Taft High Ekes Out Win in ‘Super Quiz’

Taft High School in Woodland Hills--narrowly edging out University High School from the Westside--emerged Saturday as the unofficial winner of the Super Quiz, a high-pressured, “College Bowl”-type competition that often foretells the outcome of the state Academic Decathlon.

The Taft team racked up 27 of 30 possible answers, best among 46 schools from across California.

Four schools tied for second with 26 correct answers, including University High and perennial decathlon powerhouses West High School of Torrance and Laguna Hills High School.

“It’s anybody’s match now,” Taft coach Michael Wilson said after his team’s narrow victory, eked out before more than 1,000 cheering spectators at the University of the Pacific campus. “We’re all very close to the top.”

Tournament results will be announced today at an awards luncheon, with the winner advancing to the national contest in Phoenix next month.

For the first time in the 14-year history of the state decathlon, the Los Angeles Unified School District is fielding two teams: Taft--the district champ going for its third state title--and University, competing under a new rule allowing a wild card entry.

The decathlon tests students in six subjects and includes speech, essay and interview portions.

But the Super Quiz--a raucous affair where parents and administrators engage in something resembling primal scream therapy--is a high-stakes event.

After each answer was announced, parents groaned or cheered, reacting to the body English of the contestants.

Evan Dodge of Taft notched a perfect score of five in the Super Quiz, which asked such eclectic questions as: “Which one of the following characteristics contributes most to the significance of Kenzo Tange’s Olympic stadiums?” Answer: “Combination of traditional and modern forms.”

“I knew I knew a lot,” Evan said, “but there are questions I know I didn’t know. It’s just the luck of the draw I didn’t get those.”

In addition to Evan, Taft team members are Josh Stempel, Leonard An, David Bronstein, Adam Caress, Christopher Hoag, Alexandre Jacobs, Robert Shaw and Mara Weiss.

Kelly Vogt, Anshul Amar, Samidha Ghosh, Sami Kohan, Mark Landsberg, Tai-Yong Park, Rebecca Shoai, Toby Woods and Zanja Yudell make up the University squad.