The Oakwood High School Academic Decathlon team is headed to state competition after winning a 10^th consecutive Regional Championship title.  The competition, which was held virtually, lasted from Jan. 22 through Feb. 6.

“The fact the technology exists to allow the competitions to continue virtually is a rewarding experience for our students. The students have adapted to the changes and risen to the challenges they have experienced,” Academic Decathlon Coach Lori Morris said.

Natalie Connelly, Luke Smallwood and Isaiah Rudy earned the top overall individual scores in their respective GPA divisions.  Smallwood’s score was the top individual score of the entire competition.

While Connelly says she and her team members have missed some of the collaborative elements of competing in-person, she’s impressed with what United States Academic Decathlon has been able to accomplish.

“USAD did a commendable job organizing everything and making it feel similar to how it has been in past years.  I really appreciate still being able to do speech and interview and having our same competition season despite the circumstances. They've made sure I can still have a great last year in the program."

The state competition is scheduled for March.

Students competing on this year's team include: seniors Aiden Beck, Natalie Connelly, Lily Fullenhull, Isaiah Rudy, and Luke Smallwood; juniors Nate Atocha, Rebecca Blumer, Evan Hardern, Soren Kingston, Julius Morgan-Myers, Kelly O'Neill, and Elizabeth Yarbrough; sophomores Ryan Frank, Charli Kulka, Reis McCauley, Michael Ritschel, Genevieve Uhlman, Sofia Wiegand, and Alex Zhang,; and freshmen Colin Beck, Jack Campbell, Ryan Cheng, Wright Chen, Alex Devgan, Lily Epley, Rohan Haack, Zachary Ludwig, Valentina Markov, Angie Rodriguez, Peter Silvain, Danny  Vasconez, and Paxton Zelik.