Pius X Academic Decathlon Team Claims Third Straight State Title; Will Compete at National Competition
Just like any athlete, musician, or performer - practice makes perfect. For Pius X students on the Academic Decathlon team the practice, combined with hundreds of hours of reading and study has paid off in a big way. On Saturday, Feb. 20, they achieved a tremendous feat and claimed their third straight State title. The win also earned Pius X an expense paid trip to compete at the National Academic Decathlon in Anchorage, Alaska, April 28-30.
Senior Liam Kruse led the Thunderbolts as the highest scoring student in the entire competition, as he broke the record for the highest ever individual score earned at a Nebraska State Academic Decathlon. Kruse, along with teammates Lisa Vu and Catherine Krueger also earned perfect scores in the math competition. Henry Jaros claimed the high score in the Scholastic division. In all, the nine team members earned the gold medal in the Super Quiz competition and 37 individual medals: 17 gold, 12 silver, and 8 bronze. Each of the nine members of Pius X’s first place team also will receive a college scholarship.
Pius X took the top spot in the large school division, outscoring Omaha Central, Omaha Burke, Bellevue East, Omaha Gross, Gretna, and Seward High Schools. Elkhorn Mount Michael took first place in the small school division with Lourdes Central taking first place in the very small school division.
In all, 155 students from 14 Nebraska schools competed in the state contest. The Academic Decathlon competition includes students from different academic levels, based on GPA, competing in 10 different areas all based on a single topic or subject. This year’s Aca Deca topic centered on the country of India with students taking exams, writing essays, and giving speeches. The culminating event is a super quiz bowl competition.
Individual medals earned included:
Liam Kruse (Honors): gold – math, music and interview; silver – art history, language and literature, science, and speech; bronze – economics.
Lisa Vu (Honors): gold – art history, math, and economics; bronze - music.
Catherine Krueger (Honors) – gold – math; silver – music; bronze – art history and language and literature.
Henry Jaros (Scholastic): gold – art history, math, science, interview, and essay; silver – language and literature, music, and speech.
Michael Timmerman (Scholastic): gold – economics silver – science; and bronze - music.
Cole Johnson (Varsity): gold – art history, music, and economics; and silver – language and literature and science.
Issac Uttecht (Varsity): gold – science; and bronze – music.
John Kilts (Varsity): silver – language and literature; and bronze – art history and music.
The Academic Decathlon is coached by Ann Kotopka, Shiela Sievert, Mary Jo Kopf, Margaret Kaiser-Woodward, and Father Steve Mills. 
