Folsom High School, from the Folsom Cordova Unified School District, is the winner of the 2018 Sacramento County Academic Decathlon competition. The team now advances to the State Finals, which will be held March 23–24 in Sacramento. California’s winning team advances to the U.S. Academic Decathlon April 19–21 in Frisco, Texas.
Bella Vista High School (San Juan U.S.D.) finished second in this year’s county competition and Pleasant Grove High School (Elk Grove U.S.D.) placed third.
Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David W. Gordon announced individual and team winners of the 38th Annual Sacramento County Academic Decathlon (held February 3 at Inderkum High School) at an awards ceremony last night. The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) honored top scorers at the Citrus Heights Community Center where Kevin Riggs, Randall Communications Senior Vice President, was the emcee.
SAFE Credit Union provided $10,000 in scholarships, which were distributed among top-scoring students. SAFE CEO David Roughton and Chairman Terrance Tremelling were on hand to personally congratulate all participants.
Hundreds of Sacramento County high school students, along with students from Placer County, competed in this year’s County Academic Decathlon. A total of 23 teams participated, including three from Placer County. The Placer County teams competed amongst themselves and were scored separately.
To prepare for the Decathlon, students devoted months of study to the 2018 theme: “Africa.” Students competed for awards in 10 demanding categories: economics, art, science, social science, language/literature, mathematics, music, essay, interview, and speech. Questions at the Super Quiz, held in front of hundreds of cheering fans, were posed by KTXL Fox 40 morning host Paul Robins.
Each Decathlon team is comprised of nine high school students—three with “A” grade averages, three with “B” averages, and three with “C” averages—who compete against those with the same grade point average. Coaches are local high school teachers. Decathletes not only improve their academic achievement, they learn about teamwork, goal-setting, planning, and leadership.
The Sacramento County Academic Decathlon is coordinated by SCOE staff and community volunteers. For additional information, e-mail or phone Craig Irish: (916) 228-2660.
Photos and Multimedia
- Teams photo gallery
- Super Quiz photo gallery
- Awards Banquet photo gallery
- Awards Banquet video (YouTube)
Rankings and Results
Top-Scoring Teams
- 1st Place: Folsom High School (Folsom Cordova Unified)
- 2nd Place: Bella Vista High School (San Juan Unified)
- 3rd Place: Pleasant Grove High School (Elk Grove Unified)
- 4th Place: Franklin High School (Elk Grove Unified)
- 5th Place: Del Campo High School (San Juan Unified)
Schools Placing Highest in the Super Quiz
- 1st Place: Folsom High School (Folsom Cordova Unified)
- 2nd Place: Pleasant Grove High School (Elk Grove Unified)
- 3rd Place: Franklin High School (Elk Grove Unified)
Most Improved
- Franklin High School (Elk Grove Unified)—based on overall improvement
Team Results
- List of overall team results and top-scoring team members
- Decathlon champions: winning teams 1979–present