Middle College High Places Second in the United States Academic Decathlon National Competition

Middle College High Places Second in the United States Academic Decathlon National Competition

Lodi, CA (May 25, 2021)—Middle College High School (MCHS) recently competed and placed in the top two in the United States Academic Decathlon (USAD) Online National Competition for Medium Schools. Each year, USAD hosts a national competition for the top performing school in each state, consisting of four divisions, and an online national competition for small, medium, and large schools who qualify from each participating state.

MCHS was invited to represent California. Students competed in eight of the traditional ten subjects. MCHS scored second place overall among the twelve competing schools throughout the nation.

"Even though this year's competition was online, I still had fun learning about new things and testing my knowledge at Nationals with my team. Their support really made the experience for me,” said Lauren Duquez, a MCHS student.

Another student, Anish Ahuja, shared, “studying for the competition was a lot of work but getting to do it with such a wonderful team made it all worth it."

MCHS Principal, Julie Hummel, shared her pride in her students' work. “I am extremely proud of the students’ hard work and preparation this year and their ability to perform so well under pressure,” she shared.

The MCHS team qualified for the state competition during the San Joaquin County Academic Decathlon, which was organized by the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) and concluded on February 6.

USAD competitors were tested in their knowledge of art, economics, literature, mathematics, music, science, and social science, in a variety of events. Each year, all the events are tied together with a single theme. This year's theme was the Cold War.

Members of the MCHS team and their respective accolades at the national competition were as follows:

  • Anish Ahuja: 2nd place literature, 1st place music, 2nd place science, 1st place art, 1st place mathematics, 2nd place economics, 1st place social science, 1st place overall in the medium schools division honor (grade point average of 3.8-4.0+) category, and 1st place overall in the medium schools division (all categories)
  • Lauren Duquez: 1st place literature, 2nd place music, 3rd place science, 2nd place art, 1st place economics, 2nd place essay, 3rd place social science, 2nd place overall in the medium schools division honor category, and 2nd place overall in the medium schools division (all categories)
  • Giancarlo Fornaris: 2nd place music, 3rd place art, 2nd place mathematics, 1st place economics, 2nd place essay, and 1st place overall
  • Melody Kerby
  • Zahrah Khan: 3rd place essay
  • Andrea Mae Fernandez
  • John Mathews: 1st place music, 2nd place mathematics, and 3rd place social science
  • Anira Rose: 3rd place literature
  • Terrence Uia-Leuta: 2nd place literature