The Lake Highlands Academic Decathlon team finished up its season last week after participating in the Region X competition at J.J. Pearce High School. The group competed against over twenty 5A high schools from around the area and finished in sixth place in the region. Overall, LH ended up in 56th place out of all high schools in Texas.
The Wildcats consider the season a success even though the team did not end up in the top forty, which would have earned them a berth in the state tournament in Houston.
“I was kind of disappointed in not making it to state,” senior David Scott said. “It would’ve been a great way to end to my senior year.”
Members of the AcDec team have to dedicate much of their spare time to studying material that the other students don’t. Mathematics, science, Super Quiz, language and literature, music, art, and economics are all subjects that the teams are tested over. Also, each student must recite a memorized speech, take part in a judged interview, and write an essay for the competitions.
Each year, the United States Academic Decathlon focuses its attention on a centralized theme and the tests have to do with that specific theme. This year’s topic was the French Revolution and the book that the students were tested over was A Tale of Two Cities.
Even though the team did not make it past the regional level, the team did not leave the competition empty-handed. Seniors Robbie Liebendorfer and Eileen Walker each won individual awards. Robbie received second place for his essay and Eileen came in second in the language and literature category.
“A lot of the credit goes to my English teachers and my dad,” Liebendorfer said. “My ability to write well comes from my love of literature.”
“I was successful basically simply because I read the book,” Walker said. “I am reading all of the time.”
The great thing about Lake Highlands’ team is that the team members are so well rounded. The Wildcats were composed of theatre and choir members, baseball and softball players, students in the orchestra and band, a member of the swim team, and a Bell Boy.
The team gained much support throughout the school, and congratulatory posters hang in the classroom of Casey Boland, the team’s head coach. At the latest competition, LH teachers formed a tunnel for the students to run through as some of the team parents cheered the group on.
A possible struggle for next year’s team involves finding enough solid members to field a squad. Eight of the nine competitors on this year’s team are graduating seniors. Students interested in joining next year’s team are encouraged to email Ms. Boland or pop into her AP History classroom to discuss requirements.
After all of the studying, scrimmages, and competitions, the team has grown very close to one another, and all were sad to see the season end. But, the team had a lot of fun along the way and even made some new friends that they might not have been able to meet had they chosen not to become a member of this team.
Pictured are (from left to right): Tyler Terrell, Ben Wolf, Jake Gaba, Robbie Liebendorfer, Callie Herod, Bradley Paterik, Casey Boland and kneeling: Kirsten Mathisen, David Scott, Eileen Walker, Michael Whorton.
