Granada Hills Charter High School wins CA Academic Decathlon
SACRAMENTO (KABC) -- Granada Hills Charter High School won the California Academic Decathlon in Sacramento Sunday. The team earned 59,040.30 points out of a possible 66,000 and beat out 65 other high schools.
The academic theme of the competition this year was "New Alternatives in Energy: Ingenuity and Innovation."
The members of the winning team include Irene Lee, Fernando Sanchez, Peter Cho, Jenean Docter, Jasmin Kim, Natalie Gonzalez, Tanthai Pongstien and Jorge Zepeda.
A rally was held Monday at the school. As the winning students wore their medals, the band, cheerleaders and teachers all helped them celebrate their win. It's something the students say they couldn't have done without their parents.
"I know we didn't get to see them much because we were working so hard and studying so much, but thank you for letting us do this and thank you for giving us so much support when we did come home," Sanchez said. "I know it's hard for us not to be home so much, but I really appreciate it."
The eight-member team will now advance to the national championship in Garden Grove, scheduled for April 16 to April 18.
According to California Academic Decathlon officials, California has won the last nine national titles and has won 14 national titles in the past 17 years of national competition.
