Published On: May 13th, 2015By Leticia Fehling

MacArthur High School’s Decathletes Bring Home Awards From National Online Individual Competition

MacArthur-High-School-Academic-Decathlon-National-Individual-Online-Awards-1

Decathlon coaches Melissa Solano (second from left) and James Fons (second from right) pose with the MacArthur Decathletes (l-r) Mónica Luna, Lizbeth Rangel, Efraín Vidal, Karina Ayala and Joel Márquez.

The Academic Decathlon team members from MacArthur High School showed their academic prowess. They competed in the 2015 [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]U.S. Academic Decathlon competition. The teammates advanced to nationals after wins at the [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]state competition. They did not disappoint. Five students competed in the [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]online individual competition. They each placed in the top three in their respective levels.

The students are proud of their accomplishments. Lizbeth Rangel hopes to make it to nationals in 2016 when the competition will take place in Anchorage, Alaska.

“Getting my online competition results back reflects how much hard work I put in this year,” Lizbeth said. “I believe that my assiduous work will get me to Alaska next year.“

Honors Category, Level 3

1st Place in Essay — Efraín Vidal
3rd Place in Literature —Efraín Vidal
3rd Place in Science —Efraín Vidal

Scholastic Category, Level 3

2nd Place Overall — Mónica Luna
3rd Place Overall — Joel Márquez
1st Place in Essay — Karina Ayala
1st Place in Literature — Mónica Luna
2nd Place in Art — Lizbeth Rangel
2nd Place in Economics — Joel Márquez
2nd Place in Essay — Mónica Luna
2nd Place in Literature — Joel Márquez
2nd Place in Mathematics — Karina Ayala
2nd Place in Science — Mónica Luna
2nd Place in Science — Joel Márquez
3rd Place in Economics — Mónica Luna
3rd Place in Essay — Lizbeth Rangel
3rd Place in Literature — Lizbeth Rangel
3rd Place in Music — Mónica Luna
3rd Place in Social Science — Lizbeth Rangel

Scholastic Category, Level 4

3rd Place in Essay — Mónica Luna

One member, [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Isidro Jasso, competed at the event held in Garden Oaks, CA. The five that placed in the online individual competition took part at MacArthur High School.

The students encourage others to take part in Academic Decathlon. Mónica Luna feels the program has helped her in many ways.

“Academic Decathlon is a lot of fun,” said Mónica. “It’s like a little community of people who like learning and challenging others. We’re all friends, and we’re all enemies in the sense that things get a little competitive. We all have a desire to win. While I have learned skills to excel academically, I have also gained social skills like teamwork. I’m glad I joined.“

James Fons and Melissa Solano coach the Academic Decathlon team. Both serve as English teachers at MacArthur High School.

“Mr. Fons and I are proud of the students’ results,” Solano said. “They’ve dedicated a lot of time to studying and are already getting ready for next year’s competition. They truly deserve their success.“