Academic Decathlon making history at state
The Coppell High School Academic Decathlon team lines up after its state competition on Feb. 26 in Frisco. The members are wearing their subject medals, medals received for exceptional work in a specific category in the Academic Decathlon competition, a gold medal being the highest honor. (Photo Courtesy Sai Kasiraman)
March 6, 2023
Bubbling in answers, skimming through questions, sweat dripping down your forehead, test-taking is not an uncommon practice for students, but on a Saturday?
Most students spend their Saturdays sleeping in, without a care about school. The Coppell High School Academic Decathlon team, on the other hand, spends its precious Saturdays taking practice tests at school. Certainly a rare hobby, but their admirable effort hasn’t gone unnoticed.
On Feb. 26, out of 45 competing schools, the CHS Academic Decathlon team placed third at the state competition, a major achievement and a new record for the team with their previous all-time high being fifth at the state-level.
Some notable individual achievements in the competition were CHS junior Ishaan Kashyap – who came second individually in the honors section for the competition and earned three gold medals, two silver and one bronze – senior Chinwe Anwah came second individually for the varsity section with two gold medals and three silver – sophomore Sai Kasiraman – who received a perfect score of 1,000 and a gold medal on her essay, the highest essay score ever for a Coppell student – and Shreyas Dadani – who placed third individually for math in the honors section.
However, the team’s many accomplishments were not achieved without struggle.
“We didn’t do that well at regions,” Coppell coach Tim Dixon said. “[I saw] the disappointment on the kids’ faces. That’s what you get when you don’t study hard. Just study harder and win.”
During the regional tournament, the AcDec team was unable to make the top five, a common achievement for them, placing seventh out of 25 teams.
“When they came back [after regionals], I just built the structure, it had to come from the kids. [Junior] Ishaan Kashyap, the team captain, was piecing it all together and gluing the team together,” Dixon said. “He has been instrumental in using kindness, but at the same time showing what has to be done, and it worked, he has brought them all together.”
But as the state competition was inching closer, the team still needed more preparation, more time to study. Fortunately for them, the weather was in their favor. From Jan. 31-Feb. 3, CHS was closed due to icy roads and even with everyone else isolated at home, the AcDec team was closer than ever.
Read more about the February storm at:
“During the ice days, we zoomed and, in those Zoom calls, everyone showed up,” Dixon said. “Everyone wanted to contribute to the team and study for the team. It had to come from the kids.”
“They kept asking questions, and they kept paying attention and everything I threw at them, they kept learning,” CHS Academic Decathlon team science coach Susan Sheppard said.
Through the cold days, the members of the team worked tirelessly, but worked tirelessly together, able to rely on each other to move forward.
“We all share the same vision,” Kashyap said. “We all know what we’re trying to do and we know how we have to get it, so it’s easy to unite people when they have a common goal.”
AcDec took its newly found sense of camaraderie and fervor into the state competition and the team finally got a chance to showcase the knowledge they had been building for months, earning their rightful third place spot.
With the recent win, coaches are optimistic about the future due to the current pool of students.
“I’m really hoping this momentum carries them forward, now that they can see that we can compete at this level,” Sheppard said.
“The talent in [AcDec] right now, can win the state championship,” Dixon said. “This year, there are kids already reading the book for next year, and I’m not even asking them to.”
Although it is no surprise the students of AcDec are diligent, it seems one of their most special qualities is the true passion they hold for the team.
“With all the stress of school, I kind of lost what it meant to really enjoy learning, but now that I’ve joined AcDec, I get to practice my knowledge in a competition setting and finally get to test out all the skills I’ve learned over the past year,” CHS sophomore Sai Kasiraman said. “AcDec has definitely instilled in me a love of learning I thought I had lost.”
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