Merced County holds academic decathlon for 45th year. Here’s what happened
High school students competed in the 45th annual Merced County Academic Decathlon on Saturday, and Merced High took home the team title.
With the win, Merced High’s squad advances to the State Academic Decathlon in Santa Clara on March 19-22.
Merced High’s Rishabh Saha was the top-scoring student for the second year in a row.
The competition features seven multiple-choice exams, two performance events (speech and interview), an essay and the Super Quiz — a fast-paced team competition, according to the State Academic Decathlon website.
The 10 high schools that participated in the event were Atwater, Buhach Colony, Delhi, El Capitan, Golden Valley, Hilmar, Livingston, Los Banos, Merced and Pacheco.
Each team awarded Robert Wayne Scholarships for the top three individual scorers.
This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
