The Monmouth Academy Academic Decathlon Team, coached by Cathy Foyt and Scott Foyt, placed second in the State of Maine Academic Decathlon Championship on March 2 at Scarborough High School in Scarborough.

The top five schools in this year’s State Academic Decathlon Championship were Scarborough High School, first; Monmouth Academy, second; Oak Hill High School, third; Hall-Dale High School, fourth; and Bangor High School, fifth.

Academic Decathlon is comprised of A, B and C students, who study together as a team for a year and then compete in 10, (decathlon), different categories: Art, Economics, Essay, Interview, Language/Literature, Mathematics, Music, Science, Social Science, and Speech. The theme changes every year, for example, last year’s theme was Africa; this year’s theme is The 60’s; and next year’s theme will be In Sickness and in Health.

In the past, Monmouth has competed in the following National Academic Decathlon Championships: 1999 California, 2002 Arizona, 2004 Idaho, 2013 Minnesota, 2016 Alaska, and 2018 Texas (where Monmouth placed third in the nation overall and firstin the nation in Super Quiz, in Division III).

This year, the following Monmouth students won the following medals:
• Medalists: Jessica Clavet, silver — art; Natalie Grandahl, silver — social science; Delaney Houston, silver — essay and bronze — art; Amber Currie, silver — speech and bronze — art; Ed Zuis, silver — music and bronze — speech; Hayden Luce, silver — social science and science and bronze — music; Evan Hasenfus, gold — music, science and language/literature, and silver interview and speech, and bronze essay and art; and Rhayna Poulin, gold — speech, science, music and art, and silver — economics, social science, and language/literature, and bronze – math.

• Highest team scorer: Rhayna Poulin

• Second highest all divisions scorer in Maine: Rhayna Poulin

• Highest Scholastic scorer in Maine: Rhayna Poulin

• Second highest honor’s scorer in Maine: Ed Zuis

• Highest varsity scorer in Maine: Evan Hasenfus

• Other team members: Alicen Burnham, Joe Crocker, Amber Currie, Michael Dolan, Nick Fournier, Hannah Levesque and Jess Clavet.