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Hamilton prepares for decathlon

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For most of the 59 teams that competed, the hours of studying in preparation for the 2015 Academic Decathlon in the Los Angeles Unified School District are done for the moment.

Now the top 10 teams plus one wild card squad are preparing to meet the top teams from around the state in the California Academic Decathlon March 20-21 in Sacramento.

Locally, Hamilton High finished in seventh place with 48,943.8 points and will move on to the state level. Harbor Teacher Prep will also move on a wild card spot with 43,178.2 points.

In the LAUSD competition, Granada Hills Charter High has returned to lead the pack, this year posting the highest total in the history of the contest—59,167.1 out of a possible 65,400 points. They were followed by El Camino Real Charter high, the current national champion, with 58,223; Marshall, with 56,458.6, who finished first last year; Franklin High in fourth place with 55,166.5 followed by Garfield High with 50,790.6; Bell with 49,744.8; North Hollywood High with 46,232.2; Van Nuys with 46,058.7 and Grant with 45,459.3.

Among the other local high schools, Fremont has several new and young coaches and finished in 12th place overall with 42,548 points and 11th place in the Super Quiz. King-Drew Medical Magnet High which is who being led by the former Crenshaw coach, followed in 14th place overall with 41,893.5 points and eighth in the Super Quiz. Crenshaw returned to competition led by a new coach. They finished with 19,891.5 points.

Fairfax also returned to the competition this year with 26,745.7 points.

Westchester is also rebuilding its team under a new coach. They finished with 34,849.9 points.

Dorsey and Washington Prep were not able to field teams for the 2015 competition because they were not able to secure coaches.

When the top 11 teams go on to the state tournament, they will be competing for one of the top two spots to move on to the national decathlon which this year will be held April 16-18, 2015 in Garden Grove.

Also, the USAD board of directors has approved the expansion of programs into the international arena. This approval opens the door for international teams to participate in an in-country competition in their own nation. The champions of this competition will be invited at the discretion of the USAD board to participate. This year 10 international teams are expected.

In 33 years of national competition, California has placed first 21 times and second 13 times. California currently has held the national title for the past 12 consecutive years.

The theme of this year’s competition is “New Alternatives in Energy: Ingenuity and Innovation.”

Students will compete in the categories of art, music, language and literature, social science, science, mathematics, economics, speech, interview and essay. Each team should consist of nine students: including three A students, three B students, and three C students (2.99 or below).

Academic Decathletes take 30-minute multiple choice tests in the subjects of art, economics, music, language and literature, mathematics, science, and social science. In addition, each team member gives a planned four-minute speech and a two-minute impromptu speech, participates in a seven-minute interview, and has 50 minutes to write an expository essay.

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