With 13 state titles, El Camino Real Charter School in Woodland Hills now aims for the U.S. academic decathlon victory.
Hundreds of hours poured into voracious studying. Group dinners spent staring at flashcards, not phones. Summertime sessions of bonding and strategizing.
These are the ingredients that transformed nine El Camino Real Charter High School seniors into both a state-champion academic decathlon team and a tight-knit family.
“Sometimes we get tired from the long hours of practice, but we’re always there to motivate each other,” 17-year-old student Sreeja Dorepally said. “We know that everyone is going through the same thing and there’s this goal at the end.”
El Camino beat 59 other academic decathlon teams from across California at the state competition, which was held in Santa Clara from March 24 to 26. The teams competed in live trivia, impromptu speeches, panel interviews and more, focused on the theme of “The American Revolution and the New Nation.”
El Camino earned 52,384.7 out of a possible 60,000 points. Their secret to success? A veteran coach, a culture of camaraderie and a mentality of confidence and dedication.
“The best thing about academic decathlon is that it’s nine kids who want every ounce of knowledge I have,” said English teacher Stephanie Franklin, who has served as El Camino’s head academic decathlon coach for 15 years. “The challenge for me as a teacher is to figure out how to meet nine different learning modalities and get the same results.”
Those successful results come often, but they don’t come easy. With 13 state champion titles under their belt, El Camino’s academic decathlon team has a track record of triumph. Each year, the nine students on the team attempt to carry on this legacy through extensive preparation.
“Each person sort of offers something different to the team, which I think is nice,” 18-year-old Alexandra Voutsinos said. “And we’re all just really confident in our abilities.”
At the state competition, the El Camino team members spent an intense three days individually separated into rooms with intimidating judges, as well as all together in huge auditoriums. Many of them said the hardest part was not the intense Super Quiz trivia, but the speaking sessions — individual events without their teammates.
“I don’t think anyone really understands what we’re going through except these other eight teammates,” 18-year-old Michelle Buchanan said. “One of the lows for me was that I came back from my interview feeling a little defeated. Yet I was able to turn it around thanks to the support of my team.”
At the end of the state competition, the top 10 teams from around California were announced in reverse order. Each student on El Camino’s team was enveloped in suspense. Ten, nine, eight, seven. Hands shook in anticipation. Six, five, four, three. Excitement brewed. Two: Granada Hills Charter High School. Screams, tears, applause. One.
“When we finally heard second goes to Granada, the relief on everyone’s faces was amazing,” 18-year-old Yasir White said. “We finally knew we had won and everything we had worked for had paid off.”
Long before they could start practicing trigonometry problems or quizzing each other on art history, the students had to be chosen for the academic decathlon team. At El Camino, making the team is extremely difficult. Franklin said that nearly 200 students vie for the nine spots each year.
“For a decathlete, I’m looking for character,” Franklin said. “I’m looking for someone who’s extremely resilient. I’m looking for someone who is curious and asks a lot of questions.”
The last time El Camino won a state title was in 2020, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools. Franklin said the pandemic not only put a pause on the academic decathlon, but it also stunted students’ social growth.
“Especially after a pandemic, part of (academic decathlon) is just reintroducing them to face-to-face communication and contact with people who are really interested in their lives,” Franklin said.
Now that they’re state champions, the El Camino team is focused on their next goal: the national competition. The team will compete for the national title at the United States Academic Decathlon in Frisco, Texas from April 27 to 29.
With eight previous national titles, the team is hopeful they will soon earn their ninth.
“I want to do my best so far, and I want to peak,” White said. “I think this year it’s going to be hard. There’s a Texas school that’s doing really well this year. We’re hoping we can perform well. We’re studying hard in the next month — and doing what it takes to win.”
