A NEW CHAMPION IS CROWNED
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 9, 2019) -- Benjamin Franklin High School pounced their way to victory. The first time champs won the Los Angeles Unified’s 38th Annual Academic Decathlon, the first title for the school since the Decathlon was introduced in 1981.
“Congratulations to all of our amazing scholars, and thank you to everyone who helped make this experience possible for all our students,” said School Board President Mónica García. “And congratulations to our driven, determined and competitive decathletes from Franklin High School! After many years of placing in the top five, your winning attitude is to be commended. Cheers to all advancing teams heading to the State competition.”
The winners were announced Saturday afternoon during a ceremony at Hollywood High School. Hundreds of decathletes from 55 high schools celebrated their achievements with relatives, friends, teachers, and principals, plus Los Angeles Unified leaders including Board Member Scott M. Schmerelson, Local District Superintendents Joe Nacorda and Jose Huerta, and other supporters from across Los Angeles Unified.
The Franklin High School decathletes are: David Flores, Raymond Guillen, Adrian Manhey, Gian Munoz-Mayo, Henry Reyes, Katie Rodriguez, Jade Tolentino and Tina Wu. Coaches: Patrick Dowd and Yenny Yi.
“Congratulations to all of our students and coaches for their dedication and hard work,” said Superintendent Austin Beutner. “And to our Franklin High School champions, we are so proud of you and wish you well as you prepare for the State Championship.”
Franklin High School and nine other top-scoring District schools will compete in the California Academic Decathlon, scheduled for March 21-24 in Sacramento. In addition to Franklin, Grant, Garfield, Bell and North Hollywood high schools, the other competitors will be Van Nuys High School with 44,678.2 points; Marshall High School with 44,354 points, Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences with 43,415.3 points and Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets 43,320.9.
LAUSD holds the record with the most state titles with 23 and national championships with 19.
“I am so proud of the accomplishments of the Academic Decathlon students,” said Academic Programs Coordinator Kathy Gonnella. “Their perseverance, determination and commitment are extraordinary both to the program and each other. They are such positive examples of L.A.U.S.D. and the many opportunities we have to offer.”
Top scoring student with 9,104.3 out of a possible 10,000 points is Tina Wu from Franklin High School.
Below are the top students who earned the highest scores and were honored with scholarships, individual medals and trophies for academic achievement:
Ben Bryant from Marshall High School took home the top prize in the Honors Division (grade-point average of 3.75 and above) with a total of 8,772.3 points.
Daniel Cardenas from Bell High School was honored as the best scoring student in the Scholastic Division (GPA 3.00-3.74) with 8,043.1 points.
Ulises Ruiz from Garfield High School was recognized as the highest-scoring student in the Varsity Division (GPA 2.99 and below) with 8,110.0 points.
Scott Mercer from Reseda Charter High School is Coach of the Year.
The final official score of the Super Quiz was 5,530 earned by Garfield High School.
This year, the reigning Los Angeles Unified state and national champion El Camino Real Charter High School, along with former national champions Granada Hills Charter and Palisades High School, will no longer compete in the Los Angeles Unified region. They are now with the Southern California Private/Independent Region.
The Decathlon is made up of 10 separate competitions, which this year dealt with the subject of “The 1960’s: A Transformational Decade.” The events are speech, prepared and impromptu interviews, essay, art, economics, language and literature, mathematics, music, social science and “Super Quiz” written and oral relay.
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Contact: Monica Carazo 213-247-4087 (cell) or Katherine Gonnella (310) 995-0863 (cell)