SV Decathletes earn place in national competition, set new school record

Seneca Valley Decathlon

The Seneca Valley Academic Decathlon team placed third in the nation and earned 23 individual national medals at the 2025 United States Academic Decathlon® National Competition held in Des Moines, Iowa. Competing against top schools across the country, the team set a new SV Academic Decathlon record with a historic team score of 45,497.3 — the highest ever achieved by Seneca Valley!

This milestone also marks Seneca Valley’s first United States Academic Decathlon National Banner, which is awarded to the top three teams.

Students spent months preparing after school, studying the 2024–25 theme “Our Changing Climate.” They competed in 10 rigorous academic events including Literature, Mathematics, Art, Economics, Science, Social Science, Music, Essay, Speech and Interview. Every team member was required to participate in all 10 disciplines, making this one of the most well-rounded and demanding academic competitions in the country.

In addition to placing third in the nation, the following students won individual medals:
Ophelia Crano: silver in Art and bronze in Essay
Rohin Jayaraman: gold in Literature, Music, Mathematics, Art, Social Science and overall highest scorer in the country; bronze in Science and Interview
Kaia Satory: gold in Literature and Art and bronze in Speech and Essay
Heath Lyon: gold in Music and Art and silver in Literature and Mathematics
Michael Kravec: gold in Mathematics
Sarah Ghaffar: gold in Interview and bronze in Essay
Gavin Cress: silver in Economics and Speech

The Seneca Valley Academic Decathlon team members include Evan MacInerney, Rohin Jayaraman, Kaia Satory, Gavin Cress, Michael Kravec, Heath Lyon, Ophelia Crano, Sarah Ghaffar and Dhiyasri Gopalakrishnan.

“These nine students demonstrated extraordinary dedication, putting in countless hours of studying, taking practice tests, practicing speeches, writing essays and completing interviews,” said Seneca Valley Senior High School teacher and Academic Decathlon coach Mr. David Reichard. “As their coach, I couldn’t be prouder of their growth, teamwork, and performance on the national stage.”