Texas Team Again Bests Laguna Hills in Academic Event

The results of the U.S. Academic Decathlon brought a sinking feeling of deja vu to eight students from Laguna Hills High School on Monday afternoon.

For the second year in a row, the school, representing California in the two-day national competition, placed second behind a team from J. J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Tex. The Texas team received 48,946 of a possible 60,000 points. Laguna Hills finished with 47,246 points.

Moments before the results were announced in front of television cameras in the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency in Los Angeles, Laguna Hills team members--who had hoped to best their Texas counterparts this year--bowed their heads in expectation, whispering, “Please, please, please.”

But their dreams of victory were short-lived and a few fought back tears when the Texas team was announced as winner.

“It’s really hard. For a long time they’re going to be asking themselves, ‘What if?’ ” said Jeff DeWit, 19, a member of last year’s team. “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 taking the state title in March. After placing second in the national competition last year, the team redoubled its efforts this year and spent countless hours honing its knowledge and skill in math, economics, essay writing, interviewing, language and literature, fine arts, science and social science.

While the Laguna Hills team as a whole placed second, its members also won individual honors. George Danenhauer, 18, scored second highest in the nation in the B-average division, earning a $3,000 scholarship, and team captain Jay Kim, 17, scored third in the nation in the A division, earning a $2,000 scholarship. The team won 18 other medals. Also on the team were Teddy Chen, 16; Ryan Sakamoto, 17; Todd Faurot, 17; Sian Baker, 18; Robin Cheney, 16, and Kirk Brown, 18.