Academic Decathlon heads to USAD Nationals in Alaska in April
For further information, contact: Michele King, Director of Communications, 401.739.3450, ext. 131, mking@hendricken.com
WARWICK, RI (March 9, 2019) – For the 10th consecutive year, Bishop Hendricken High School is the Rhode Island State Academic Decathlon Champion.
The team, which came in second in its division in the national competition in 2018 and 2019, and won a national championship 2017, will now go on to compete in the United States Academic Decathlon next month in Anchorage, Alaska.
Highlighting Bishop Hendricken’s 10th consecutive state title were standout performances by Christopher Relyea ’21 and Joseph D’Alfonso ’20. Both seniors earned the distinction as top scorers within their respective divisions. Additionally, D’Alfonso was the only Hendricken team member to medal in all 10 categories of competition.
This year’s field of Rhode Island decathletes competed in the daylong event on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at the Community College of Rhode Island, marking the 37th annual decathlon. Each team received packets of information on this year’s theme, “In Sickness and In Health: An Exploration of Illness and Wellness,” and spent countless hours preparing for Sunday’s competition.
The Academic Decathlon is a team based competition wherein students match their intellect with students from other schools. Students compete in 10 categories: Art, Economics, Essay, Interview, Language and Literature, Mathematics, Music, Science, Social Science and Speech. Each participant had to prepare and deliver a short speech, complete an interview with the judges, and then take part in the final Super Quiz Relay.
The Super Quiz has long been a crowd favorite as students in each division — varsity, scholastic and honors — compete by answering multiple-choice questions relating to the health and wellness theme. Hendricken also came away as the winner of the Super Quiz portion of the competition.
Sister Carol Anne Murray, the veteran coach of Hendricken’s esteemed decathlon team, knows the dedication and focus required to win the state competition. She coaches Hendricken’s decathletes like a sports team. They begin their training in the summer, and continue two days a week throughout the school year. Sister Carol Anne has always proudly proclaimed that she “owns them” as the eight-man team is required to devote all of their free time to study. She feels the time requirement develops a strong bond between the boys, resulting in a stronger overall team.
Bishop Hendricken finished with 37,839.4 points, more than 5,000 points ahead of second place East Greenwich. The individual winners from Hendricken were:
Timothy Moren ’20 (Honors Division)
Gold: Music, Art, Science
Silver: Literature
Bronze: Economics, Interview, Social Science
Walter Kretzer ’21 (Honors Division)
Silver: Music
Christopher Relyea ’21 (Honors Division)
Honors Division Top Scorer
Gold: Essay
Silver: Economics, Art, Social Science
Bronze: Music
Joseph D’Alfonso ’20 (Scholastic Division)
Scholastic Division Top Scorer
Gold: Music, Economics, Essay, Art, Science, Literature, Social Science
Silver: Speech, Math, Interview
Jonas Kendra ’20 (Scholastic Division)
Gold: Math
Silver: Economics, Music, Social Science
Bronze: Literature, Science
Dylan Brunner ’21 (Scholastic Division)
Bronze: Social Science, Economics, Art, Music, Speech
Bryce Lukens ’21 (Varsity Division)
Gold: Math, Science, Art, Social Science
Silver: Music
Bronze: Literature
Charbel Khoury ’20 (Varsity Division)
Silver: Speech, Interview
The team will now head to the national competition for the 10th time in school history from April 30-May 2, 2020.
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