Bakersfield's team effort pays off

decathlon052: 2005 Academic Decathlon

Bakersfield High students earned their stripes winning a sixth consecutive Academic Decathlon team title, and Kern County Superintendent of Schools Larry E. Reider (back left) helps them celebrate.

It would appear Bakersfield High School has the Kern County Academic Decathlon formula for success, as it won for the sixth consecutive year on Feb. 5 at Bakersfield College. Approximately 200 students from 18 high schools participated. Scoring was very tight, with Bakersfield High winning six of the 10 category team titles, including Language and Literature, Music, Mathematics, Essay, Speech and Interview. Stockdale High won the Science, Art, Economics and Super Quiz team titles. Highland High overall finished third.

It may have helped that four Bakersfield High teammates brought special credentials into the competition. Emily Sayles has been an honors music student since junior high. Akriti Bhambi was twice the Historic Paper winner at Kern County History Day. Sarah Wilson was a former Group Performance National History Day champion and Samuel Van Kopp was named to the Honor Court at last year's Kern County Mock Trial.

Perhaps all the research and writing skills developed in those other academic competitions was best demonstrated in the outcome of the individual Essay event in which Van Kopp, Bhambi and Wilson all finished first. Sayles' instrumental background paid off in the Music category where she was a gold medal winner. Just those four students accounted for 11 gold medals, 14 silver medals and seven bronze medals. Individually, Bhambi received five golds and Van Kopp four.

"A lot of the Music subject matter was familiar to me, having studied and played the piano for so many years," Sayles said. "It also made me able to help the team with the music vocabulary and other related material."

It apparently rubbed off on at least one team member. Bhambi also earned a gold medal in Music.

"The Academic Decathlon asks you to research," Bhambi said. "While I focused on only one subject for History Day, it made me feel comfortable researching. The big difference between History Day and Academic Decathlon? A lot more pressure in decathlon."

Van Kopp had yet another theory on why Bakersfield won the team title again.

"There is an advantage to taking part in other team oriented academic competitions," He said. "To be an important contributor, you have to be able to connect with your teammates. If you can't, that is a disadvantage for the whole team."

There was a new wrinkle added to this year's decathlon. For the first time, Super Quiz consisted of a written test and a 30-question orally-administered quiz which had as its topic "Astronomy - From Empty Space to Incredible Universe: The Sky is Not the Limit." The orally-administered quiz was worth 40 percent and, ironically, Cesar E. Chavez High, competing in its very first Academic Decathlon, won to receive the first ever Milo E. Hall Super Quiz trophy. When both Super Quiz written and oral tests were combined, Stockdale placed first, Bakersfield second and Chavez third. But Chavez was ecstatic about its performance.

So was team member Aidali Barajas. Individually, she and teammate Melissa Mejia won gold medals in the Speech competition. The first in school history. What made it special for Barajas, daughter of a migrant farm worker, is that she did not know a word of English until she was four years old.

"We practiced a lot and tried so hard," Barajas said of the whole team.

Bakersfield High will represent Kern County in the California Academic Decathlon scheduled March 10-14 in Los Angeles. The state winner advances to the national finals April 13-16 in Chicago.

2005 KERN COUNTY ACADEMIC DECATHLON RESULTS

(Each school's team consisted of a maximum of nine students: three "A" (honor), three "B" (scholastic) and three "C" (varsity) entrants. They competed against other students in the same divisions. The team compiling the most points captured first place. Individual medals were also presented to first, second and third place finishers in each category and division.)

OVERALL TEAM WINNERS (top 10):

Bakersfield High - first, Stockdale High - second, Highland High - third, Delano High - fourth, Cesar E. Chavez High - fifth, Mojave High - sixth, Liberty High - seventh, Centennial High - eighth, Shafter High - ninth and Wasco High - tenth.

OVERALL STUDENT WINNERS:
Those accumulating the most points based on 10 events

1st
Neil Mathur - Stockdale High - Honors
Jake Krog - Stockdale High - Varsity
Akriti Bhambi -Bakersfield High - Scholastic

2nd
Daniel Lau - Bakersfield High - Honors
Samuel Van Kopp - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Jacob Pierce - Stockdale High - Varsity

3rd
Emily Sayles - Bakersfield High - Honors
Madeline Newberry - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Sarah Wilson - Bakersfield High - Varsity

INDIVIDUAL STUDENT CATEGORY WINNERS:

Language and Literature

1st
Jessica Valencia - Wasco High - Honors
Jake Krog - Stockdale High - Varsity
Madeline Newberry - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Akriti Bhambi - Bakersfield High - Scholastic

2nd
Danielle Donnelly - Liberty High - Honors
Neil Mathur - Stockdale High - Honors
Danny Eusebio - Delano High - Scholastic
Armando Navarro - Liberty High - Scholastic
Sarah Wilson - Bakersfield High - Varsity
Samuel Van Kopp - Bakersfield High - Scholastic

3rd
Angela Thomas - South High - Honors
Emily Sayles - Bakersfield High - Honors
Neeja Dave - Stockdale High - Honors
Ravi Doshi - Highland High - Honors
Marcey Nemeth - Mojave High - Scholastic
Edlin Gonzales - Cesar E. Chavez High - Scholastic
Annette Hernandez - Delano High - Varsity
Erika Balasabas - Delano High - Scholastic
Nancy Osorio - Arvin High - Scholastic

Music

1st
Jake Krog - Stockdale High - Varsity
Emily Sayles - Bakersfield High - Honors
Madeline Newberry - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Akriti Bhambi - Bakersfield High - Scholastic

2nd
David Heywood - Wasco High - Honors
Jessica Nizar - Stockdale High - Scholastic
Tyler McGinty - Liberty High - Varsity

