It’s High-Class Competition at Anaheim Academic Decathlon

It was another scorching Saturday in Orange County, a totally awesome beach day. Totally. Lots of teen-agers were either hitting the sand, or maybe hanging out at the mall doing some boy- or girl-watching.

But not Kristen Bowman. Instead of slathering on suntan lotion or cruising the boutiques at South Coast Plaza, the Westminster High School senior was considering the characteristics of prokaryotic organisms, probing the foibles of the Immigration Act of 1924 and noting the key factors of Keynesian economics.

She was among 450 high school students from across the county who gathered Saturday for the 22nd annual Orange County Academic Decathlon, a sort of scholastic Big Game of the mind that pits teams of students of various grades and abilities against one another on subjects ranging from Pythagorean theorem to the pronouncements of Adam Smith.

The contest, at Canyon High School in Anaheim Hills, will determine which school represents the county in the state finals in March. And should Orange County’s finest survive that mental slugfest, it would move on to the nationals in Iowa next April.

Students from 50 high schools participated in the county tourney Saturday, pitting their noggins against the best and brightest from such perennial favorites as Foothill High in Tustin, Los Alamitos and last year’s champion, Laguna Hills. This year’s winners in both the team and individual competitions will be announced at ceremonies Nov. 29.

So, Kristen, how was it?

“The competition was fun,” said the 17-year-old tennis buff who hardly looks the part of a bookworm. “The getting ready for it, that’s not so fun. . . . I didn’t do that great. I didn’t study as much as I probably should have.”

She should hardly be so tough on herself. This is the sort of stuff that would have most students staring glassy-eyed and send the average adult scurrying red-faced to the family encyclopedia and almanac. Consider, if you dare, this sample question:

During metaphase of mitosis, replicated chromosomes have which specialized structure that enables them to link to spindle fibers?

A ) microfilaments

B) centromere

C) mitotic spindle

D) microtubule

E) centriole

Hmmmm. OK, OK, so this is why all of us didn’t become nuclear scientists.

Sure, life’s a beach for lots of teen-agers, but this bunch is a tad more serious. Not all, however, are candidates for enshrinement at Harvard, Yale and Berkeley.

Indeed, the nine-person team from each school is carefully divided, ranging from future rocket scientists who get hives when they see an A minus, to those who smile at a C. Three students on each team have an A grade-point average, another three get mostly Bs and the final set have grades hovering at C or below.

The point of this competition is not so much to test the high achievers as to spark an inquisitive flame in students of varying abilities. Organizers of the event contend they’ve seen wonders happen when a student becomes immersed in studies leading up to the decathlon.

“We’ve had dropouts who have had their lives turned around,” said county schools Supt. Robert Peterson, the man who first developed the concept of academic decathlons back in 1968. “Many students don’t understand that this event is for everyone. But it is.”

Peterson said the program puts the spotlight on teen-agers who often are relegated to the wings as their peers in high school athletics grab center stage.

“With this, instead of being a nerd, you’re a hero,” Peterson said. “It’s the kind of enthusiasm you get when you’re a booster at an athletic event. That’s what we want. Support for the intellectual.”

Carolyn Charkey, president of the volunteer association that sponsors the event each year, agrees.

“This shifts the focus where it really ought to be--on academics,” Charkey said. “I can’t forget the remark one boy made. He said he didn’t realize before he got into academic decathlon that it was socially acceptable to be smart.”

Being smart wasn’t just socially acceptable on Saturday, it was down right applaudable.

After the students took multiple-choice tests in math, literature, science, the arts, social science and economics, they wrote essays, gave a speech and were interviewed by adult judges.

Then came the fun part, the high-pressure Super Quiz. Held in the Canyon High gymnasium, this final 10-question test was pulled off with all the sparkle and sheen of a television quiz show. But these questions would have sent Gene Rayburn searching for his slide rule.

Steve Haguewood, an attorney and former academic decathlete at Anaheim High School, served as moderator. Questions were flashed on a slide screen, and clusters of students had little more than 10 seconds to come up with their answers.

As correct answers were given, a proctor held up a score card displaying how many students from each team got it right. Through it all, students in the stands--waiting their turn at the next round of the Super Quiz--jumped to their feet and applauded their comrades. Some screamed and hooted with each score, others pumped and twirled their fists in the air like Arsenio Hall wannabes.

The SATs were never like this.

“It’s fun, but it’s also a challenge,” said Jane Wey, a Huntington Beach High senior who hopes to attend Harvard next year. “It seemed like the questions were harder this year. The scores have been a lot lower.”

Not everyone, of course, was thrilled. Richard Eschbach, a La Habra High senior who has participated in the competition since his freshman year, said he is, quite frankly, getting tired of the event.

“It’s mainly a matter of scheduling,” Eschbach said matter-of-factly. “With it coming before the holidays, it sort of gets in the way of a lot of things. Lots of us have scholarship and school applications that are due the end of the month. Early January would be better.”

But Eschbach admitted he would “probably still do it again” if he wasn’t headed off to college next year to prepare for a career as either a teacher or a film maker.