Laguna Hills Takes 2nd in Decathlon

The results of the U.S. Academic Decathlon brought a sinking feeling of deja vu to eight students from Orange County on Monday afternoon.

For the second year in a row, Laguna Hills High School, representing California, placed second in the two-day scholastic competition involving 45 champion teams from across the nation.

Once again, it was the state champions from Texas that topped Laguna Hills’ score and walked away with top honors. The team from J.J. Pearce High School of Richardson, Tex., won the national title with 48,946 of a possible 60,000 points. Laguna Hills finished with 47,246 points.

“Second is good, but try telling that to a team that just lost the Super Bowl,” said team captain Jay Kim, 17.

In its 10 years of existence, the U.S. Academic Decathlon has been dominated by Texas and California. Laguna Hills’ second-place finish ties last year’s mark as the best finish ever for an Orange County team in the national decathlon.

Suspense filled the ballroom at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Los Angeles in the moments before the winner was announced. As television cameras surrounded the Laguna Hills table, team members bowed their heads, whispering “please, please, please.”

But with the announcement that Laguna Hills had captured the No. 2 spot, faces of team members and coaches fell and a few fought back tears. The TV crews made their way to the Texas table while the Laguna Hills team members sadly made their way to the stage to accept runner-up honors.

Family and friends gathered around the Laguna Hills scholars, hugging them warmly and congratulating them.

“Second place is nothing to be ashamed of,” said Robin Cheney, 16, a junior who earned a gold medal in the essay competition. “That’s what people keep telling me, and if I keep telling myself that, I’ll believe it.”

“It’s really hard,” said Jeff DeWit, 19, a member of last year’s state championship team. “For a long time they’re going to be asking themselves, ‘What if?’ I think it’s taken me a year to realize that second place is not losing. It’s really winning. But when you set out for No. 1, it’s very hard to lose by a little.”

The Laguna Hills team earned its spot in the national finals by winning at the county level and then taking the state title in March. Since last year, they have sought revenge against Texas with countless hours of study in the decathlon subjects--math, economics, essay writing, interview responses, language and literature, fine arts, science and social science.

“They were champions of Orange County, champions of California, and coming in second in the nation is a tribute to every one of the kids and the coaches,” said Laguna Hills Principal Wayne Mickaelian.

While the Laguna Hills team as a whole placed second, its performance was highlighted by 20 gold, bronze and silver medals for individual achievements. George Danenhauer, 18, scored second highest in the nation in the division for students with B-average grades, earning a $3,000 scholarship. Team captain Kim scored third in the nation in the A-average division and won a $2,000 scholarship.

Kim also picked up six other medals--three bronze, two gold and one silver.

“These individual awards don’t mean that much,” Kim said. “I would have given them all up if we could just have taken first as a team.”

Also on the team were Teddy Chen, 16; Ryan Sakamoto, 17; Todd Faurot, 17; Sian Baker, 18, and Kirk Brown, 18. Decathlon teams are usually composed of nine members--three in each of the A, B and C grade divisions--but Laguna Hills was one short because a student moved away during the year.

“We’re extremely proud of our kids,” said Kathy Lane, who coached the team along with Roger Gunderson. “They were a member short and went in under great adversity. They studied up to 14 hours a day and did the best they could. We couldn’t ask for more than that.”

“The kids are disappointed now, but it’s our job to buoy them up and let them know what a source of pride they are to the state of California,” Gunderson said.