Buhach Colony High takes 3rd place in state academic decathlon’s Division 3

The Buhach Colony Academic Decathlon Team took third place in Division 3 at this weekend’s state academic decathlon competition.

The team took home 11 individual medals and 20 medals total. The team competed against 38 other teams in Division 3, beating high schools like Beverly Hills, Clovis North, James Enochs, Oakdale, and Davis Senior.

Earlier this year the team, composed mostly of sophomores and juniors, took the overall top spot in the Merced County’s Academic Decathlon. The team scored a victory over Merced High’s academic decathlon team, who had been the champion for 12 consecutive years.

The third place award at the state decathlon was another accomplishment Buhach Colony Principal Jennifer Euker was proud of.

“They’re so deserving (of this award), especially this year, it makes it even sweeter during this pandemic, so we’re just thrilled and very very happy for them and hope to do the same thing next year, so we’re going to continue to work hard and be just as strong next year,” Euker said.

“So (it’s) really a wonderful group of students and as a principal I’ve had the opportunity for the Merced County Decathlon for the last 15 years so to see all these other schools compete and know the competition and how fierce it was, to say that I was proud is a mild word, I was ecstatic at just at all the hard work,” Euker added.

The members of the team include Liam Newsam, Michael Ney, Sam Samani, Thomas Mendoza, Adam Haskins, Andrew Shaljean, Ernesto Cortez, Natalie Magdaleno, and Gerbin Caballero-Bello.

The preparation for the state competition began at the start of the school year. Students spent countless hours studying over the weekends, in the library, and put forth extra hours in the mornings and after school, Euker said.

The dedication of the students is what served them well, said Josh Newton, coach of the academic decathlon team.

“I think this is really just a testament to the students’ dedication this year,” Newton said. “It was a tough year with them being on Zoom and being on distance learning for so long, but they really put in countless hours of studying and preparation to really get themselves to this point.”

“It was an honor and the accolades they received were well deserved,” he added.

Some noteworthy accomplishments during the event included: Perfect Test Score: Liam Newsam (music), 27 Top 10 Test Scores in Division (against 114 decathletes), 13 Top 10 test scores in the state (Against 234 decathletes), 7,000+ score: Sam Samani and Michael Ney (Bronze Pin), 8,000+ Score: Liam Newsam (Silver Pin), second-most individual medals in division (one medal behind the leader).

This story was originally published March 29, 2021 at 4:28 PM.