More than 350 students from 12 high schools in San Joaquin County took part in the 36th Annual Academic Decathlon hosted by the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE). The competition began with students engaging in speech and interview contests at the SJCOE on Saturday, Jan. 28. On Feb. 4, the competition moved to Lathrop High School, where competitors showcased their knowledge of art, economics, literature, mathematics, music, science, and social science in a series of tests, culminating in the high-energy Super Quiz. Each year, all the decathlon events are tied together with a single theme. This year, the theme was World War II.

Coming away with the only medal this year for Escalon was Matthew Lima, who earned a second place medal in Essay competition.

“EHS did not perform as we would have liked them to this year,” noted longtime coach George Megenney, who is stepping down from the position. “AcaDec will be Mr. Joshua Cohen’s team next year and I sincerely hope that he is able to take our Cougars to new heights within the program.”

Teams typically consist of three students in each of three categories, based on grade point average: Honors (3.75 – 4.0+), Scholastic (3.0 – 3.74), and Varsity (0.0 – 2.99).

Top Overall School this year at the San Joaquin County competition was Tracy High School of the Tracy Unified School District. Tracy received the Dave Sorgent Winner’s Cup and will compete at the State Academic Decathlon Championship in Sacramento, March 23-26.

Second place overall went to Middle College High School, Lodi Unified School District and third place overall went to Stockton Early College Academy (SECA), Stockton Unified School District.

Overall Top-Scoring Student was Surya Nehra, Tracy High School. She received the $1000 Walter Rathhaus Award, provided by Premier Community Credit Union and the SJCOE Educational Foundation.

First place in the Super Quiz was a tie between Lathrop High School and Manteca High School, both in the Manteca Unified School District.