El Camino Real 2nd in Key Event

POMONA — East Los Angeles’ Garfield High School scored 58 out of a possible 60 points to squeak past El Camino Real High School of Woodland Hills and win the public portion of the California Academic Decathlon Super Quiz on Saturday.

Two-time defending state champion El Camino finished one point behind Garfield to take second place in the Super Quiz’s public portion, a competition that featured strong performances by Los Angeles County schools.

Burbank High School and Belmont High School of Los Angeles finished third and fourth, respectively.

Alemany High School of Mission Hills--representing Southern California private schools in the competition--finished with a respectable score of 53. Glen A. Wilson High School also did well. The Hacienda Heights school scored 54 points.

Garfield, which finished second to El Camino last month in the Los Angeles Unified School District finals, was one of eight state schools to receive a “wild card” entry to the finals.

Wild-card slots go to nonwinning teams with the highest scores.

In all, more than 400 of California’s brightest and most highly motivated students took part in the grueling two-day competition, which matched regional winners from counties ranging from Alameda to Yolo.

The overall winner of the Academic Decathlon will be announced today during an awards ceremony at the Industry Hills Sheraton and go on to represent California in the national finals next month in Providence, R.I.

The public portion of the two-part Super Quiz was held before hundreds of raucous friends and family members in the Cal Poly Pomona gymnasium.

As Garfield’s school band played the Olympic march, the students filed into the auditorium and nervously took their seats in the stands.

The nine-member teams split into three groups of three students each, alternately taking the floor to answer a series of rapid-fire questions based on this year’s decathlon theme: “Globalization: The New Economy.”

Prior to Saturday’s competition, participants took comprehensive written tests in science, social science, mathematics, music, literature, art and language. They also had to deliver a speech, write an essay and be interviewed by a panel of judges.

Deirdra Martinez, from Garfield, said the secret to her school’s success was teamwork.

“On our own we are good, but as a team we are a great,” Martinez said. “We really worked hard and supported each other, and it paid off. I’m so excited, I can’t believe it.”

Although the Super Quiz represents less than one-tenth of a team’s total Academic Decathlon score, it is often a good indicator of how a school will do overall.

El Camino students said their strong performance in the Super Quiz was a positive omen.

“At the [LAUSD] finals we finished third in the Super Quiz and we went on to win it all,” said senior Taimur Baig. “You never know, but I feel good about our chances.”

El Camino coach Mark Johnson praised his team’s strong effort, which he said was made more difficult because the school is the reigning state champion.

“Everyone is gunning for you, so there is a lot of extra pressure,” Johnson said. “The kids have been holding it together pretty well, but I’m a nervous wreck.”

San Fernando Valley schools have dominated the competition in recent years, winning eight of the last 16 LAUSD competitions and several state titles.

In five previous runs for the national title, El Camino finished second in 1996 and 1997. Taft High School is the only Valley school to take the national title, having won in 1989 and 1994.