PVP High Places Second In LA County's Academic Decathlon

PALOS VERDES, CA — Palos Verdes Peninsula High School finished in second place in the Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon Thursday.

Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra was proclaimed the winner, earning a trip to the state competition next month.

The Keppel team bested the competition with 48,103 points out of a possible 60,000. Palos Verdes Peninsula High School finished second with 42,465 points.

The competition was held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The theme of the competition was "The Cold War."

Mark Keppel High and Palos Verdes Peninsula will both advance to the California Academic Decathlon, which will be held virtually during the month of March. Also advancing from the county competition will be San Gabriel High School with 42,281 points, Rowland High School with 41,975, Alhambra High with 41,577, West High School in Torrance with 40,854, Redondo Union High with 40,289, South High School in Torrance with 39,898, El Rancho High in Pico Rivera with 39,836, Saugus High with 39,304 and Beverly Hills High School with 38,628.

They will be joined at the competition by top finishers in the Los Angeles Unified School District Academic Decathlon, led by district winner Grant High School in Valley Glen, which won the district's event with 48,180.3 points.

Also advancing to the state competition from LAUSD were Van Nuys High School, which finished second with 40,316.6 points; John Marshall High School with 40,158.8 points; Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets with 38,119.6; last year's district champ Bell High School, with 37,787.7 points; Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies Magnet with 37,169.4 points; Verdugo Hills High School with 36,422.2 points; and North Hollywood High School with 35,520.6 points.

California schools have placed first 26 times in the 38 years of national competition, with South Bay schools ranking in past years.

- City News Service and Patch Editor Nicole Charky contributed to this report.