Minds at work: Teens put the the challenge in Academic Decathlon
Mar. 4—GREENVILLE — High school students from across Pennsylvania gathered at Thiel College this weekend to test their knowledge of the American Revolution.
"I like stepping out of my comfort zone," Kaitlyn Zona said of being part of the Pennsylvania Academic Decathlon.
The 38th annual state championship event was held Friday and Saturday at the Greenville college in Bly Auditorium at the Academic Center.
Events included tests, speeches and interviews, ending with the Super Quiz Oral Relay on Saturday morning.
The 13 teams of nine gathered in the auditorium, some sporting matching shirts that referenced the theme of the competition: "The American Revolution and the New Nation."
They answered questions in these subjects: art, math, economics, literature, music, social science and science.
Friends and family were also in attendance to cheer them on in the auditorium, which was decorated with the schools' names and red, white and blue party supplies.
"This weekend was definitely, definitely a nail biter for our teams and myself," said Michelle Buchanan, director of Pennsylvania Academic Decathlon.
She reminded the crowd that two teams would advance to the national competition in April in Frisco, Texas: one team from a small school, and a team from a large school.
The small schools that participated in this weekend's event were Clarion-Limestone High School, North Clarion High School, Moniteau High School, Penns Valley High School, Montoursville High School and Philipsburg-Osceola High School.
The large schools were Bellefonte High School, Seneca Valley High School, McDowell High School, Souderton Area High School, Methacton High School, Northwest PA Collegiate Academy and Carlisle High School.
Souderton became the state champion from Saturday. They will go to Texas.
Kaitlyn, a junior at North Clarion High School, said that she liked the theme of the competition, which she looks forward to each year.
She was joined after the relay by teammates Jack Maxwell, a sophomore, and Sophia Wise, a junior.
They all agreed that the competitions are a lot of fun and a great way to meet new friends and visit new places.
There's a lot of prep work and studying involved, and they explained that they are given a novel to read before the competition.
Several questions about the novel appeared during the relay; the book is "Wieland; or, The Transformation: An American Tale" by Charles Brockden Brown.
They thought it was a bit of a complex read, but they enjoy a challenge.
For the relay itself, the students had to stow away their electronics except for a calculator for the math questions.
The teams were lined up in the first few rows with the captain marking the team's answers in a binder after Buchanan read the multiple choice questions on the screens.
There were three rounds of 10 questions each plus a "just for fun" round for the coaches.
The relay is a standalone event that does not impact the scores from the rest of the competition, Buchanan said.
The crowd was able to play along with an answer sheet in the event program; many laughed when asked how many they got right.
This weekend's event was judged by Thiel College faculty and staff and community members from across the region.
Buchanan encouraged the students to reconnect with the decathlon after graduation because they always need more volunteers.
"You are the best of the rest," she said.
