Taft Captures 2nd Straight Academic Decathlon : Schools: Woodland Hills team runs up 50,515 points out of a possible 60,000--the highest total in the history of the citywide contest.

For the second consecutive year, a team from Taft High School in Woodland Hills has captured top honors in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s academic decathlon, winning the right to defend the school’s California title in the state tournament next spring.

According to results announced Tuesday at a tension-wracked awards banquet in downtown Los Angeles, the nine-student squad from Taft ran up 50,515 points out of a possible 60,000--the highest total in the 13-year history of the citywide contest. Far behind was second-place Marshall High School of Silverlake, which scored 44,681 points. Venice High School, with 43,744 points, finished third of the 55 schools that competed.

“I’m just delirious,” said Taft team member Sage Vaughn, 17. “We over-studied. I just couldn’t picture not winning.”

In addition to winning the district title, Taft students took home dozens of individual medals in subjects ranging from fine arts to science. Daniel Berdichevsky, 17, left the two-hour ceremony several pounds heavier than when he arrived, laden with the numerous medals he won on his way to outscoring the 500 other students who competed Nov. 20.

“I’m surprised,” he said. “I was hoping but I wasn’t sure. I’ve never been more worried than after the decathlon.”

The group also shared first place with Marshall High School in the Super Quiz, the high-stakes, game-show-like portion of the decathlon played before screaming parents and school officials. In eight of the other nine subjects, Taft received the highest collective score of any school. Only in the essay category was Taft’s group score beaten by other teams.

Other high-scoring Valley teams were El Camino Real High School--Taft’s perennial rival--which placed fifth; Van Nuys High School, which came in sixth; Canoga Park High School, which finished seventh, and North Hollywood High, which placed ninth.

Tuesday’s victory also marked the comeback of Taft coach Arthur Berchin, an English teacher who shepherded the team from 1985 to 1989 and won the prestigious national championship in his final year. In April, his successor, Michael Wilson, led Taft to a second-place showing in the U. S. Academic Decathlon but then took a leave of absence, paving the way for Berchin to return to the helm.

“No one came forward to take on the job--it’s a big one,” Berchin said. “I wanted to make sure the program continued. I knew what I was getting into. It’s been very worthwhile.”

Taft’s win gave the campus its fourth district title, a feat surpassed only by Palisades High School on the Westside, which has five. The Woodland Hills school has also gone undefeated in its three trips to the state finals and has never come in lower than second in national competition.

This year’s Taft crew, composed of seven boys and two girls, now hopes to land a fourth California championship in the statewide tournament to be held in Stockton in March.

“I’m going to start studying tonight,” said Michael Michrowski, 17.

Besides Vaughn, Berdichevsky and Michrowski, Taft team members are Chris Huie, 17, Sheldon Peregrino, 18, Rebecca Rissman, 17, Andrew Salter, 17, Kimberly Shapiro, 16, and Stephen Shaw 16. All are seniors except Shaw, a junior.

Each team is divided evenly between students with A, B and C grade-point averages. Contestants take exams in six academic disciplines, write essays, give prepared and extemporaneous speeches, submit to interviews and participate in the rowdy Super Quiz.

The theme of this year’s Super Quiz, Documents of Freedom, demanded knowledge of 19 speeches, charters and other documents ranging from the Magna Carta to an address by former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the Camp David peace accords between Egypt and Israel.

“It’s real inspirational,” Shapiro said. “We just turned those documents inside out.”

In Stockton, one of Taft’s rivals will be West High School in Torrance, which won the Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon for the fourth consecutive year, officials announced Tuesday. The West team beat William S. Hart High School in Santa Clarita, which finished second in its third consecutive year as runner-up.