Harmony Magnet Academy scores highest in Tulare County Academic Decathlon, securing their spot in the state’s Academic Decathlon championship
STRATHMORE – Strathmore’s Harmony Magnet Academy is set to represent the County in the states academic decathlon championships after a successful win at this year’s Tulare County Academic Decathlon.
The Tulare County Office of Education (TCOE) held the final rounds of the 2023 Tulare County Academic Decathlon, a 10-event scholastic competition for teams of high school students, on Feb. 4. Harmony Magnet Academy in Strathmore won the event and will represent Tulare County at the state’s Academic Decathlon championship on March 1 through the 19. Though Harmony won the event, there were many students from around the county who took the title of Top Scoring Decathletes in multiple categories.
“Few other competitions engage students of various academic levels in the study of so many subject matters,” Tulare County Superintendent of Schools Tim Hire said in a statement. “In addition, Academic Decathlon is helping to build writing, communication, and speaking skills through its essay, interview, and speech competitions – skills that will serve students well into college and career.”
The academic relay known as the oral “Super Quiz” was the final competitive event which took place on Feb. 4. Questions in this year’s Super Quiz topic were related to the national theme, “The American Revolution and the New Nation.” Harmony Academy took the cake, securing a winning score of 28,013 points in the event. Harmony’s team consisted of:
- Coach Kimberly Marsh
- Jay Dillon
- Allison Daguman
- Alyssandra Oracion
- Arturo Vargas
- Janie Wilkinson
- Miguel Prado
- Quinn Soriano
- Sean Phillips
- Alexander Delgado
Harmony scored roughly a thousand points over El Diamante High School. Although El Diamante may not have had the chance to represent the county in state competitions, they did win the top scoring large school in the event. Not only that, but one competitor, Patrick Oliver, was the highest overall scoring decathlete, and scored the highest in the categories of literature, science, art and social science.
Top Scoring Decathletes
- Honors Division – Patrick Oliver, El Diamante High School
- Scholastic Division – David Gomez, Granite Hills High School
- Varsity Division – Geovani Tapia, Granite Hills High School
Top Scoring Decathlete by Event
- Literature – Patrick Oliver, El Diamante HS
- Speech – Geovani Tapia, Granite Hills HS
- Music – Alyssandra Oracion, Harmony Magnet Academy
- Science – Patrick Oliver, El Diamante HS
- Art – Patrick Oliver, El Diamante HS
- Math – Daniel Ramos, Harmony Magnet Academy and Jay Dillon, Harmony Magnet Academy
- Economics – Jay Dillon, Harmony Magnet Academy and Patrick Oliver, El Diamante HS
- Social Science – Patrick Oliver, El Diamante HS
- Essay – Diego Corona, Granite Hills HS
- Interview – Derrick Smith, Granite Hills HS and Andrea Andrade, Granite Hills HS
Prior to the Super Quiz event, the teams of six to nine members had been contending in 10 grueling virtual events. The teams were made up of equal numbers from the following grade point groups: Varsity (0-2.99 GPA), Scholastic (3-3.74 GPA) and Honors (3.75-4 GPA).
Team members test their knowledge of subjects including economics, social science, mathematics, music, art, language and literature and science. In addition, the contestants present prepared and impromptu speeches, written essays on given topics, and undergo interviews by a panel of judges. The competing schools at the Feb. 4 contest were Harmony Magnet Academy, Orosi High School, El Diamante High School, Golden West High School and Granite Hills High School.
