Decathlon team advances to nationals

SV Academic Decathlon Team

The Seneca Valley Academic Decathlon Team clinched first place at the United States Academic Decathlon (USAD) State Competition and will now move on to nationals! The state competition was held March 8-9 in Harrisburg, PA. Seneca Valley’s Academic Decathlon Team had an outstanding score of 42,290 points and earned numerous medals across a range of subjects.

The following students medaled in the events below:

Essay: Rohin Jayaraman (Gold), Ashley Kemp (Gold), Ophelia Crano (Bronze) and Zachary DeVault (Bronze)

Music: Heath Lyon (Gold), Rohin Jayaraman (Silver), Zachary DeVault (Silver), Gavin Cress (Bronze) and Ashley Kemp (Bronze)

Art: Ophelia Crano (Gold), Heath Lyon (Gold), Ashley Kemp (Bronze) and Zachary DeVault (Bronze)

Literature: Heath Lyon (Gold), Rohin Jayaraman (Silver), Ophelia Crano (Bronze) and Ashley Kemp (Bronze)

Economics: Zachary DeVault (Gold), Rohin Jayaraman (Bronze) and Gavin Cress (Bronze)

Science: Heath Lyon (Gold), Ashley Kemp (Gold), Kaia Satory (Bronze) and Zachary DeVault (Bronze)

Interview: Shivani Umesh (Gold), Zachary DeVault (Gold) and Rohin Jayaraman (Silver)

Speech: Shivani Umesh (Gold) and Rohin Jayaraman (Silver)

Mathematics: Heath Lyon (Silver)

Social Science: Zachary DeVault (Gold), Ashley Kemp (Gold), Gavin Cress (Gold), Heath Lyon (Silver), Ophelia Crano (Bronze) and Rohin Jayaraman (Bronze)

Individual overall medalists include: Heath Lyon (Gold), Rohin Jayaraman (Silver), Zachary DeVault (Bronze) and Ashley Kemp (Bronze).

“I am so proud of the team’s accomplishments, hard work and dedication throughout the season,” said Seneca Valley Senior High School Teacher and Academic Decathlon coach Mr. David Reichard. “I look forward to seeing our students interact with peers from other top-performing high schools at the National Competition in April. This is the first year nationals will be held in Pittsburgh, and it will be a great way for Seneca Valley to represent our state! These nine students deserve the recognition and accolades after months of preparation to win the state title.”

Seneca Valley’s Academic Decathlon Team will proudly represent the state of Pennsylvania as they advance to the USAD National Competition April 25-27 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. The theme this year is “Technology & Humanity” and all teams will compete in all 10 events.