Mt. SAC Early College Academy’s (MECA) Academic Decathlon team just returned from the LA County Academic Decathlon award ceremony. The award ceremony was held at the historic Queen Mary in Long Beach on Feb. 19.

Students and their coach, Michael Reyes, math teacher at MECA, traveled by bus that morning to attend the award banquet, where teams across LA County gathered to celebrate months of hard work and competition.

After arriving at the Queen Mary, students checked in and had about 30 minutes to explore the ship before the ceremony began. Makenna Chung, a sophomore at MECA, explained that “the ship had very nice architecture and housed lots of historic artifacts.”

The banquet started at 10:30 a.m. and lasted until 2 p.m., beginning with lunch and free time, followed by the highly anticipated award ceremony. The atmosphere in the ballroom was filled with excitement when the medals were announced.

Several MECA students won individual awards. Lauryn Marin, a senior, won a silver medal for her speech and had the highest overall score on the team. Katelyn Chung, a junior, won a silver medal for her interview, and Thearose Garia, a senior, won a bronze medal also in the interview. In addition, Seniors Alex Davalos, Dulce Chacon, and Marin were awarded four-year medals for their four-year dedication to Academic Decathlon. As a team, MECA also placed fourth in the Super Quiz.

“The students worked hard,” said Reyes. “It was my first year coaching, so there was a learning curve for me, too. I learned a lot this year.”

Reyes also shared his hopes for next year: “I think we’ll finish in the top three. We were in a harder bracket this year, but I think we’ll do better next year for sure.”

If you are interested in joining Academic Decathlon next year, contact Michael Reyes or Claire Contreras.