University High School is Academic Decathlon champ

University High School took first place in the 33rd Annual Fresno County Academic Decathlon for the fourth time in six years. The two-day event was held Saturday, Jan. 31 at California State University, Fresno and Saturday, Feb. 7 at Central High School East. Edison High School placed second and Bullard High School placed third.

University High School was represented by coach Sean Canfield and team members Andrew Pham, Christian Wilson, Fayyaz Ahamed, Karthik Ramesh, Michael Perales, Michael Seley, Philip Canoza, Ric Rodriguez and Sean Chan. Their combined winning score was 52,258.3 points.

This year’s theme was “New Alternatives in Energy: Ingenuity and Innovation.” Day one consisted of the student essay, interview and speech contests. Day two included seven tests, the Super Quiz and the awards ceremony.

The Academic Decathlon was coordinated by the Fresno County Office of Education and sponsored by participating high schools and local businesses. Twenty-six high schools participated in this year’s competition. More than $8,000 in scholarships were awarded to participating students.

Local business sponsors included Educational Employees Credit Union, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Connect Solar & Electric Inc., Johanson Transportation Service, Fresno County Office of Education, ACSA Region IX, Central Valley Golf & Utility Vehicles, CSUF Teaching Fellows, Delta Dental, Educational Resource Consultants and Executive Business Products.