Whittier High School competed against some of the region’s top scholastic achievers at the Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon competition, a fierce two-day competition that took place in early February at El Rancho High School
The event featured 39 teams and more than 350 students.
“Three students from the Whittier High Class of 2020 have been our team’s top scorers in three of the last four years and our team has won 28 medals in the last two years, so this has been a special group,” Whittier High Academic Decathlon Coach Kele Perkins said. “Our underclassmen and B team members were excellent. We are proud everyone's performance.”
Whittier High’s decathletes and awards include:
- Meghan Uyeda (12th grade) – Team Top Scorer Gold Medal
- Lee Chu (12th grade) – Gold Medal in Interview (as well as a perfect score of 1,000 out of 1,000 points for her interview)
- Samantha Silva (10th grade) – Silver Medal in Interview and Bronze Medal in Essay
- Josiah Sanchez (12th grade) – Bronze Medal in Economics and Interview
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 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.