BY STEPHEN WALL
After a five-year absence, they wear the crown once more. Hemet High School captured the crown at the 2014 Riverside County Academic Decathlon Saturday, Feb. 1, dethroning reigning champs and cross-town rival West Valley High School. With the win, Hemet advances to the California Academic Decathlon on March 20 to 23 in Sacramento. The victors let out a collective roar when the results were announced in the theater at Heritage High School near Menifee. “It’s a huge relief,” said Nathan Timpson, 18. “Every year, it seems like we’ve come up a little short. Being the ones to overthrow them…it’s such a great honor.” Hemet High last won the contest in 2008. Nearly 200 students from 18 high school teams competed in the 31st annual event, with World War I serving as the theme. Ninth through 12th graders competed as individuals and as team members. Each team was made up of nine students. The battle stretched over two weekends. Contestants wrote essays, delivered speeches and interviewed with judges Jan. 25. On Saturday, the teams dueled in the Super Quiz, which featured groups answering multiple-choice questions. Categories included art, music, language, literature, science and social studies. Teams got into the spirit of the event, wearing headbands, beanies, black eye makeup and other festive attire. Parents and supporters waved pompoms and held up signs urging on the kids. The winners credited their success to hitting the books morning, noon and night the past several weeks. “Every free minute I had, I spent on this. So did the rest of the team,” said Nilesh Gupta, who earned the highest overall individual score. Art Plinski, coach of the Hemet High team, said it took an “incredible effort” to win. “The students have been fanatical about competing and fanatical about studying hard,” he said. West Valley High School, which won the event the previous five years, took home second place. Third place went to Elsinore High School. Contact Steve Wall at [email protected]