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Scholastic Spotlight Academic Decathlon news

UPDATE: View The “WHO 13” Story About The Iowa Academic Decathlon State Competition; UHS Is On To Nationals

Created on March 2nd, 2023

State Competition

The Urbandale High School Academic Decathlon team earned Second Place behind Cedar Rapids Jefferson at the Iowa State Academic Decathlon Competition held on March 3–4, where they competed in 10 events related to the theme The American Revolution and the New Nation.  This outstanding achievement earned them the opportunity to compete at the Online Nationals Competition which will be held in late April.

In preparation for the State Competition, the team studied challenging materials to test their academic strength in Art, Music, Literature, Economics, Science, Social Science, Math, Essay, Speech, and Interviews.  The state team consisted of Alice Tsao (captain), Joseph Sibley, Will Jacobson, Natasha Mills, Ethan Huynh, Brannen Kent, Aldin Omerovic, Alex Belcher, and Bellah McFarlane.  Miranda Stiggers, Tyler Nguyen, and Naomy Arechiga-Melendez served as alternates on the state team.

Individual Awards:

  • In the honors division, Joseph Sibley won Silver for the overall top scores, Gold in Art, Economics, Literature, Science, and Essay, and Bronze awards in both Music and Social Science
  • Will Jacobson won the Silver Social Science award in the honors division
  • In the scholastic division, Natasha Mills won the Silver award for Essay
  • Brannen Kent took home Bronze for Math
  • Varsity division student Alex Belcher won the Silver award for Math
  • Among the alternates, Tyler Nguyen was the 3rd place overall scorer among the scholastic division
  • Naomy Arechiga-Melendez placed 2nd overall in the varsity division

Next year’s theme will be “Technology and Humanity.” If any student would like to participate, please email Mrs. Forristall at bairdforristallc@urbandaleschools.com

Congratulations to the UHS Academic Decathlon Team for their 2nd Place finish in the State Competition and qualifying for Nationals! This was the first time UHS has hosted the State Competition and it was an incredibly well-organized event. Thank you to students, staff, and families who volunteered their time in order to produce such an exceptional event. Well-done! #UHSpride

UHS 2nd Place Academic Decathlon State Competition March 2023 edit

Tyler Nguyen, Ethan Huynh, Bellah McFarlane, Naomy Arechiga-Melendez, Alice Tsao, Miranda Stiggers, Natasha Mills, Aldin Omerovic, Will Jacobson, Alex Belcher, Joseph Sibley, Brannen Kent, Mrs. Forristall

 

Regional Competition

Congratulations to the Urbandale High School Academic Decathlon team for earning Second Place at the Central Iowa Regional competition held on January 26-27, where they competed in academic events related to the theme The American Revolution and the New Nation. The Regional teams studied challenging materials to test their academic strength in Art, Music, Literature, Economics, Science, Social Science, Math, Speech, and Interviews.  

An outstanding 27 individual awards went to 13 members of the teams, which consisted of Alice Tsao (captain), Joseph Sibley, Will Jacobson, Natasha Mills, Brannen Kent, Tyler Nguyen, Elias Bethards, Aldin Omerovic, Bellah McFarlane, Miranda Stiggers, Ruby Boina, Cung Mang, Ethan Huynh, Lilly Hill, Paige Scudder, Alex Belcher, Yaritza Escareno, and Naomy Arechiga-Melendez.  

The UHS primary regional team tied for first place in the collaborative SuperQuiz event. A total of 12 UHS students will move on to compete at the State level, hosted at home in Urbandale on March 3-4. 

Any student can participate next year by enrolling in Academic Decathlon Class or joining the Academic Decathlon Club. If you are interested in volunteering to support Urbandale hosting the State tournament or being on next year’s team, please contact Carrie Baird-Forristall at bairdforristallc@urbandaleschools.com. 

 Individual Awards

  • Will Jacobson (Honors division): 2nd place in Social Science
  • Joseph Sibley (Honors division): 1st place OVERALL scorer; 1st place in Literature, Science, Art, Social Science, and Economics; 2nd place in Music
  • Alice Tsao (Honors division): 3rd place in Science & Art
  • Ethan Huynh (Scholastic division): 3rd place in Science & Art
  • Brannen Kent (Scholastic division): 1st place in Science
  • Natasha Mills (Scholastic division): 2nd place in Art, Social Science & Math
  • Tyler Nguyen (Scholastic division): 2nd place in Music & 3rd place in Math
  • Naomy Arechiga-Melendez (Varsity division): 3rd place in Math
  • Alex Belcher (Varsity division): 3rd place in Literature & Economics
  • Eli Bethards (Varsity division): 3rd place in Literature & Art
  • Yaritza Escareno (Varsity division): 3rd place in Math
  • Bellah McFarlane (Varsity division): 2nd place in Economics
  • Aldin Omerovic (Varsity division): 3rd place in Economics & Speech

Congratulations to the UHS Academic Decathlon Team for their 2nd Place finish in the Regional Competition, plus 27 individual awards! A tremendous amount of preparation and hard work resulted in these outstanding achievements. Thank you to UHS Extended Learning Program Teacher, Carrie Baird-Forristall, for facilitating, guiding, and leading these remarkable students. UCSD is incredibly #proudofU!