Moorpark High School students celebrate their victory: from left, Colin Calle, his sister Christie, Justine Levan, Paul Watanabe, Chrissa Rutkai and Kris Sankaran. The team will next compete in the nationals in Garden Grove in May. (Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times)
Members of Granada Hills Charter High School’s Academic Decathlon team await news on how they finished in the competition in Sacramento. The team, which finished sixth, was among seven schools competing from the Los Angeles Unified School District; all placed in the top 20. (Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times)
Geoffrey Poon of Granada Hills Charter High School with his father, Gary, after the team took sixth place in the competition. Team members fancied themselves as brave Spartans who defended Greece from marauding invaders. (Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times)
