Santa Fe High School competed for the first time in the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) Academic Decathlon competition, winning 12 medals at the challenging event, which took place Jan. 25 and Feb. 1 at El Rancho High School.
“We are incredibly proud of how well our team performed in their first attempt at this challenging and rigorous competition,” Academic Decathlon Coach Annette Snow said. “This reflects their many, many hours of studying and preparing prior to the competition itself.”
The fierce two-day competition featured 39 teams and more than 350 students.
Santa Fe High's decathletes and awards include:
- Griselda Chavez (12th grade) – Gold Medal for Interview, Bronze Medal for Speech
- Tania Padilla (10th grade) – Top Decathlete (per school) Gold Medal, Silver Medal for Essay, Gold Medal for Interview (as well as a perfect score of 1,000 out of 1,000 points for her interview)
- Guillermo Lopez (10th grade) – Silver Medal in Science, Bronze Medal for Speech
- Germain Becerra (10th grade) – Bronze Medal in Science, Gold Medal in Economics, Silver Medal for Interview
- Ashley Ramirez (10th grade) – Bronze Medal for Speech, Silver Medal for Art
- Isaiah Ramos (10th grade)
Decathlon teams are comprised of students from all grade-point averages. Decathletes are challenged to use analytical skills, performance abilities and writing aptitude in seven knowledge tests (Art, Economics, Literature, Math, Music, Science and Social Science) as well as Interview, Speech and Essay. Students also compete in the fast-paced Super Quiz, a multiple-choice challenge held in front of a live audience.
The theme of this year’s Academic Decathlon events was “In Sickness & In Health: An Exploration of Illness & Wellness.”
The statewide competition will take place March 27-28 in Sacramento, with the winner advancing to the U.S. Academic Decathlon from April 30 to May 2 in Anchorage, Alaska.