Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra was named Thursday the winner of the Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon and will take part in the statewide competition in March.

The Mark Keppel team scored 53,704 points out of a possible 60,000 in the competition. The school finished second in last year’s county competition.

Alhambra High School, which finished in 18th place last year’s event, made a major improvement this year, placing second with 49,469 points.

Alhambra High will advance to the statewide competition as a wild-card entrant, along with West High School in Torrance, which won the county event last year; South High School in Torrance; Redondo Union High School; and Palos Verdes Peninsula High School.

The county Academic Decathlon was held Jan. 25 and Feb. 1 at El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera, featuring 39 teams and more than 350 students.

The theme of this year’s Academic Decathlon events is “In Sickness & In Health: An Exploration of Illness & Wellness.”

The statewide competition will be held March 27-28 in Sacramento, with the winner advancing to the U.S. Academic Decathlon from April 30-May 2 in Anchorage, Alaska.

The winner of the Los Angeles Unified School District Academic Decathlon, which is held separately from the county, is expected to be announced Saturday. LAUSD schools have won the national championship the last nine years in a row — seven times by Granada Hills Charter High School and twice by El Camino Real Charter High School, which won in 2018 and 2014.

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