HIGH LIFE : Brain Strain : County Academic Decathlon Competition Tests Mental Mettle of Teams of High School Students on Several Different Levels

Hundreds of high school students are milling about. Some have determination and concentration etched in their faces. Others are madly popping M&Ms; to break the tension. Still others, overcome by a strong sense of impending doom, are madly studying page after page of notes.

Competitors size up the opposition with confidence and fear.

“I hear Los Al (Alamitos) is really tough this year.”

“Sunny Hills has studied since last April.”

“The best ones are usually well-dressed.”

“Why is the Marina team wearing viking helmets?”

It is 8 a.m. Feb. 6 at Westminster High School. This is the 20th annual Orange County Academic Decathlon (OCAD) championship. This is the marathon day of testing that, eight hours later, will put an end to months, even years of mental training for teams from 24 schools. This is the big time.

The academic decathlon is a product of Orange County, begun in 1968 by Robert Peterson, Orange County’s superintendent of schools. Expanding statewide in 1979 and then nationwide in 1982, and now even internationally, academic decathlons now involve more than 4,000 schools annually.

At the Orange County competition, teams are composed of nine students competing on three academic levels: Honor-level students have grade-point averages of 3.75 to 4.00, scholastic competitors’ GPAs range from 3.00 to 3.74, and the varsity members have GPAs up to 2.99.

Peterson said the competition breeds “highly capable adults with comprehensive knowledge of a wide range of subjects and an all-important ability to communicate that knowledge.”

The decathlon consists of 10 events spanning the range of academics from economics to fine arts, from math to poetry. “I live by those 10 words (events),” said honors competitor Paul Cash, a Foothill High School senior.

Individual written tests are given in six subjects. Economics covers both fundamental economic concepts and the fine points of consumer resource management. Math touches on virtually every level, from algebraic polynomials to differential calculus. The science test focuses on the laws of kinematics (motion in the abstract), momentum and human health.

Basic elements of artistic and musical composition come under questioning as well as specific knowledge of 32 romantic composers and artists, from Eugene Delacroix to Francisco Goya to Hector Berlioz. Social science questions are based on the ages of Reason and Romanticism, focusing on the French Revolution, Napoleon’s rise and fall, the Industrial Revolution and the turmoil brought on by other revolts in Europe from 1750 to 1900. Language and literature scours Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights” as well as Edgar Allen Poe short stories and poetry by William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Those are some of the reasons for the years of preparation.

“I’ve learned more in OCAD than I do in all my other classes combined,” said scholastic division competitor Fred Chambers, a senior at El Toro High.

And if that battery of tests is not sufficient, the competitors also are evaluated on their communication ability through essays, interviews and speeches.

With only 50 minutes to write an impeccable composition, the competitors first glance over their subjects:

“Comment on one of the following quotes:

‘Assassination has never changed the history of the world.’--Benjamin Disraeli.

‘There’s no dignity quite so impressive and no independence quite so important as living within your means.’--Calvin Coolidge.”

Speech judges looked for “confidence, organization and presentation skills,” noted veteran evaluator Katherine Morton. Each student presents a five-minute prepared speech on the topic of his or her choice and then is asked to speak extemporaneously for two minutes.

Ben Fulton, a senior scholastics-division competitor from Marina High, has benefited from two years of forensics. But doesn’t having to make an extemporaneous speech still frighten him? “That will consist of many ums and ahs,” he said, tipping his viking helmet and walking confidently into the speech room.

“I don’t think I did too hot,” lamented Mike Dewberry, a senior scholastics-division competitor from Brea-Olinda High as he left the speech room. “When they asked me to talk about high school in 2001, all I did was rip on the old teachers.”

Probably not a good idea considering a majority of OCAD judges are former or current teachers.

The ability to be appealing to the judges is of utmost importance during the interview competition. The participants must reassemble their wits after testing and drown their nervousness in a sea of outward calm and charm. This is the hot seat.

“Hello, I’m Kurt Spurgin. How do you do?”

