Months of Study Make Taft the Decathlon Favorite

The nine teen-agers from William Howard Taft High School changed their motto just before they headed off to New Jersey to represent California this weekend at the U.S. Academic Decathlon.

Throughout the long months preparing for their successful bids at the city and state competitions, the group daily looked at their own words of wisdom inscribed on coach Arthur Berchin’s blackboard.

“If we do our best, we’ll win,” it read. “If we don’t win, we didn’t do our best.”

But after the Taft team members returned from their win in Stockton last month, when they beat 42 teams from around the state, they altered their motivational slogan.

“If we try our hardest, we’ll win,” they wrote. “If we lose, we took too much time off.”

Their two days off after their state victory must have weighed on their consciences.

Senior Kimberly Shapiro, 16, explained the team’s caution. “Only one team in the entire country can win nationals,” she said. “What are the odds against you?”

In all, team members has worked hundreds of hours to prepare for their challenge, which begins today with a series of written exams. The team will compete against the best students from 41 other states in 10 events: math, fine arts, economics, science, literature, social studies, speech, essay, interview and Super Quiz--an oral competition held game-show style.

The theme of this year’s Super Quiz is the Documents of Freedom; students will be tested on a group of documents including the Declaration of Independence, the Camp David Accords and the May 16 Declaration from China’s Tian An Men square.

Based on each team’s scores at their state finals, the California team is the strong favorite going into the competition. But teams from San Antonio and Chicago, which are just behind the Taft team, are not ready to concede.

“The scores don’t mean anything until Taft goes against my kids,” said Adriano Gonzalez, a coach at Oliver Wendell Holmes High School in San Antonio. “They took the tests at different times, under different conditions.”

Larry Minkoff, the coach at Whitney M. Young Magnet School in Chicago, agreed. “We’re better now that we were at state,” he said. “And we’re ready to demolish Taft.”

Students are placed into three categories, based on grade-point average: Students with a 4.0 G.P.A. are in Honors level, those with a 3.0 or better are called Scholastic, and those with a 2.0 or higher compete on the Varsity level.

Here is a look at the Taft Academic Decathlon team:

DANIEL BERDICHEVSKY, Honors (Woodland Hills). The highest overall scorer at both the city and the state competition, Daniel, 17, is described as a natural team leader. His main interests are the theoretical sciences--astronomy, physics and the like. But he hopes to combine his skills one day and be a writer in the vein of Isaac Asimov. “My entire high school experience has become defined by decathlon,” he said. “It gives meaning to what you’re learning. I learned how different people can come together and combine their talents to become something greater than they would be otherwise.” Daniel has been accepted at Harvard University but is still considering attending Stanford.

CHRIS HUIE, Scholastic (Tarzana). Chris, who hopes to attend Emory University or UC Berkeley and go into business, said up until decathlon, high school was not challenging enough. “I never studied that much,” he said. “I didn’t do that bad in my classes but I didn’t care at times.” Chris, 17, said decathlon also forced him to re-examine his thoughts about his own strengths and weaknesses. Although he has always liked math, he had a renewed interest in history because of his work with the team.

MICHAEL MICHROWSKI, Scholastic (Tarzana). Mike alternates between being the team plant manager and the team punching bag. When the others aren’t counting on him to close up, lock up or otherwise keep things running, he gets a lot of ribbing. His nicknames are Herman (from TV’s “The Munsters”) and Mosh (origin unknown). “I had a chance that most people really don’t have, to compete against the smartest people and to have the opportunity to go to the national competition,” he said. “If we win, we’ll be able to call ourselves some of the best students in the country.” He hopes to go to Caltech and be a mechanical or electrical engineer.

SHELDON PEREGRINO, Varsity (Northridge). Sheldon, who hopes to be a psychologist one day, said the team has given him a lot of field work. He is the team support staff, the one who quietly gets along with everyone and helps the others along. His goals are as straightforward as his demeanor. “They’re all so smart, I don’t want to be so far behind them,” he said. “I guess if you really think about it, it’s not such a big deal. Just being part of a team is what is important.” Sheldon, 18, said he hopes to attend UC Santa Barbara in the fall.

REBECCA RISSMAN, Honors (Encino). Becky, 17, said she ranks second only to the coach in terms of worrying about everyone. “It’s my personality,” she said. “I tend to take care of other people. And having seven boys on the team, someone has to keep them in line.” Although she is not sure exactly what she wants to do when she gets out of school, which she hopes will be Stanford University, Becky said she cannot imagine herself in a traditional desk job. An exchange trip to Costa Rica last year piqued her interest in furthering her Spanish skills, and she said she might want to pursue international law. And in addition to the knowledge and maturity that she takes away from her experience on the team, Becky said she’s had an additional reward: Her boyfriend, Andy, is one of the other Honors students.

ANDREW SALTER, Honors (Tarzana). Andy, who was the second-highest scorer overall at both the city and the state competitions, said he thrives on pressure. Like his teammates, Andy, 17, said he has learned more from his experiences than just a collection of facts. He said he is no longer afraid of public speaking, has increased his self-confidence and was able to become friends with people he otherwise might not have met. “With all this attention we’re getting for ourselves and the school and the district, you’ve got to like that,” Andy said. “Perhaps it will never again happen in my lifetime.” Andy, who hopes to attend Harvard or Stanford, said he might want to go into business or public relations.

KIMBERLY SHAPIRO, Scholastic (Tarzana). One of the youngest members of the team, Kim, 16, is one of those who tries not to take it all too seriously. The preparation has been hard for all of them, she said, and has cut into her usual attempts to do a lot of different things with her free time. Gone by the wayside have been her sports, drama and even some friends. But there have been gains, too. After studying economics as part of the decathlon, Kimberly said she might revise plans to be a doctor like her father and instead go into business. She hopes to attend Duke University in the fall. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “But I’ve matured a lot and learned to deal with a lot of obstacles.”

STEPHEN SHAW, Scholastic (Tarzana). The team’s only junior, Steve, 16, said he has no idea where he wants to go to school or what he wants to do when he finishes. Although he said he is not likely to participate again next year, he said he values the experience mostly because of the people he’s met. It has also been a growing experience, he said. “I get hyped up about everything,” he said. “Everyone goes through these emotions but I’m the one who shows it. Sometimes they appreciate it and other times they say it’s immature of me. But, hey, I’m the young one.”

SAGE VAUGHN, Varsity (Chatsworth). With his trademark tweed derby and baggy clothes, 17-year-old Sage has worked hard to be the team rebel. “I look more like a typical teen-age drug addict than a decathlete,” he notes wryly. But while Sage has strived to cultivate that image, he has also worked hard to be a valued member of the team and earned six medals at last month’s state competition. “I did it to prove to myself that I could do it,” he said, explaining why he joined the team. “I never won anything before in my life. This was past luck--this was working really hard to achieve something.” Sage said he hopes to go to UC Santa Cruz en route to an eventual career as a small-town doctor.

* PROFILES IN PROMISE: Most of Palo Alto’s ’82 decathletes found success. B6