On Saturday, Nov. 15, Emerson’s Academic Decathlon (AcDec) team went to Nimitz High school in Irving to compete in this season’s first practice meet against other high schools. The competition consisted of seven multiple choice tests over seven resource guides, and the students received awards corresponding to each guide if their score was in the top six of that category. All competitors were divided into three GPA sections: honors, scholastic and varsity. After the tests, students received a total score comprising of each of their tests. Each school sent their three best performing students from each category to partake in the super quiz at the end of the tests, where they answered questions on the stage in front of all the teams. In December, a second practice meet will be held to determine which Frisco ISD schools will make it to state, and which nine students will represent Emerson.
The team put on an impressive display as Emerson students medalled in almost every resource guide across every GPA category, a feat previously unheard of. Six people medalled in honors, two in scholastic and two in varsity. These are the awards:
“Seeing the amount of people … who won awards almost double over the course of only a year was pretty amazing,” Sheikh Faiyaz Ali, 12, said.
In addition to having many students win awards, the school tied for 18th place in the super quiz out of 60 total schools.
“The super quiz was pretty fun,” Ali said. “I enjoyed … losing my voice after cheering my fellow Decathletes on as they [were] answering questions.”
After this energetic performance, students are already beginning their next few weeks of studying leading up to the district meet in December, where they will take another round of tests to make the team.
“I do want to medal,” Kaushik Dhilip Kumar, 12, said. “I’m probably going to achieve this by spending the whole break on only a guide or two so I can become really good at that guide.”
Overall, the team is proud of the performance they showed at Irving. As a relatively younger AcDec team compared to other schools, the high amount of awards won was no small feat and is promising for the future.
“Emerson [AcDec] has grown considerably because we had our first graduating class two years ago,” Kumar said. “So I think we’re doing really good for a new high school.”
