El Camino Decathlon Team Gets New Honor

The academic decathlon whiz kids from El Camino Real High School were honored once again with commendations Friday from the Los Angeles City Council.

Each of the nine students on El Camino’s decathlon team received certificates from City Councilwoman Laura Chick.

“I know that some of you are thinking this is deja vu because you have heard of this group before, and you are right,” Chick told her fellow council members.

“El Camino Real has cemented its status as the academic decathlon’s perennial champions,” she said.

The decathlon team swept the Los Angeles Unified School District’s academic decathlon competition last month, receiving 48,914 points out of a possible 60,000 and numerous trophies, plaques and medals.

This is the second straight year that a team from El Camino has won the school district’s contest. Last year’s victors lost the national competition by a fraction of a percentage point.

Members of the current decathlon team say they hope to win both the state and national contests for their departing coach, David Roberson.

In the Los Angeles County decathlon competition, a battle between two high-scoring teams recently ended.

Because of a miscalculation, Beverly Hills High was originally named the winner of the county competition with 42,531 points.

However, protests from Peninsula High in Palos Verdes--which ranked third in the contest--prompted a review of the tallies. After the review, Peninsula’s team was named the winner with 42,571 points.

This week, California’s academic decathlon officials decided to allow both teams to compete in the state competition at Cal Poly Pomona in March.

The state’s academic decathlon officials denied a request from L.A. Unified officials to also send a second team from the district to compete because two county schools will be represented.

But the decision did not trouble students from El Camino or the City Council members who applauded them.

“We are very proud of your accomplishments,” Chick told the students. “Onward and upward.”