Simi Valley Wins State Academic Decathlon

Simi Valley High School won California’s Academic Decathlon on Sunday, inching past defending national champion Moorpark High for a shot at the national championship in San Antonio next month.

With the victory, Simi Valley sank Moorpark’s aspirations to defend its national title and became the second Ventura County school in a row to win the state championship.

After officials announced Simi Valley’s victory during a Sunday award ceremony at the Los Angeles International Airport Marriott Hotel, a roar erupted as parents, school officials and other supporters cheered at the top of their lungs.

Simi Valley team members, red-faced and leaping into the air, stormed the stage to claim medals and a trophy, the fruit of countless hours of study.

“Oh man, this is great!” shouted Simi Valley junior Kevin White. “For a second there, it didn’t look like it was going to happen.”

The Simi Valley and Moorpark teams were among 400 students from nearly 50 schools who competed in the weekend event.

During the grueling two-day bout, students delivered speeches, gave interviews, wrote essays and took tests in music, math, literature, economics, art and social science. They answered questions about the environment during a fast-paced, college bowl-style event called the Super Quiz.

Simi Valley knocked down some tough competition during the weekend. Bishop Alemany High School of Mission Hills, which won the oral portion of the Super Quiz on Saturday, placed third. Favorites El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills and Los Angeles High School placed fourth and fifth, respectively.

The difference between first and second place came down to one question. Simi Valley scored 50,032 points out of a possible 60,000. Moorpark scored 50,011.

“It’s never been that close in the history of the Academic Decathlon,” said Moorpark co-coach Michelle Bergman, who stood in the hotel lobby consoling her team.

Moorpark students gasped as they opened packets showing the narrow point spread. One student cried in the corner as a woman consoled him.

“It hurts when you’re so close to something and you can’t quite reach it,” Moorpark junior Zachary Ramirez, 16, said. Simi Valley team members, meanwhile, were equally shocked that they had slipped past the national champion by such a narrow margin.

“Twenty-one freakin’ points,” marveled 18-year-old Simi Valley senior Steve Mihalovits.

Ken Hibbitts, who coaches the Simi Valley team with this wife, Sally, said he would have liked to win by a wider margin, but he was ecstatic at the opportunity to compete at the national championship April 13-16.

“It’s going to be tough,” said Hibbitts. “We’re going in as underdogs.”

Because other states, such as Texas, held their state championship two weeks ago and have a jump on preparing for the San Antonio competition, Hibbitts said his students will need to enlist in a sort of boot camp, in which they will study seven hours a day, seven days a week.

“I guess this puts off the ritual burning of the study materials for another month,” White said.

Already, Simi Valley team members have spent countless hours with their noses buried in books. The team moved into the Marriott to study for the weekend competition, sequestering itself from the distraction of school and teenage life.

Bergman, Moorpark’s co-coach, said she is excited to see a Ventura County team represent the state at the national level and promised to help the team in its preparations.