Casa Academic Decathlon legend grows with state win

Casa Grande High School’s Academic Decathlon legend grew with a win in the state championship competition.|

A year after losing the man who started the legend, the Casa Grande High School Academic Decathlon reputation grew when the Casa team won the state Division 2 championship.

Rick Pillsbury, the man who established a legacy of academic excellence at the Big House, retired last year, turning the team over to Scot Wigert and Nathan Libecap.

Not only did the Casa Grande team not miss a beat, winning the Sonoma County and Regional championships for a mind-boggling 34 straight times, but this year’s team went on to win the state championship in its division as well.

As icing on their championship cake, the Gauchos finished second in the featured Super Quiz.

Wigert said it was “a bit of a daunting task” to continue the success of the program after Pillsbury left. “It was a credit to the students and the culture of the program he created,” Wigert said.

“Without the original coach, we did have a lot of pressure,” noted team co-captain Manas Vrama. “I am really proud of how we all came together and the effort they (team members) put in outside the class.”

Academic decathlon teams are composed of three students in each of three categories - Honors (A range), Scholastic (B range) and Varsity (C range). Casa Grande received strong contributions from team members in all three categories.

Varma had the second highest overall score in Division 2 Honors. Kylie Houck had the highest overall score in the Varsity Division and took home seven medals. Sai Nedenla won four medals. Inder Bhangoo, Amber Zeng and Samveda Rukmangadhan all won medals.

In the earlier regional competition, Casa Grande not only took first place in the SuperQuiz but also won a multitude of medals with Houck capturing 10, Zeng nine and Shreyas Kimpalli eight.

Varma said it was great to continue Casa’s regional winning streak, but things were definitely tougher at state.

“The atmosphere was different at state,” he explained. “Every team there was very good. They were all winners.”

He said Casa Grande’s strong point was its team.

“The reason we won was because we were so well balanced in all categories,” he said. “We were able to help one another out on our weaknesses.”

When it was over, Casa Grande was a winner again.

“Getting a win at state and keeping the legacy going was definitely special,” the team co-captain said.

Senior Sam Fuller said the whole state experience was special.

“I had heard stories,” he said, “but nothing really prepares you for that kind of energy. It was a wonderful experience.”

Fuller said he was just grateful for that experience.

“I didn’t feel that much pressure,” he said. “I knew I had a good team around me. I was just happy to be part of it.”

He said that even though the people he met were competitors, they quickly became comrades, linked by the long hours of preparation and goal of succeeding on the highest level.

“We were opponents on paper, but we easily made friends wherever we went,” he explained.

It was a different experience for Moyuan Zhon, a junior who competed on the championship region team but did not experience the state meet.

She is focusing on next year and sharing her two years of experience on the team.

“I am looking forward to next year. We will have a very fine team,” she said. “I am going to put my heart and soul into it. I want to start reading early. I know it will be a lot of work.”

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