NHS Academic Decathlon on to Nationals

Meet some of the toughest kids at North High School. Krystal O’Morrow, Zach Hall, Binh Doan, Phillip Clearman, Ian Penman, Jasmine Moreno, James Milton, Wyatt Powers and Rose Wallace-Smith proved that they had the mental strength to excel in ten different subject areas through the Academic Decathlon competition this year.
The team trained for rigorous tests in subject areas including art, music, science, language/literature, math, economics, and social studies. They conditioned their minds through countless hours of reading, note taking, and teaching each other. They strengthened their skills in the areas of speech and interview. They put their minds together and competed as a team in an ultimate round of questions called the “Super Quiz.”
This year’s team carried on a legacy of North High School’s mental toughness by qualifying for the state competition for the 11th year in a row. They came into the competition ranked as the 11th place team in the state, but made the largest jump in North’s history and finished in 6th place.
Several individuals on the team were recognized for their outstanding achievements. Krystal O’Morrow received 3rd place recognition for her nearly perfect interview in the Honors division. Ian Penman was awarded the 2nd place medal for his work in the Scholastic division for art. Rose Wallace-Smith made history as the first North High freshman to receive 2 medals in the Varsity division: a 2nd place medal in math and a 3rd place medal in language/literature.
While the students excelled as individuals, their true strength came when they worked as a team. All of the team members contributed strong scores in multiple areas. As a group, they were the top-scoring medium-sized high school in Iowa. This rank has earned them the honor of competing in the online national competition this spring. Through the online competition, they have a good chance of earning a high rank for Iowa and individual National Merit awards.
The mental stamina that these students have developed will serve them well next year. The team’s two seniors, 4-year member, Zach Hall and 1-year member, James Milton, will be able to take the skills they have learned through Academic Decathlon with them to their college classes. The remaining students are determined to keep growing mentally and become even stronger for next year’s competition!