For the nine members of Dobie High School’s Academic Decathlon Team, finishing fourth at the State Academic Decathlon Competition in Plano this past weekend was a tribute to their hard work throughout the year.

“After all the hard work put into practice and studying and then having the opportunity to show our abilities on a statewide stage, I was left with a huge sense of accomplishment and felt that joining the team was certainly the best investment of time and effort I have ever made,” said team member Daniel Olivarez.

Dobie Academic Decathlon head coach Steven Higginbotham and assistant coach Brad Rampp were also proud of their team’s statewide success.

“We're very proud to finish in fourth place,” said Rampp. “Our team is very young and Mr. Higginbotham and I are still new to this. It's validating to do so well.”

The team earned the chance to compete at state by finishing second at the regional contest held at Dobie last month. Dobie’s Academic Decathlon team has advanced to state in all but one of its active seasons since 1985, claiming four state titles and two national titles since 1992.

Along with Olivarez, team members include Mariel Arhelger, Chingyung Li, Brandon Nguyen, Amado Gonzalez, Angela Salinas, Ivan Mejia, Ely Dorantes and Brenda Montoya. Academic Decathlon competition encourages team members to be well-rounded in a variety of academic fields of study challenging them to compete individually on timed, multiple-choice tests in science, economics, math, literature, music and art. They also compete individually in the speech, interview and essay contests.

This year, the team placed second in the competition’s only team and main event, the Super Quiz, which is divided into two parts. Students are required to take a written test first counting for 60 percent of the event’s score and then the students compete in an oral relay which makes up the remaining 40 percent of the score. Every year, the event alternates between a science or social studies topic, and this year, the students studied the history of the Civil War for the event. Students have seven seconds to answer relay questions.

“Super Quiz is challenging because it's the main event and each of the five relay questions is worth 80 points,” said Rampp. “The teams at state are very competitive and missing one or two questions can really put you behind.”

The students also walked away from the competition with numerous individual awards.

Salinas competed for the first time this year earning a Gold medal in Super Quiz and a Silver medal in art. “The state competition was something completely new to me,” she said. “I had never been involved in anything like it. All in all, though, it was incredible.”

Nguyen, Montoya and Arhelger all received Bronze medals in the music, interview and science sections, respectively. Dorantes received Gold medals in art and science, a Silver medal in Economics, a Bronze in Language and Literature and was fourth place overall Varsity student.

“The knowledge gained and the skills developed to obtain that knowledge were as invaluable as the camaraderie between my teammates and myself,” Dorantes said. “Competing with the intensity that we did for as long as we could is an experience that will forever remain in my memory. And to be able to walk away from defeat with no regrets regarding our limited sources made it worthwhile.”

Gonzalez received a Gold medal in music and a Silver medal in art and in the Super Quiz event. 

“Countless hours of studying and sleepless nights come down to one weekend at State, and at the end, we come away with more than just medals—we come away with a greater sense of accomplishment and with a greater love of learning, friendship and teamwork,” said Gonzalez. “We do Decathlon not because it is easy—but because it is hard.”