April 20-22 Madison, Wisconsin
Oakwood High School
Sixth Consecutive Division III National Champions
After winning its seventh consecutive state championship title in March, Oakwood High School’s Academic Decathlon® team stood victorious on the national stage at the United States Academic Decathlon® National Finals in Madison, Wisconsin. The team not only captured its sixth consecutive Division III National Championship title but also ranked third overall.
Coached by Mrs. Lori Morris, the team and their medal counts include: Connor Hart (8 with a total score of 8849.9), Will Janning (5), Rey Arcenas (5), Clay Goertemiller (7), Rebecca Gentry (8), Sam Carryer (6), Matt Koch (5), John Jones(5), Cameron Hendrix (7). Also, victorious in Madison are Charlie Ross (6), Jordan Neeley (6), Richard Roediger (6), William Ayres (3) and Yaoyi Xing (6). These Oakwood students were invited to compete in the individual division based on their outstanding scores at the state competition. The team earned 56 national medals while the individual competitors were awarded a total of 27 national medals.
Oakwood took home eight of the nine available highest scoring student awards. Team members swept the highest scoring individual Division III awards in all three categories: Connor Hart, Honors; Clay Goertemiller, Scholastic; Cameron Hendrix, Varsity. Second and third place high scoring individual Division III winners include: Will Janning(second place, Honors), Rebecca Gentry (second place, Scholastic), Rey Arcenas (third place, Honors), Sam Carryer (third place, Scholastic) and Matt Koch (third place, Varsity) In addition, Richard Roediger scored a perfect 1000 on the Art test. Of further note, Connor Hart was selected to give his speech during the speech showcase for the second year in a row for the honors category. Also, Cameron Hendrix was selected to give his speech during the awards ceremony from the varsity category. Finally, Cameron Hendrix won the Varsity Rookie of the Year for the largest increase in his total score since the state competition.
Decathletes competed in ten events united by a theme- the current theme being World War II. The ten events include art, economics, essay, interview, literature, math, music, science, social science and speech. Team composition truly makes the decathlon competition unique; an equal number of “A”, “B”, and “C”-average students make up a team.
“Academic Decathlon has strongly impacted my life. It has been truly life-changing, beyond just the life skills I learned or the friends I’ve made, in helping define my sense of self and passion for learning.” Clay Goertemiller says. Coach, Lori Morris, claims that the team spends roughly twenty hours per week preparing for the regional, state and national competitions in order to reach the level of success they have achieved. She adds, “The students attain life-long academic and interpersonal skills that will benefit them in their future endeavors in a manner unlike any other academic program”. The theme for 2017-2018 Academic Decathlon® is Africa.
National Competition Results
National Online Medium School Competition Results
National Online Small School Competition Results
Ohio Division II Champions, Chardon High School (Chardon, Ohio) and Ohio Division III Champions, Perry High School, (Perry, Ohio) participated in the USAD® online national competition. National medals were won by the following students:
Division II Online National Competition: Chardon High School, Chardon – 11th place overall
Chad Skerbec BRONZE Mathematics Honor
Division III Online National Competition: Perry High School, Perry – 9th place overall
Charles Altizer SILVER Literature Varsity
Congratulations to all national participants and coaches!