By the narrowest of margins, Waukesha West High School [Clusty Search] missed out Saturday on its second national championship in the United States Academic Decathlon.
The Waukesha school finished behind a California competitor by just 23 points, which amounted to one question out of hundreds asked during the academic competition.
“That’s just the way it goes,” said Randy Brown, a member of the Waukesha team.
Out of a possible 60,000 points, Waukesha West students scored 53,096, which is higher than the score that won the school its first championship in 2002.
But this time, Moorpark High School [Clusty Search] of Moorpark, Calif., was a little better, winning the title with a score of 53,119.
The razor-thin margin made the second-place finish all the more disheartening for Waukesha students.
Duane Stein, coach of the squad, said several competitors became emotional when they realized how narrowly they had missed the championship.
“My kids are kind of stunned right now,” Stein said.
“I’m just so proud of these kids,” he added. “They worked very, very hard.”
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I volunteered at the state competition in Madison this year (I was a lowly go for) and it was exciting. Each regional winner is represented by a team of 9 kids. Starting at the beginning of the school year, the teams spend hours every week studying. This year the topic was the Civil War. Good job Waukesha West!