Academic Decathlon Team Wins Second Place in National Finals

May 8, 2006

Congratulations to the Plano Senior High School Academic Decathlon Team, which won second place at the USAD National Finals held the last weekend in April in San Antonio.

Accumulating a score of 48,720 points, the Plano team came in second to Taft High School from Woodland Hills, California (51,659). Plano teammates earned medals in all 10 events, winning 25 individual awards. Scholarships were also earned, totaling $1,750.

On this first trip ever to the national competition, PSHS placed a solid second, with Waukesha West High from Waukesha, Wisconsin, trailing by 1,700 points. This excellent finish by PSHS surprised some perennial favorites,” reported Coaches Sheila Kolb and Bill Borowicz.

Celebrating their national second place victory are Coaches Bill Borowicz and Sheila Kolb are pictured with teammates (back row, l-r) Rebecca Chase, Aaditya Nagaraj, Jacob Turner and Alvin Chen, and (front row, l-r) Jenny Ding, Lisa Wang, Lorelei Nguyen, Diana Shen and Erin Yu.

Team Awards

2nd Place Overall Team – Jenny Ding, Lisa Wang, Erin Yu, Aaditya Nagaraj, Diana Shen, Jacob Turner, Rebecca Chase, Alvin Chen, Lorelei Nguyen
Rookie Team of the Year – The highest scoring team in its first year at nationals.

Individual Awards

Honors Category

Jenny Ding – Interview-1st (perfect score)
Lisa Wang – Music-3rd
Erin Yu – Language & Literature-2nd; Math-3rd; Music-2nd; Economics-1st (perfect score); Overall Honors Student-3rd ($500 scholarship); Highest Scoring Texas Student ($500 scholarship)

Scholastic Category

Aaditya Nagaraj – Science-3rd; Interview-2nd; Math-3rd;
Diana Shen – Speech-1st; Speech Showcase-2nd; Essay-3rd;
Jacob Turner – Economics-3rd; Art-2nd

Varsity Category

Rebecca Chase – Essay-1st; Language & Literature-1st; Superquiz-2nd
Alvin Chen – Art-3rd; Economics-1st; Science-3rd; Music-2nd; Interview-2nd; Language & Literature-2nd; Math-2nd; Overall Varsity Student-2nd ($750 scholarship)

National Team Rankings

William Howard Taft HS (California) – 51,660 points
Plano Senior High School (Texas) – 48,720
Waukesha West HS (Wisconsin) – 46,973
Whitney Young HS (Illinois) – 46,786
Canyon Del Oro (Arizona) – 45,953
Acton-Boxborough (Massachusetts) – 42,922