2012 National Academic Decathlon in Albuquerque

Granada Hills Charter High School’s Kimberly Ly cheers on her teammates at the Super Quiz at the 2012 National Academic Decathlon in Albuquerque on Friday.  (Eric Draper / For the Los Angeles Times)

Daniel Berdichevsky hands out alpaca finger puppets to teams at the 2012 National Academic Decathlon in Albuquerque.  (Eric Draper / For the Los Angeles Times)

Alpaca finger puppets show a whimsical side of the National Academic Decathlon.  (Eric Draper / For the Los Angeles Times)

Granada Hills Charter High School’s Hamidah Mahmud carries the California state flag during the start of the Super Quiz on Friday.  (Eric Draper / For the Los Angeles Times)

Granada Hills’ Lev Tauz studies before the Super Quiz.  (Eric Draper / For the Los Angeles Times)

Lev Tauz ponders a question during the Super Quiz.  (Eric Draper / For the Los Angeles Times)

Sean Wejebe of Granada Hills Charter High mulls over a question during the Super Quiz.  (Eric Draper / For the Los Angeles Times)

Granada Hills’ Julia Wall reacts during the Super Quiz.  (Eric Draper / For the Los Angeles Times)

Jimmy Wu of Granada Hills Charter High shows enthusiasm at the Super Quiz.  (Eric Draper / For the Los Angeles Times)

Daniel Berdichevsky shows off a pin at the 2012 National Academic Decathlon in Albuquerque.  (Eric Draper / For the Los Angeles Times)

Members of the Granada Hills Charter High School team accept their championship plaque after winning the Super Quiz in a tie with a Chicago school. From left are Jimmy Wu, Christian Koguchi, Pricilla Liu, Sean Wejebe and Kimberly Ly.  (Eric Draper / For the Los Angeles Times)

Members of the Granada Hills team celebrate with their championship plaque after winning the Super Quiz in a tie.  (Eric Draper / For the Los Angeles Times)