3rd
Daniel Lau - Bakersfield High - Honors
Editha Andriputri - Highland High - Scholastic
Lauren Zemp - Bakersfield High - Varsity
Jacob Pierce - Stockdale High - Varsity

Science

1st
Neil Mathur - Stockdale High - Honors
Samuel Van Kopp - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Aubrey Sintora - Wasco High - Varsity

2nd
Brian Sattler - Mojave High - Scholastic
Emily Sayles - Bakersfield High - Honors
Neeja Dave - Stockdale High - Honors
Jake Krog - Stockdale High - Varsity

3rd
Kristine Balasabas - Delano High - Honors
Chris Albiston - Boron High - Scholastic
Bryan Guarino - Mojave High - Varsity
Annette Hernandez - Delano High - Varsity

Art

1st
Kristine Balasabas - Delano High - Honors
Akriti Bhambi - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Jennifer Herrera - Stockdale High - Scholastic
Jake Krog - Stockdale High - Varsity

2nd
Emily Sayles - Bakersfield High - Honors
Sidharth Reddy - Stockdale High - Honors
Danny Eusebio - Delano High - Scholastic
Melissa Mejia - Cesar E. Chavez High - Varsity

3rd
Natalie Thompson - West High - Honors
Edlin Gonzales - Cesar E. Chavez High - Scholastic
Sarah Wilson - Bakersfield High - Varsity

Mathematics

1st
Daniel Lau - Bakersfield High - Honors
Chris Anderson - Liberty High - Varsity
Nathan Joe - Highland High - Scholastic

2nd
Emily Sayles - Bakersfield High - Honors
David Hunter - Taft Union High - Scholastic
Matthew Ryan - Centennial High - Varsity
Jessica Nizar - Stockdale High - Scholastic

3rd
Danielle Donnelly - Liberty High - Honors
Neil Mathur - Stockdale High - Honors
Jake Krog - Stockdale High - Varsity
Samuel Van Kopp - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Akriti Bhambi - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Nicole Martinez - Highland High - Scholastic

Economics

1st
Neeja Dave - Stockdale High - Honors
Samuel Van Kopp - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Jake Krog - Stockdale High - Varsity

2nd
Daniel Lau - Bakersfield High - Honors
Emily Sayles - Bakersfield High - Honors
Akriti Bhambi - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Jessica Nizar - Stockdale High - Scholastic
Jennifer Herrera - Stockdale High - Scholastic
Jacob Pierce - Stockdale High - Varsity

3rd
Neil Mathur - Stockdale High - Honors
Erika Balasabas - Delano High - Scholastic
Danny Eusebio - Delano High - Scholastic
Sarah Wilson - Bakersfield High - Varsity

Essay

1st
Samuel Van Kopp - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Akriti Bhambi - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Neil Mathur - Stockdale High - Honors
Patrick Ogilvie - Centennial High - Varsity
Sarah Wilson - Bakersfield High - Varsity

2nd
Viet Nguyen - Centennial High - Honors
Leonardo Rios - Wasco High - Honors
Lauren Zemp - Bakersfield High - Varsity
Sarah Meadors - Centennial High - Scholastic
Nancy Osorio - Arvin High - Scholastic
Armando Navarro - Liberty High - Scholastic

3rd
Danielle Donnelly - Liberty High - Honors
Jacob Pierce - Stockdale High - Varsity
Vivian Ku - Highland High - Honors
Jessica Nizar - Stockdale High - Scholastic
Jennifer Herrera - Stockdale High - Scholastic

Speech

1st
Melissa Mejia - Cesar E. Chavez High - Varsity
Aidali Barajas - Cesar E. Chavez High - Varsity
Jacob Pierce - Stockdale High - Varsity
Viet Nguyen - Centennial High - Honors
Danny Eusebio - Delano High - Scholastic
Samuel Van Kopp - Bakersfield High - Scholastic

2nd
Sarah Wilson - Bakersfield High - Varsity
Emily Sayles - Bakersfield High - Honors
Akriti Bhambi - Bakersfield High - Scholastic

3rd
Jonathan Bradley - Wasco High - Varsity
Lesley Ogle - Shafter High - Honors
Jennifer Herrera - Stockdale High - Scholastic

Interview

1st
Tomas Alvarado - East High - Varsity
Daniel Lau - Bakersfield High - Honors
Simran Bains - Stockdale High - Scholastic

2nd
Ravi Solanki - Centennial High - Honors
Sarah Wilson - Bakersfield High - Varsity
Samuel Van Kopp - Bakersfield High - Scholastic

3rd
Neeja Dave - Stockdale High - Honors
Kassondra Guerra - Highland High - Honors
Vanessa Garcia - Shafter High - Scholastic
Nathan Joe - Highland High - Scholastic
Patrick Ogilvie - Centennial High - Varsity
Lauren Zemp - Bakersfield High - Varsity

Super Quiz

1st
Jake Krog - Stockdale High - Varsity
Meredith Bayne - Bakersfield High - Honors
Francisco Millan - Cesar E. Chavez - Scholastic

2nd
Daniel Lau - Bakersfield High - Honors
Akriti Bhambi - Bakersfield High - Scholastic
Aliasger Shakir - Highland High - Varsity

3rd
Neil Mathur - Stockdale High - Honors
Trevor Dungan - West High - Varsity
David Hunter - Taft Union High - Scholastic

Academic Decathlon Gold Circle sponsors were Bakersfield College, California StateUniversity, Bakersfield and University of California, Merced. State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Co. was the Silver Circle sponsor and Robert and Joan Reese were contributors.

The event is co-sponsored by the Kern County Academic Decathlon Association and the Kern County Superintendent of Schools.


Print This Page   Email This Page