CHAMPS' TOP RIVALS AIM HIGH.Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer MOORPARK - Math equations, chemical formulas and notable events are inked onto Mahdi Gad's hands, arms and even his khaki pants. The Moorpark High School Moorpark High School, located in Moorpark, California, is a public high school in the Moorpark Unified School District and currently has an enrollment of 2,478 students.[1] senior will use any study technique to cram for Ventura County's upcoming Academic Decathlon decathlon (dĭkăth`lŏn), in modern Olympic games, a contest for men held over two days and composed of 10 track-and-field events. Super Quiz in February. ``The idea is that if I see it all day, I'll remember it better,'' said Gad, 17, who also was a member of last year's team. ``That's one of our secrets.'' And the secrets must work. In 1999, