Academic Decathlon Wins Leave Schools Thinking Big

Fifteen-year-old Reseda High School sophomore Deep Bhatt, a Tupac Shakur fan, got so wrapped up studying for the Academic Decathlon that he would dance to Patsy Cline in his living room.

Country music--the genre being used in competition this year--unexpectedly broadened the young hip-hop fan’s listening tastes to include such singers as Johnny Cash.

But anything’s possible now in the eyes of Bhatt, his Reseda teammates and their cross-town rivals, Venice High School. The two schools are among nine Los Angeles Unified teams that will compete this month in the annual California Academic Decathlon in Modesto.

So what’s the fuss? It’s the first time Reseda and Venice have made the cut since the so-called “acadeca” was introduced to the district 21 years ago. Now their respective campuses are abuzz with pride and visions of building the same academic prestige the competition’s perennial favorites enjoy.

“It was surreal,” Venice senior Victor Long said. “Last year we dropped out of the top 10 [in the district competition]. We were disillusioned. The accomplishment this year, we never saw it coming.”

Even though Reseda scored the lowest of the nine L.A. Unified representatives, its scores still rank as the 21st highest of the 50 teams that will compete in Modesto March 22-24.

“Southern California teams, L.A. County and LAUSD in particular, have made a strong commitment [to the Academic Decathlon] and consequently do pretty well,” said Marvin Cobb, executive director of the California Academic Decathlon Assn. “It’s always exciting to have teams that haven’t ever been to state or haven’t been there for a while.”

The state winner will move on to the national competition April 10-11 in Phoenix.

The district contingent is anchored by defending national champions El Camino Real of Woodland Hills, which has taken the L.A. Unified title seven years in a row. Since 1981, L.A. Unified has won six national titles: two by Marshall High School (1987 and 1995), two by Taft High School (1989 and 1994) and two by El Camino, which won its first in 1998.

Reseda and Venice are a far cry from powerhouse El Camino and contenders Marshall, Palisades Charter, Los Angeles and North Hollywood. Teams from San Pedro and Garfield will round out the nine-team LAUSD contingent.

But there’s a belief at Reseda and Venice that their recent success has planted the seeds for stronger support of the decathlon.

Unlike El Camino, where dozens of students apply each year just to try out for its decathlon team, Venice improves at a slower pace. In a recent recruitment meeting, Venice’s coaches tripled last year’s turnout of five students. At Reseda, 40 students showed up for a recent recruitment meeting, 10 more than last year.

“We’re not finished,” Reseda coach Rochelle Kronstadt said. “We can get better each year.”

Kronstadt is only in her second year heading Reseda’s team. But in her first season, she led the school to the “Most Improved Team” award after it jumped 21 places in the L.A. Unified standings from the previous year.

She has inspired her students to study up to 40 hours a week, enlisted teachers to help coach specific subjects and bought comfortable camping chairs for her team to lounge and study in.

“The credit really goes to the coach,” Reseda Principal Bob Kladifko said. “This is new to us, and we’re very proud of our students. We’re on cloud nine.”

Aside from Bhatt, the Reseda team includes Aaron Estrin, Bryan Furukawa, Louis Levine, Andrew Lousuebsakul, Leeja Patel, Kyle Scott, Aneet Toor and Sandra Torossian.

Ruchi Varma was taken off the team only days before the Feb. 2 Super Quiz when the district said her grade point average was too high to compete as a C student.

A decathlon team is broken into three groups of three students, each representing a different grade level from A to C. Varma was a B student when the team already had three B team members.

Regardless, Varma is treated just like a team member and will travel to Modesto. She’ll also be there March 20 when the school throws a send-off pep rally for the team--which could be the first time some students will have ever heard of the Academic Decathlon. Not that some decathletes’ egos haven’t been massaged already.

“We get respect now when we walk in the hallways,” Bhatt said. “We used to just be nerds. But now we’re nerds that are going to state.”

Whereas Reseda came out of nowhere last year, Venice has spent the last decade flirting with success. They finished in the district’s top 10 standings in 10 of the last 11 years and missed out on a state berth by one position three times in that period, Venice coach Richard Erdman said.

“I tried to pull a guilt trip on my team,” he said. “I wanted to go to state at least once before I retire.”

Erdman, who has been at Venice for 32 years, exemplifies the attitude of the campus, his students say. Located only a few minutes’ drive from Venice Beach, it is one of the few schools in the district not surrounded by fencing. The campus’ more laid-back atmosphere shows in the team’s attitude toward Academic Decathlon.

While some schools go on retreats to study and cram for endless hours into the night, Erdman wants his students to give a healthy effort but also pursue things other than decathlon. A tough week for them means 15 to 20 hours of studying.

“I think it’s cool that the kids don’t sit here studying until 11 at night,” he said. “I think the kids need to experience other things to move on to college. The idea that you have to limit yourself by making decathlon everything really bothers me.”

So team members like Sarah Dickinson, Lauren Yamagata, Kira Siam and Kelly Seales still find time to go to movies, hang out at one another’s homes and join the swimming and soccer teams.

“The difference between our school and others is that we still have our lives,” Seales joked.

Venice finished sixth in the district standings and 17th out of the field of 50 going to Modesto.

The Venice team also includes Zachary Mann, Alexander Ruiz, Brian Westphal and one of the district’s top-scorers, Alexander Gord.

The team hopes to finish in the top 10 at the state finals. But members are taking it in stride. They already have a sense of accomplishment.

“I feel like I’ve learned more than I ever would have just by going to class,” Westphal said.