Beverly Hills High Academic Champ--Again

It’s official: Beverly Hills High School is the overall winner in the state Academic Decathlon for the third consecutive year.

The announcement Saturday at the awards banquet in the Anaheim Marriott Hotel brought screams of excitement and relief.

“I am just really excited,” coach Jane Wortman said. “Yesterday, I was very calm. But today, as soon as they started announcing the winners, my heart started racing. I knew coming in today that it was neck-and-neck with a few other schools.”

Indeed, the scores were close in the seventh annual decathlon. Beverly Hills, which scored 45,351 points of a possible 60,000, was trailed by Foothill High School of Orange County, with 44,190 points. Marshall High School of Los Angeles was third with 43,516 points.

Self-Imposed Pressure

There was self-imposed pressure on Beverly Hills’ six-member team to repeat as champions, Wortman said. “Everybody hopes that we can continue the tradition,” she said.

For the first time this year, the school included a decathlon course in its regular school day. The team was chosen last June on the basis of PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores, a personal interview with teachers as well as recommendations by instructors and counselors.

As for the preparatory class, Wortman said, “I just throw the information at them and hope they absorb it.”

Beverly Hills first entered the competition five years ago, she said. The school has also won four consecutive Los Angeles County competitions.

Beverly Hills becomes California’s representative in the national Academic Decathlon to be held April 3 at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.