SHS AcaDeca team claims state title
Sandpoint High School’s Academic Decathlon team won first place in the large school division and the overall state championship for the second year in a row. Eleven schools and about 150 students competed in the 2020 Idaho Academic Decathlon State Meet at the University of Idaho on March 13-14.
(Courtesy photo)
For the second year in a row, Sandpoint High School has won first place in the large school division and the overall state championship. Eleven schools and about 150 students competed in the 2020 Idaho Academic Decathlon State Meet at the University of Idaho on March 13 and 14.
The SHS team, comprised of 14 students, dominated the competition, bringing home a total of 81 individual medals (31 gold, 28 silver, and 22 bronze) and placing first in Super Quiz. They also made a clean sweep for overall top decathlete medals in the large school division: 3 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze. Senior Paige Szapocznikow, a second-year decathlete, was awarded the Phillip Ourada Memorial Award for Meritorious Achievement in the Speech and Interview events. This is the sixth year in a row that a Sandpoint student has won this award.
“I am so proud of the team,” says team coach Dana Stockman. “It was a rather surreal experience this year, with the university shutting down the campus even as we were competing and giving out award. In spite of the outside distractions of the oncoming pandemic and a winter storm, the team stayed focused and kept their eye on our goal—winning back-to-back state championships.”
The Academic Decathlon competition consists of 10 individual events in art, economics, essay, interview, literature, math, music, science, social science and speech. Additionally, teams compete in a relay – the Super Quiz – spanning all topics covered in the individual events. Every year the theme is different. Ironically, the students studied In Sickness and In Health: An Exploration of Illness and Wellness this year. Next year’s theme is The Cold War. Award categories include students in Honors (3.8 – 4.0 GPA), Scholastic (3.20 – 3.799 GPA), and Varsity (0.0 – 3.199 GPA) representing small, medium, and large schools.
The National team, consisting of team captains Honey Carter and Alara and their teammates Nate Couch, Maureen Wardle, Kyla Lafountain, Ryan Waskosky, Kjetil Lund-Andersen, Paige Szapocznikow, and Ava Harrison, would have competed at the USAD National Finals in Anchorage, Alaska, April 29-May 2 had it not been cancelled. Instead, all students immediately jumped into studying Cold War topics for next year in order to win state again for the third year in a row.