Scorpions take second in Academic Decathlon


Westlake High School was crowned winner of the 2021 Ventura County Academic Decathlon, held virtually over the past few weeks for the first time due to the pandemic.

The Warrior victory ends a four-year run by Calabasas High School as the top academic team in the region. Calabasas did not enter this year’s competition.

The three teams with the highest overall scores this year:

First place: Westlake High School Team A.

Second place: Adolfo Camarillo High School Team A.

Third place: Oxnard High School Team A.

The 12 high schools that participated are Adolfo Camarillo, Buena, Channel Islands, Fillmore, La Reina, Oxnard, Rancho Campana, Royal, Santa Susana, Thousand Oaks, Ventura and Westlake.

Westlake will now advance to the state Academic Decathlon. The winning California team will move on to the national competition.

Teams representing Ventura County have made it to the nationals six times, placing second in 2000 and 2002, and taking first place in 1999, 2003, 2008 and 2009.

The Academic Decathlon is normally held in a high school gym with teams competing in front of a large audience. Instead of canceling the event due to the pandemic, Ventura County Office of Education used online platforms to allow the contest to go on virtually.

Decathlon students compete in 10 academic events that cover a variety of subjects, including art and economics.

The United States Academic Decathlon is a scholastic competition for students from public and private high schools across the country.

The competition includes students from all academic backgrounds. A team consists of nine full-time students in grades nine through 12 at the same high school. Each team comprises three students whose grade point average falls into the “A” category, three students in the “B” category and three students in the “C” category.