Staff Writer

It seems the only thing  Scarborough High School’s Academic Decathlon team cannot do is lose.

In March the team won the state championship – snagging their 20^th first place finish in the state competition in the last 24 years. Coach and SHS Latin teacher Mathew Davis said the team won with 40,088 points, breaking the 40,000 mark he called “the high standard for Maine decathletes.” 

To win, the nine-member team breaks into groups as the students answer questions concerning history, math, language, art, economics and science  as they pertain to a central theme. They must, in addition to multiple choice questions and an essay, participate in an interview where they are grilled about their mock-resume. Davis said decathletes also participate in a “Super-Quiz,” in  “Jeopardy”-style, quizzing game tests that not only their knowledge, but also their speed.

Davis said the team lost most of their high-scoring seniors coming into the 2007-2008 decathlon seasonand junior Alex Whittemore said he had fears going into the competition.

“We lost a lot of our good players, I was scared. But we got first, that gives us hope,” Whittemore said.

Scarborough High School Principal Patricia Conant said she attributes the team’s continued success to tradition.

“Kids feel a loyalty to those who have stood on the stage before them, I think that is what drives them,” Conant said.

Last year Davis and the team flew to Honolulu, Hawaii for the 2007 United States Academic Decathlon competition. While the team came in fourth at the national competition, Davis said the team’s work ethic was embodied by their study habits in the Pacific island state.

“There they were, on Waikiki beach amidst surfers and swimmers – on the sand with their three-ring binders,” Davis said, laughing.

Practice makes perfect for team. Junior Matt Couillard said 10 hours of weekly practice is no sweat.

“Ten hours is like, a minimum. Before states and nationals we all pull about 50 to 60 hours,” he said.

The team meets twice a week in Davis’ classroom. Davis said the students also meet independently for snacks and studies on the weekend.

They pour through stacks of binders, quizzing one another and reading, he said.

Davis will join Couillard, Whittemore, Craig Delisle, Eric Fritz, Megan Manseau, Caterina McLean, Saerim Park, Emilia Scheemaker, Alexander Sirocki and fellow coach Jon York in Garden Grove, Calif. on April 29 for the national competition. This year’s theme: The Civil War.

Team members and coaches traditionally adopt nicknames while at the national competition that relate to the theme of the contest.

“Jon will be [Jefferson] Davis, I am going to be [Abraham] Lincoln,” Davis said.

But going across the country and buying updated study materials doesn’t come cheap and Davis said the team still has $10,000 to raise before they can leave for California. With the competition less than four weeks away,

Davis said the group is looking into doing fundraising events such as bottle drives, candy bar sales and a spring yard sale to cover the cost.

The Scarborough Academic Decathlon team is also accepting donations. Contributions can be sent to Coach Davis c/o Scarborough High School, 11 Municipal Drive, Scarborough, ME 04074.

To contact Stowell P. Watters call 282-4337, ext. 219 or email news@scarboroughleader.com.