Perennial powers tie in Super Quiz event

North Hollywood and El Camino Real high schools tied for first place Saturday in the Super Quiz portion of the local Academic Decathlon, each scoring 56 out of a possible 60 points in the grueling contest.

The two schools, perennial powerhouses in the prestigious competition, were among 64 entered in the L.A. Unified School District’s Super Quiz event, which was held at UCLA. El Camino, in Woodland Hills, is the reigning national champ in the Academic Decathlon.

Palisades Charter High School placed second with 54 points in the Super Quiz, which featured questions about the U.S. Civil War. Granada Hills Charter, last year’s LAUSD decathlon champion, finished third with 52 points.

Dorsey High, the school judged the district’s “most improved” last year when it placed 17th in the local decathlon, tied for ninth with Grant High School. Crenshaw High School, Dorsey’s neighborhood rival, finished in a three-way tie for seventh with Van Nuys and Manual Arts high schools.

The Super Quiz, the only public part of the two-day competition, accounts for about 5% of the total scores. The district will announce the overall winner Tuesday.

In a regional Super Quiz competition, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Office of Education and held Saturday at USC, Alhambra’s Mark Keppel High School finished first with 52 points. Beverly Hills High School was second with 48 points. Duarte High School and West High School of Torrance tied for third. San Marino High School took fourth. The overall winner will be announced Thursday.

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rebecca.trounson @latimes.com

Times staff writer Jean-Paul Renaud contributed to this article.