Northridge Academy High A Top-Finisher In LAUSD Academic Decathlon

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Verdugo Hills High School in Tujunga won the Los Angeles Unified School District's 44th Annual Academic Decathlon Saturday.

"Congratulations to Verdugo Hills High School decathletes on winning the 44th Annual Los Angeles Unified Academic Decathlon," LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. "We are incredibly proud of our students for their dedication, perseverance, and countless hours of hard work before and after school in preparation for this competition. Your commitment to academic excellence is truly inspiring. A heartfelt thank you to every coach, family member, school staff member, and friend who has supported our decathletes along the way. Wishing you all the best in the state championship -- go shine!"

Verdugo Hills' team of Airin Avanesian, Bowie Perez, Anthony Morini, Charlize Dial, Gianni Fuentes, Harrison Barrett, Miles Ketchum, Lilit Khachatryan and Stephany Gutierrez earned 45,164.4 out of 60,000 points, school officials said.

Decathlon Coach Evae Silva and Principal Arturo Barcenas were honored with the LAUSD Decathlon Hall of Fame Plaque. The campus is located at 10625 Plainview Ave., a few blocks north of Foothill Boulevard and east of Sunland.

Some 47 high-school teams participated in this year's decathlon. Students were honored with medals, trophies and scholarships at Saturday's ceremony, which was held at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park.

The other top-finishing schools were Bell High School with 43.028.2 points, Northridge Academy High School with 39,351.9 points, Abraham Lincoln High School with 38,969.7 points, Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies with 38,387.5 points, Van Nuys High School with 38,264.2 points, and The Science Academy STEM Magnet with 37,495.2 points.

All seven schools will advance to the California Academic Decathlon on March 20-23 in Santa Clara. The LAUSD holds 23 state titles, more than any district in California, and 19 national titles.

City News Service