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SHS AcaDeca receives national honors

by BEAUX WHITE EAGLE
Staff Writer | May 24, 2022 1:00 AM

SANDPOINT – Sandpoint High School Academic Decathlon team received national honors, placing fourth in the medium school division (Division II) at nationals.

On April 23, the SHS AcaDeca team learned that they had placed fourth in the nation at the USAD National Finals, with five team members earning individual awards.

“I am so proud of the team,” said team coach Dana Stockman “They set a goal for themselves, and they achieved it.”

The Academic Decathlon competition consists of 10 individual events in art, economics, essay, interview, literature, math, music, science, social science, and speech. Additionally, teams usually compete in a relay spanning all topics covered in the individual events. Each year there is a theme of study that changes with this year’s theme being – “Water: A Most Essential Resource.“

The national competition was held virtually, spread over several days between March and April. Beginning with an essay and art test on March 31, the teams were allowed some breathing room to prepare for the next three competition days. April 20 and 21 were full of Zoom interviews and speeches followed by the remaining online tests on April 22. Award categories include students in honors (3.8 – 4.0 GPA), scholastic (3.20 – 3.799 GPA), and varsity (0.0 – 3.199 GPA) representing small, medium, and large schools.

Stockman said in her seven years of coaching this is the highest a team has placed at the nationals.

“I have had five teams qualify to compete at the national finals in the past seven years, once as Division IV and three times as Division II. Every time the national champion has been a large school from either California or Texas,” Stockman said

Each division has a first to fourth-place finisher, and the team with the overall highest score out of all the teams is declared the national champion. Stockman said the team rose to the occasion, preparing with 90-minute team practices two days a week after school between the state championship in early March and the national finals in late April. Students also studied on their own and that hard work proved to be worth it, she said.

After the competition, Stockman and the team anxiously awaited the results as the awards ceremony was live-streamed. Watching from her classroom, Stockman said tension could be felt as names and awards were announced with no end in sight.

“When we saw our names on the screen, everyone started to jump up and down and to cheer,” Stockman said “Afterwards we celebrated with cake and sparkling cider.”

Reflecting back on the competition, team co-captain Kyla LaFountain said she found the most difficulty with the speeches and interviews.

“No matter how many times I do them, I will never enjoy impromptu speeches,” LaFountain said.

However, the entire experience came with valued rewards.

“The best part was probably just being with the group,” LaFountain added. “They are an interesting bunch of people and it's always fun to be around them.”

Stockman said in her time as coach each year teams compete at nationals, and have slowly moved up in the ranks. From placing ninth in Division IV to placing fifth place last year in Division II – and, of course, this year’s fourth-place honors.

“Our goal was to do better than last year, which we accomplished,” Stockman said

Stockman said she is proud she is of her team and looks forward to years to come with interest in academic decathlon increasing.

“It is such a joy for me as a teacher to teach Academic Decathlon and coach this team. Their enthusiasm to learn and to compete is so fun to watch and to be a part of,” Stockman said. “They inspire each other to do their best, and they have inspired other students to take the class and join the team next year. We have had so many students signed up that I've had to create a waiting list to get into the class.”

While the success of the SHS AcaDeca team is purely their own and a testament to their hard work, Stockman says they also owe thanks to PAFE.

PAFE is a citizen-formed education foundation for LPOSD that can issue grants and funds to assist schools and programs.

"The Academic Decathlon program at SHS wouldn't be possible without PAFE's generous support over the years," Stockman said "They have awarded us a grant almost every year that the program has been running that allows us to buy our new curriculum and support materials each year."

With many of the junior students returning to the team next year, Stockman says the team is already thinking ahead to what they can achieve next year.

“Our goal is to win a fifth state championship in a row and head back to Frisco, Texas, where the national finals will be held again next spring,” Stockman said, “I told the kids that now I'll expect a third-place finish next year, they replied that they want second at least,”

Results

Bethany Badoux, senior, bronze medal in speech;

Logan Jones, junior and co-captain, silver medal in science and a gold medal in essay;

Alex Kingma, sophomore, bronze medal in economics, gold medal in mathematics, highest-scoring member of the team;

Kyla LaFountain, junior and co-captain , bronze medals in speech and interview, silver medal in essay;

Kody Bocksch, sophomore, silver medals in literature and interview, gold medal in science, overall bronze medal in the Scholastic Division, most decorated member of the team;

Keane Haesle, sophomore, voted Most Valuable Team Member by his teammates;

Also competing were senior Gavin Jasper, junior Alex Gonzalez, , and freshman Torin Haesle.