Merced High captures Merced County’s 41st Academic Decathlon

Merced High School took first place in the Merced County’s 41st Academic Decathlon Saturday night at the MCOE Downtown Professional Development Center.

Merced High will represent Merced County in March at the State Academic Decathlon, which will be virtual again this year.

Second place went to Buhach Colony High School and third place went to Golden Valley High School.

Because of COVID-19 pandemic, the competition became a hybrid format with some of the decathlon events held virtually while the Super Quiz and awards were done in person, but without outside spectators.

Merced High was the highest-scoring team for the Super Quiz, which was held in person on Feb. 5, with Merced High’s Daniel Chen winning individual honors.

This year is ‘Water: A Most Essential Resource.’

Students from nine county high schools – Buhach Colony, Delhi, El Capitán, Golden Valley, Le Grand, Livingston, Merced, Pacheco and Valley Community School Los Baños – competed in the annual competition that pits area high schools against each other in a contest of academics.

Students compete in the areas of art, economics, language and literature, mathematics, music, social science and science. Students also participate in communication events to showcase their speech, interview and essay skills.

Each decathlon team has nine students. They include three students each from the Honors Division for students in the “A” GPA range, the Scholastic Division for students in the “B” GPA range and the Varsity Division for those with a “C”-level GPA and below.

Three scholarships were awarded to members of each team through the sponsorship of the Merced School Employees Federal Credit Union and many other donations.