Academic Champs Honored at City Hall

The champion Academic Decathlon team from Bishop Alemany High School was honored by state Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) and San Fernando City Councilman Raul Godinez on Friday night in a special ceremony at City Hall.

In November, the Alemany team won the Southern California private schools competition for the second consecutive year. In March, the team will compete in the state finals at Cal Poly Pomona.

Accompanied by family members, friends and a contingent from the Alemany school band, team members accepted special certificates from Cardenas and the council recognizing them for their championship performance.

“That’s my alma mater. These kids are academic superstars and I’m really proud,” said Godinez. “Too often high school sports get all the attention. I think it’s important to recognize academic achievement as well.”

“These students have worked very hard and they are continuing to work very hard for the state championship, which is only six weeks away,” said Janie Prucha, coach of the Alemany squad.

At the regional championships, the 11-member Alemany team took first place in the decathlon’s ultimate event, the Super Quiz, and scored high enough in the nine other events to finish on top overall.

“It’s all about hard work. People don’t realize how many hours the students put into this,” Prucha said. “It’s like taking 10 extra classes plus their regular six.”

The members of the Alemany team are Ryan Cortina, Walter Richter, Penelope Ceja, Sarah Goyak, Stephanie Guilbault, Jennifer Nuckolls, John Sitko, Brian Van Dyk, Katherine Oro, Gabriella Alecse and Ryan Songco.