The varsity student from Los Alamitos began his interview with a hearty handshake, hiding his anxiety behind a large grin. Spurgin scored well with the judges. “Wasn’t that fun!” they said as he left the room. “What a neat kid.”

OCAD competitors prepared an average of three hours every day, including weekends, for their competitions. Many take OCAD classes at school for credit.

“It takes a special kind of kid--one who wants to do extra work even when the rewards aren’t all that great,” said Larry Minne, Foothill’s adviser since 1980. Minne’s teams have won the OCAD title in each of the last three years.

“I prepared for four years,” said senior scholastics-division competitor Otto Pohl from Mission Viejo High. “I love the glory . . . the medals . . . the letters from the Board of Education. There are great fringe benefits.”

Others are less competitive. Eric Marleau, last year’s bronze medalist in overall varsity competition from Mission Viejo High, explained his reason for participating. “They keep asking me to come back every year. I’m their ace in the hole. It’s all right if you don’t take it too seriously.”

But is it worth all the time and effort?

“You retain the knowledge,” Marleau said, flipping his long hair. “I don’t have to study for my economics final now.”

It’s lunchtime and the morning scores have been posted in the middle of the school’s quad. After three events, Sunny Hills is leading with 16,275 points, followed by Foothill with 16,145 and Los Alamitos with 15,970. Coaches scrutinize the individual and team scores, computing the totals and checking for competition-high scores. They try to figure their odds of winning just like the bettors at the Kentucky Derby.

“Oh well, so it goes. It doesn’t matter . . . just that the kids have a good time,” said Beth Michel, Woodbridge High coach.

The Los Alamitos coaches were more concerned.

“The scores will speak for themselves,” one adviser said. “I hope they win.”

The students join their coaches in checking out the scores. Some beat themselves over the head. “I knew I should have read that article on the Doppler Effect (physics).”

Others escape the morning stress by munching down hamburgers and blasting the radios in their cars.

Some compare notes on the tests with teammates.

“Did you die on the science, too?”

“I can’t believe they had stress questions on the health test!”

Yet others prepare for the final event of the day, the Super Quiz.

“Pass me the OCAD bible,” said David Eslinger of Foothill, grabbing a teammate’s spiral notebook. “I’ve got to do good on the Super Quiz.”

The Super Quiz is the final event of the day. All nine team members from the 24 teams plus spectators and coaches meet in the gym. Cheers erupt from the crowd of 500 spectators as the first team members approach the hot seats.

Each competitor, one from every school at a time, is given a turn to answer five multiple-choice questions flashed on a giant screen in front of everyone and read over the microphone.

“Which bomber in World War II was known as the Liberator?” the master of ceremonies asks.

Within five seconds a buzzer sounds.

“Pencils up! The correct answer is ‘C’--the B-24.”

Some competitors let out ecstatic screams and Edison High team members wave good-luck teddy bears. Others sit stoically at their desks. In any case, the score is posted behind each student’s chair for all to see. Mistakes here are public. Tension is high. Team support is essential.

This is the essence of OCAD-mania.

“It takes a team. Teamwork is the key. Be the best you can be,” said Tony Aguilar, who works for the Southern California Edison Co. and serves as a chairman on the OCAD board.

The competition to reach the Feb. 6 county finals began with regional competitions Nov. 14. Orange County’s 66 academic decathlon teams were separated into three regions.

The top eight teams from each region advanced to the finals. These teams were Brea-Olinda, Capistrano Valley, Cypress, Dana Hills, Edison, El Dorado, El Toro, Estancia, Foothill, Katella, Laguna Hills, Loara, Los Alamitos, Marina, Mission Viejo, Pacifica, Saddleback, Sunny Hills, Trabuco Hills, Troy, Tustin, University, Westminster and Woodbridge highs.

Last Thursday night, members of the 24 teams met again--without their pencils and without the stress--at the OCAD awards banquet at the Disneyland Hotel, where 110 awards and medals were given out and the winning school was announced.

The winner, Los Alamitos High School, will represent the county in the state academic decathlon in Sacramento on March 12. The California champion will advance to the U.S. championship in San Antonio on April 30.