabel Luna '18 (Garfield Ridge) held four.
• Annie Chellberg '18 (Evergreen Park), held three with 27th in Speech overall.
• Lauren Plesha '18 (Morgan Park) and Erin Sullivan '19 (Alsip) excelled in their Speech and Interview placing 33rd and 34th, respectively.

McAuley decathlon team members finished in the top one-third of their GPA level.

Coaches and faculty members Mrs. Rollheiser and Mary Devoto said the second year team comprised mainly of sophomores and juniors put up a fight against much more established teams.

“These students demonstrated their academic achievement in seven subjects as well as their skills in essay writing, speech delivery and interview techniques” Rollheiser said. “Our second year team ... is developing into a force against the predominantly CPS schools, whose teams are made up of mainly seniors and have the Academic Decathlon as a course option. Our school community is very proud of these young women who demonstrate the overall academic collaboration at Mother McAuley.”