The AcaDec team has been working hard since the start of this school year, winning competitions, having meetups and pushing their hardest to get to internationals at the end of this year, and so far it’s paid off. With the official date for finals taking place on April 27-29 in Frisco, Texas, having this build up has been a major mental boost for our team, allowing them to push themselves even further than before. Yet a team has to keep their composure.

“The team took first place in November at the virtual Irving Invitational competition, competing against 45 schools from across the country, ” Coach Lori Morris said. “At that competition, the team members earned 51 individual medals and 8 overall individual high scores, including Charli Kulka as the first place overall scholastic individual of the competition.”

Having a team this successful can be a great morale booster to the school, giving hope to students and the team itself. Knowing this we have to wonder how determined our AcaDec team is, and if their confidence is enough to make it through the rigorous challenges that the international competition holds before them. And most importantly, if they think they can win the competition for a second year.

“We always work in preparation for another state and national title, but each year is different,” Morris said. “The teams must work diligently and put forth hours upon hours of hard work in order to continue to excel at such a level. Winning is never a guarantee.” 

With a team that’s prepped and ready for the future, you have to wonder how their game went during their last competitive win. The team members won 95 individual gold, silver and bronze medals for high scores across the three GPA divisions and the 10 areas of the decathlon. On a player stand point, Rohan Haack (11) and Alex Devgan (11) received special recognition as the two highest scoring students on the OHS team. Haack was also the highest scoring individual in the Honors GPA division and the top scoring student of the entire competition. In the Scholastic and Varsity GPA divisions, Charli Kulka (12) and Danny Vásconez (11) achieved top overall individual scores, this alone was in the month of February. With a promising track record like this, we wish the team luck as nationals approach.