Sectional Level Academic Decathlon - February 5, 2011

On Saturday, February 5, 2011, approximately 60 students from the Cazenovia, Liverpool, North Syracuse, Tully, West Genesee and Westhill school districts will compete in the 2011 sectional competition of the United States Academic Decathlon (USAD) at Westhill High School (4501 Onondaga Boulevard) in Syracuse. The sectional level competition is coordinated each year by OCM BOCES as a service to districts. The theme of this year’s event is The Great Depression.

The Decathlon will begin at 8:30 AM, with students engaging in a series of paper and pencil tests through 1:00 PM. At 1:40PM, the “Super Quiz” (oral relay) portion of the Decathlon will commence, with students responding to questions in front of an audience. The Awards Ceremony will be held following the Super Quiz. This year's Super Quiz is being moderated by Liverpool Central School District Earth Science teacher and New York State 2010 Teacher of the Year, Jeffry E. Peneston.

The two highest scoring teams will advance to the New York State Competition on March 11 and 12 at Onondaga Community College. The National USAD Competition will be held April 27 - 30, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Districts participating in the 2011 sectional level Academic Decathlon at Westhill High School are:
Cazenovia – (Coaches: Susan McKillop and Martin Kelly) Students: Maxwell Blair, Alexandra Cameron, Hannah Gravelding, Robert Louis, David Martellock, Darren Mihaich, Kyle Polhamus, and Cullen Singleton. Alternates: Sam Medbury and Avery Stone Fish.

North Syracuse – (Coaches: Theresa Rice and Shannon Brisson) Students: Alia Abuqube, Anthony Arena, Lauren Emigholz, James Froio, Brian Hertzberg, Andrew Houghtaling, Daniel Martin, Brian Sweeney and Jacob Wildin.

Liverpool – (Coach: Daryl Burrer) Students: Jon Carpenter, Nate LeClair, Ahmed Mahmoud, Lawrence Nguyen, Raj Patel, David Purvis, and Carina Sorrentino. Alternate: Sherice Simpson.

Tully – (Coach: Eufemia Gallipeau) Students: Dave Barry, Cody Bertolo, Chris Cook, Leo Doody, Ashley Evans, Erich Gauss, Zach Kennedy, John Langley, and Marcus Warner.


West Genesee – (Coach: Scott Duda) Students: Thomas Brogan, DJ Campbell, Abigail Hard, Alec Kearns, Mike McCartney, Caitlin Nolan, Kaitlyn Richards, Matt Serrao, and Kevan Spencer. Alternates: Martin Leff, Jerry Roy and Jenny Smacher.


Westhill – (Coaches: Nancy Rein and Sarah Fleming) Students: Brendan Eicholzer, Andrea Golembiewski, Carrie Griffo, Jordan Roach, Juliana Thompson, Kate Wawro, George Wong and Kalia Zell. Alternate: Rachel Berry.


Since it began as a local academic competition in California in 1968, the United State Academic Decathlon has grown to become an international event.  The local Academic Decathlon is coordinated by the Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES.  Students in ninth through twelfth grades will comprise district teams of three “A” students (Honors), three “B” students (Scholastic), and three “C” students (Varsity).  The Academic Decathlon promotes well roundedness by providing competition for each team in several events.  The students will take objective tests in art, music, language and literature, social science, mathematics, and economics.   They will also participate in a “Super Quiz”, which consists of an individual written test followed by a team oral relay conducted before an audience.  For 2010 - 2011 the Super Quiz topic is “An Introduction to Geology”.

For more information about the 2011 sectional level Academic Decathlon at Westhill High School, call Steve Saya, OCM BOCES’ Coordinator of Educational Services and Academic Decathlon Sectional Coordinator, at 315/431-8598.