Tight finishes in region’s Academic Decathlon Super Quiz

Scores in the culminating Super Quiz contest of the 2011 Academic Decathlon were so close in both Los Angeles Unified and Los Angeles County school districts Saturday that at least a dozen schools were in striking distance of the regional titles.

Among L.A. Unified Schools, Granada Hills Charter High and Marshall High tied for first place honors with scores of 57. San Fernando High finished second, with 49 points, and Canoga Park High and Franklin High tied for third place with 48 points.

At the Los Angeles County competition, Alhambra High and Burbank High tied for the Super Quiz win with 49 points each, followed by Arcadia High, El Rancho High of Pico Rivera and West High of Torrance with 48 points apiece. Mark Keppel High in Alhambra and Torrance High were even with 47 for the third spot.

The Super Quiz, a lightning-fast, 30-question test held before boisterous crowds of family and classmates, is usually a strong indicator of which school will prevail in the regional round of the national competition. But this year the winner won’t be obvious until results of all other events in the 10-test competition are announced. Awards ceremonies will be held Thursday for L.A. County schools and Friday for L.A. Unified.

This year’s Super Quiz subject was geology, with tough questions about planetary formation and rock composition leaving many of the adult spectators looking perplexed.

The teams each have nine members divided among three grade-point groupings. Sixty-four schools competed in the L.A. Unified competition and 45 teams competed in L.A. County.

Last year’s winner of the L.A. Unified regional decathlon, El Camino Real, went on to win the national title. In Saturday’s Super Quiz, the defending champions placed seventh.

The regional winners will advance to the state competition in Sacramento. This year’s national finale is in Charlotte, N.C.

carol.williams@latimes.com