Departing Decathlon Team Feted

Relaxing on the patio of a hilltop restaurant Monday evening, members of Simi Valley High School’s Academic Decathlon team took a short break from studying to watch a sunset and spend some time with family.

“It’s the calm before the storm,” team captain Mike Truex said. “When we get to Texas, it’s going to be hectic.”

The pressure was palpable for some.

“I’m feeling the heat,” said team member Steve Mihalovits, as he read a study guide placed atop his waiting dinner plate. “We only have two more full days to study.”

But team members put down their books long enough to take part in a send-off meal of ribs, tri-tip and steak at Dakota’s Mesquite BBQ and Grill with family, friends and school district officials.

Before eating, the students listened to a brief speech by Principal Dennis Rast, who shared words of encouragement and presented each member with a tub of shoe polish.

“We want you guys to shine in Texas,” Rast said. “You guys have worked as hard as you can to set an example. You have done that.”

Later, team members grabbed their study guides and luggage and boarded two limousines on their way to the national Academic Decathlon championship in San Antonio, via a red-eye flight from Los Angeles International Airport.

Since winning the state competition in March, Simi Valley team members have intensified their preparation for the nationwide competition.

In February, Simi Valley High won the Ventura County contest to advance to the state contest. Moorpark High’s strong second-place score helped it qualify for the state competition as a wild-card entry.

At the state finals in Los Angeles, Simi Valley High edged out Moorpark, last year’s national champion, by a razor-thin 21 points.

Since last summer, members of the Simi Valley team have given up virtually all of their free time to study.

Parent Ken White said when the decathlon is finally over, he’ll make up lost time with his son, Kevin, the only junior on team.

“I told him when this is over we are going to have to get reacquainted,” he said,

For the past month, team members have studied every afternoon through late evening to sharpen their knowledge in economics, math, social studies, languages, literature, music, writing, interviewing, public speaking and environmental issues--this year’s Super Quiz theme.

“The environment is something they can identify with,” co-coach Sally Hibbitts said. “They learn about it from the time they are young.”

The national finals will begin Thursday morning with essay writing and conclude Friday afternoon with the Super Quiz, a game-show-like contest.

The national winner will be announced Sunday afternoon during the event’s closing banquet.

In addition to school administrators and family members, the team will be accompanied by its mascot, Mog, a stuffed toy animal made up of a toy monkey head attached to a dog’s body.

“The spirit of Mog will rise to the occasion,” joked senior Randy Xu. “The monkey-dog is nirvana.”

Hibbitts and her decathlon co-coach, husband Ken, flew to Texas with the team. He said they intend to make sure each member stays focused on the job at hand.

“We are there to guide them and make sure they live up to their full potential,” he said.

But win or lose at the national competition, stress on the team will not end this weekend, even though team members will return Monday, the first day of spring vacation.

*

In their quest to bring the national championship to Ventura County for the second consecutive year, team members have had to make sacrifices in their usual classes.

That means most will be spending their week off making up missed schoolwork.

“It’s not going to let up,” senior Jennifer Tran said. “But I went into this knowing what to expect.”

Flemming Larsen, co-owner of Dakota’s and a 1987 Simi Valley High graduate, invited the nine members of the team and their coaches to the restaurant for dinner at no cost.

“I was excited to read about it in the paper,” Larsen said. “This is a good thing for the community.”