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Monday, February 28, 2000

F. B. wins 2nd at state academic decathlon

Sinton team places 2nd in small-school category

By Deborah Martinez
Caller-Times

Academic decathlon results Sinton High School Academic Decathlon Team - Small School Division Team placed 2nd overall out of 20 schools in the small division, and it placed first in the Super Quiz event. Team members Aaron Aguirre Shelley Bryan Eleasar Fraga Charles Gibson Samantha Gonzales Kristel Hanson Sundip Lal Justin Luckenbach Jesse Marcum Linda Dietz, coach Maggie Gibson, coach Kathy Hendricks, coach Individual Awards Science: Varsity - Samantha Gonzales, gold Scholastic - Justin Luckenbach, silver Language and Literature: Honors - Shelley Bryan, silver Kristel Hanson, bronze Music: Scholastic - Charles Gibson, silver Art: Scholastic - Charles Gibson, silver; Justin Luckenbach, bronze Honors - Shelley Bryan, silver Speech: Varsity - Samantha Gonzales, gold; Sundip Lal, silver Honors -Shelley Bryan, gold; Aaron Aguirre, bronze Interview: Varsity - Sundip Lal, silver Scholastic - Charles Gibson, silver Honors - Kristel Hanson, bronze Essay: Varsity - Jesse Marcum, silver Individual Overall: Varsity - Samantha Gonzales, gold Scholastic - Charles Gibson, silver Honors - Shelley Bryan, bronze Flour Bluff Academic Decathlon Team - Medium School Division Team placed second overall out of 25 schools in the medium division. Each member received a $500 scholarship for the team score. Team Members Charlie Roberts Lauren Alexander Austin Henderson Jeff Deonarine Laecy Hearn Jessi Cassidy Will Bray Jennifer Hinojosa Kat Parker Linda Vegh, coach Beth Huckabee, coach David Rubac, coach Individual Awards Essay: Scholastic - Charlie Roberts, silver Honors - Lauren Alexander, silver Honors - Austin Henderson, gold with a perfect score Mathematics: Scholastic - Charlie Roberts, gold Social Studies: Scholastic - Charlie Roberts, bronze Scholastic - Jeff Deonarine, bronze Music: Honors - Lauren Alexander, bronze Scholastic - Jeff Deonarine, silver Literature: Honors - Austin Henderson, silver Varsity - Laecy Hearn, bronze Art: Honors - Lauren Alexander, bronze Scholastic - Jessi Cassidy, gold Scholastic - Jeff Deonarine, bronze Super Quiz: Varsity - Laecy Hearn, bronze Individual overall: Scholastic - Charlie Roberts, bronze Tuloso-Midway High School Decathlon Team - Medium School Division Team placed 12th overall out of 25 schools in the medium division. Team members Lindsay Lawley Kendall Fruchey Robert Eaton II Kevin Bhakta Dustin Cockrell Jeremiah Rivera Stephanie Garcia Valerie Martinez J.J. CantGayle Burnett, coach Nora Martinez, coach Individual awards Mathematics: Honors - Kendall Fruchey, gold Varsity - Robert Eaton, fourth place Social Science: Honors - Lindsay Lawley, bronze Honors - Kendall Fruchey, fourth place Honors - Kevin Bhakta, fourth place Scholastic - Dustin Cockrell, fourth place Scholastic - Jeremiah Rivera, fourth place Speech: Honors - Lindsay Lawley, gold Interview: Honors - Lindsay Lawley, gold Music: Honors - Lindsay Lawley, bronze Language and Literature: Honors - Lindsay Lawley, fourth place Economics: Scholastic - Dustin Cockrell, fifth place Varsity - Stephanie Garcia, fifth place Individual overall: Honors - Lindsay Lawley, silver King High School Decathlon Team - Large School Division Team placed 19th overall out of 41 schools in the large division. Team Members Dylan Hedrick Jonathan Eastep Stacee Millangue Aimee Millangue Adam Cook Derek Haas John Navar Stephen Hunsaker Tumeia Ford Phyllis Parr, coach Jerrie Barker, coach Individual Awards Speech: Honors -Dylan Hedrick, bronze Moody High School Decathlon Team - Large School Division Team placed 22nd overall out of 41 schools in the large division, and they placed 16th in the Super Quiz event. Team Members Ryan Navejar Simon Rios Rosa Obregon Jennifer Sanders Maria Jaramillo Jacqueline Garza Daniel Lopez Christopher Marsh David Ruiz Sherrie Linsteadt, coach Joanna Huckabee, coach Ray High School Decathlon Team - Large School Division Team placed 30 overall out of 41 schools in the large division. Team Members Nat Onuf Nisha Varghese Whitney Turk Chris Jones Jason Wassik Dorothy Menton Bailey Adams Zach Smith Laura Hattox Lilian Martinez Jerry Bushong, coach Joy Gregory, coach Individual Awards Super Quiz: Varsity - Nat Onuf, bronze Language and Literature: Honors - Nisha Varghese, bronze

