The Red Squad of the Academic Decathlon club qualified for state competition by winning the county meet on Saturday, February 2. According to coach Paul Verbanszky, with the win, they have earned the honor of representing all high schools in Contra Costa County at the state level.
In total, the Red and Blue squads, which comprise the club, won 62 medals and trophies across all subjects. The Blue team placed 2nd in the county meet, beating out Acalanes, a previous county champion before Campo’s string of victories the last three years.
The Campo victory came under tremendous pressure from not only Acalanes, but also California and Miramonte High Schools. “My stomach was in knots until they announced the winner,” Verbanszky said.”I was so proud I almost cried.”
Individual standouts included Juniors Zach Scherer and Tristan Caro, who had the highest scores in the Honors and Scholastic Division, respectively. Junior Vikram Bhaduri won the gold for the interview portion, achieving a perfect score of 1000.
Freshman Holden Kolner and sophomore Will Coates were the 1st and 2nd highest scoring guest participants.
Unfortunately, the team is ineligible to attend nationals if they win the state competition. Campolindo is graded as a Division III school based on size and scores. Only division I schools are allowed to advance to the national competition in Minnesota, according to Verbanszky.
That means the team is aiming to compete in the Online National Competition instead, an alternative created to accommodate smaller schools.
