Held at San Gabriel High School on February 14th, Clark’s first Academic Decathlon Club brought home their first win in third division. The Academic Decathlon is a team competition where students match their intellects with students from other schools in Los Angeles County. Gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded for individual subjects and total scores of the winning teams. The victorious teams advanced through the competition’s local, regional, and state levels, with the state champions eventually competing at the national finals.
Clark’s team dedicated a lot of time this year preparing for this big day. They studied four times a week, both in person and via Zoom, and were tested on seven topics: art, music, economics, math, English, history, and science. Their objective was to give an impromptu speech, on top of taking a quiz. Each section included 50 questions, and the mathematics exam contained 35 questions.
Mr. Eisenstein, the club advisor, led the team to success. He worked diligently to schedule meetings, preparing entertaining practice exams, and providing feedback to assist the team in bettering their presentations and overall performance. “Although I served as the team’s advisor, Julie Abdou and Nicolas DerMardirosian were the main forces behind its success. It was challenging to meet every Tuesday and Thursday, but the team worked hard, and I’m incredibly impressed and proud of my students,” Eisenstein said.
When the team arrived at San Gabriel High School, they were given the Super Quiz, a team competition that does not contribute to the final score. Students had ten seconds to answer two questions from the seven subjects. Each school is split into three teams based on GPA level. Representing Clark Magnet High School, select Clark students took on the challenge at their designated tables. “At decathlon, the pressure of doing well was definitely present and it took the SPIN segment for me to properly ease into the decathlon. Overall, it was a fun experience and I wish to join again next year,” sophomore Bilal Akimil said.
Despite the challenges, the journey was described as smooth and relatively stress-free by the team members. The Awards Banquet, held at the Sheraton Hotel, involved an hour-and-a-half-long bus ride, adding to the overall experience of the competition. “During the awards, they announced a medal for each category; one for the honor level, one for the scholastic level, and one for the varsity level. After the individual medals, they announced the team awards for each division, and we received a Super Quiz and Rookie School of the Year trophy,” junior Austin Qian said.
The promise of Mr. Eisenstein shaving his beard in the event of victory added a unique and memorable experience to the celebration. Although there were various emotions during the Decathlon, the moment of glory came as individual medals were announced, followed by the prestigious team awards.
The sight of their school’s name being called out, accompanied by the applause of their opponents, filled them with pride and a sense of accomplishment. “It felt amazing to see the flags go up every second during the Super Quiz. Even though I knew the team was prepared, it was surprisingly thrilling to see how well prepared and ready they were,” Mr. Eisenstein said.
The victory wouldn’t have been possible without the collective effort of team members Bilal Akimil, Julie Abdou, Arpi Gyurjyan, Arshak Karapetyan, Dalten Murillo, Elyas Ashtijou, Narek Bznuni, Robert King, Nick Dermardirosian, and Austin Qian. Their dedication and teamwork exemplify the spirit of the Academic Decathlon, setting a high standard for future competitions and binding their place in Clark’s history.