When the Flour Bluff High School decathlon team found out Sunday they came in second place at the state medium-school competition in San Antonio, it felt as if everything they had ever wanted was finally theirs, said team member Charlie Roberts.
   "It's pretty fulfilling to go up with your team . . . and know your work has paid off and all your hopes and dreams have come true," said Charlie, who won a $1,000 scholarship for placing third overall. "It's wonderful to be up there on stage with your teammates, coaches and parents."
   A Houston-area school, Friendswood, captured first in the medium-school contest for a second straight year.
   In the small-school category, Sinton repeated last year's second place finish. Frisco, which is north of Dallas, won first at the small-school meet at Angelina College in Lufkin.
   More than 80 high school teams from around the state competed in the Texas Academic Decathlon this past weekend.
   The teams were split into large-, medium- and small-school categories. Medium schools like Flour Bluff competed in San Antonio, large schools in Lubbock and small schools in Lufkin. The nine-member teams are made up of three members with C averages, three with B averages and three with A averages.
   Other area teams that competed in the state decathlon tournaments included: Tuloso-Midway High School, medium-school division; Ray High School, large-school division; Moody High School, large-school division; and King High School, large-school division.
   Sinton High School's team placed second overall for the small division and first in the Super Quiz event, said coach Linda Dietz.
   "We were really excited," Dietz said. "The kids were jumping up and down and yelling."
   Samantha Gonzales, a Sinton senior who won a gold medal award for her overall performance, said she didn't expect to do so well.
   But her favorite part, she said, was working with her team. They have spent at least four hours a day studying and researching since the end of the last school year.
   "I spent more time with my teammates than my family," Samantha said.
   As did Laecy Hearn, a senior at Flour Bluff.
   But the team's second place made the hours worth it, she said. "It's something you work hard for," Laecy said.
   Students try out for a spot on their school's decathlon team, and practice tournaments begin in November, said Flour Bluff coach Linda Vegh.
   At the competitions, students spend one round in subjective events such as speech, interview and essay ability.
   The other round, students are tested in events such as science, language and literature, and mathematics. This year, chaos theory and fractal geometry was one math topic that students had to tackle.
   Rewarding effort
   "It's tremendously draining," Vegh said.
   "It's non-stop from the time we get here to the competition. There's very little sleep. Every child is learning one more thing before they go in and then saying they wished they knew more when they come out."
   The top scoring team from all divisions goes on to the United States Academic Decathlon tournament, which this year will be in April at San Antonio.
   For the fourth straight year, Taylor High School out of Katy, which competed in the large school division, will represent Texas.
   Teamwork
   "Some of these kids are dealing with stress, relationships and problems at home," said Vegh, who's been coaching decathlon for about nine years. "But they pull together as a team and they try as hard as they can for one another."
   Charlie, a football player for Flour Bluff, said decathlon is definitely a personal growth experience. Not only does it teach academics, but it also teaches the importance of teamwork, he said.
   "Learning all this stuff is important, but in the end the most important thing about decathlon is the relationship with your teammates and coaches," said Charlie, who wants to go to Harvard or Yale and study biotechnology and mathematics when he graduates in 2001. "There's no way we could've come out here and done well with out each other's support."
  
  

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Staff writer Aimee Courtice contributed to this report. Staff writer Deborah Martinez can be reached at 886-3618 or by e-mail at martinezd@caller.com

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