Moorpark High wins decathlon

The nine Moorpark High School team members gripped hands, bowed heads and squeezed their eyes tight as they listened, tensely poised, to the roll call of runner-up schools. Finally, those glorious words: Moorpark High School, the champions of the National High School Academic Decathlon.

Instantly, the team and their coach jumped up from their banquet table seats in cheers, embraces and high-fives. After months of relentless studying, they claimed victory with a particularly sweet distinction, earning an overall score of 53,109.4, the highest in the 26-year history of the national event.

“No one ever thought it was possible,” coach Larry Jones said of the record-breaking win. “We had a great team. I feel elated. I’m so proud of my kids.”

Team member Kris Sankaran, 16, proclaimed, “It’s over. We got to the top. . . . It’s a relief; there was so much tension.”

“Everyone did so well,” said Angela Chen, 17. “We’re all so relieved and happy.”

Moorpark’s score was 23 points higher than the second highest-scoring team, from Waukesha West High School in Wisconsin, which won first place in Division II. Second place behind Moorpark in Division I, which includes the largest schools, went to a team from Pearland High School in Texas, and the third-place winner was Mountain View High School in Arizona.

There was some poignancy to this year’s return of the event to its roots in Orange County, where the decathlon began as a local contest 40 years ago. Dr. Robert Peterson, the former superintendent of Orange County schools, launched the Academic Decathlon competition, a movement that has grown into the equivalent of a high-stakes sporting event for schools and participants.

Peterson died in 2003, but his widow, Kitty Peterson, attended Saturday’s decathlon at the Hyatt Regency in Garden Grove to speak on his behalf.

“You have no idea what a thrill it is to welcome you here,” she told the more than 360 young contestants representing high schools in 41 states. “Every single one of you is a winner -- your lives will be changed. This will be a memory for the rest of my life.”

Southern California schools have long posted strong showings in the three-day contest, which tests students’ knowledge and skills in math, science, economics, music and language, among other subjects. El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills won the competition last year for a record-tying fifth time.

This year’s theme was the Civil War, for which Moorpark’s team prepared by studying seven hours a day, six days week beginning in September.

On Sundays, captain Justine Levan said, members studied several hours on their own.

“It’s become part of my life and shaped who I am,” the 17-year-old said. “It’s made me confident in my values and given me the drive to work toward something great.”

The Moorpark High team -- which, as required by decathlon rules, comprises students whose grade point averages are in the As, Bs and Cs -- won the California contest in March, defeating 53 other teams.

Saturday’s victory wasn’t necessarily the end.

“I’ll probably fall asleep for a few months,” declared Jonah Buck, 18.

For Sankaran, however, the exercise constituted a warmup. His next task: acing an Advancement Placement test scheduled later this week.

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david.haldane@latimes.com