Laguna Hills Quiz Kids in 4th

Laguna Hills High School students finished the second day of the state academic decathlon in fourth place Saturday, with only one day left before judges announce which team will head to the national championship.

Nearly 400 students from 50 high schools competed in the public Super Quiz, a “College Bowl”-like competition where teams must write out answers to questions in front of an audience.

It is the final event of the decathlon.

Laguna Hills ended the Super Quiz portion of the contest with 51 out of a possible 60 points, close behind Bishop Alemany High School of Mission Hills, El Camino Real of Woodland Hills and Burbank.

The winner will be announced today at an awards banquet at the LAX Marriott Hotel.

The state champion goes on to compete in the national decathlon in San Antonio, Texas, next month.

The academic decathlon required students to take tests in social studies, economics, math, music, literature and fine arts.

A written portion of the Super Quiz was held Friday and interviews and speech contests were judged Saturday.

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During Saturday’s event at Loyola Marymount University, the nine-member teams answered questions on this year’s environmental science theme as coaches and hundreds of parents watched excitedly.

Among the Super Quiz questions, students were asked to describe the El Nino weather condition (answer: a massive ridge of warm seawater in the Pacific).

Another question: What is the most endangered type of forest according to a World Watch Institute report? (answer: a temperate forest)

Results of the oral portion of Super Quiz account for 40% of the score; the remaining 60% will be determined by Friday’s written exam, said California decathlon administrator Judy Combs.

As of Saturday, Laguna Hills was tied with four other schools for fourth place, just one point behind Burbank, four behind El Camino and five points behind Bishop Alemany.

Alemany senior Melissa Cortina, 17, said she was proud of her team’s winning efforts.

“It’s a public event so everyone gets to see how well you do,” she said. “It’s exhilarating.”

Teams spend nearly 20 hours a week studying from a syllabus published by the U.S. Academic Decathlon in addition to their regular schoolwork.

Times staff writer Jack Leonard contributed to this report.