Oakwood High wins Academic Decathlon

Triumph at Division III in state is eighth consecutive victory.

Oakwood High School won the Division III state championship in Academic Decathlon for the eighth consecutive year on March 2-3 at John Carroll University near Cleveland.

Academic Decathlon is a competition where teams of nine students take tests and give prepared and impromptu speeches on an overall theme each year. This year’s topic is Africa, with students learning about art, economics, literature, mathematics, music, science and social science tied to the theme.

Oakwood scored 51,969.6, out of a possible 60,000 points, at state. School officials said that marked the first time an Ohio team had surpassed 50,000 points, and was the highest Division III score in Academic Decathlon history nationally.

Each nine-member team is made up of three students in each of three GPA categories: Varsity (2.99 and below), Scholastic (3.0-3.74) and Honor (3.75-4.0). At state, Oakwood team members earned the top three spots in each division.

Team members were Cameron Hendrix, William Ayres, Richard Roediger, Miles Jones, Rebecca Gentry, Yaoyi Xing, Bryan Bassett, Sam Carryer and Jordan Neeley. Carryer is the only senior. The team is coached by Lori Morris.

Oakwood’s team is now preparing to try to win its seventh straight national championship April 19-21 in Frisco, Texas.

It’s been a good stretch for Oakwood teams. The school’s Academic Team coached by John Moore recently won the Southwestern Buckeye League championship. The team, featuring seniors Cora Hardern, Joey Caley, Luke Lanning and Hannah Grupe, is now preparing for regionals April 21.

And seven Oakwood High School students qualified for the national Speech and Debate tournament in Florida in June. Audrey Owens, Kate Connolly, Lyuba Benin and Cameron Hendrix earned their first trip to nationals, while Lydia Beyer and Sara Pierce will be going for the second time. Madelynn Einhorn qualified for nationals for the third year. Contact this reporter at 937225-2278 or email Jeremy. Kelley@coxinc.com.