High School Wins 22nd Academic Decathlon Championship

A team of students, representing all four grade levels at Shawnee Mission South, recently brought home the school’s 22^nd state Academic Decathlon trophy.

The team is now preparing for national competition this May.

Academic Decathlon asks students to answer questions in categories including art, music, math, economics, social science, and literature. They also compete in events including interviews, speeches, and essays. This year, students answered questions centered on the theme “In Sickness and in Health” and studied “Frankenstein” as a major text for competition.

To prepare, the team studied together twice a week and took turns practicing in each category.

“It is neat that the academic decathlon brings bright kids of different ages, with varied interests together to collaboratively toward competitive academic goals,” Carolyn Cook, team sponsor said. “I think that the collective interest in working hard, supporting one another, and being competitive make this a special group.” 

These students are members of the winning team:

Eleanor Jones (co-captain)

Grace Markum (co-captain)

Clint McKenzie

Emily Knudsen

Miriam Clapper

Hua Fang 

Megan Bogner

Teddy Blair

Sky Thao

Addie Soyski

Morgan Dusin 

Kaleah Petersen

Carolyn Cook and Patrick Grant serve as team sponsors.