For the first time in the campus’ history, Beaumont High School beat out all competitors to claim the championship title in the 43rd annual Riverside County Academic Decathlon, securing the team’s place to represent the county in the statewide contest, officials said Monday.
The 10-part event that got underway in mid-January concluded Saturday with a “Super Quiz,” after which the Beaumont High School Cougars walked away with the greatest number of points — and top place in the competition.
“Every student who participated in this year’s Riverside County Academic Decathlon is a powerful example of academic excellence and focused collaboration,” Superintendent of Schools Edwin Gomez said. “Congratulations to the Beaumont High School team as they prepare to proudly represent the county at the California Academic Decathlon.”
The statewide contest is slated for March 19-22 in Santa Clara.
The theme of this year’s county meet was “The Roaring Twenties,” highlighting the many and varied movements spawned during the 1920s, including the suffragettes and Prohibition, as well as profiling historic milestones like the stock market craze, which collapsed into an unprecedented economic Depression across the nation.
“Critical thinking, public speaking, writing skills and learning from history are among the many valuable skills strengthened within every student who participates in Academic Decathlon,” Gomez said.
The decathlon routinely entails essays, speeches, videotaped interviews and related presentations over multiple days.
Teams from nine campuses entered this year’s contest. Each team consisted of nine students with grade point averages ranging from low to honor roll.
The Super Quiz was the only event open to the public. It tested teams’ ability to coordinate responses to themed questions.
A team from the Western Center Academy in the Hemet Unified School District earned a second place finish, and the team from Great Oak High School in the Temecula Unified School District took third place.
Last year’s championship team was from Western Center Academy.
The U.S. Academic Decathlon is scheduled for April 23-25 in Garden Grove.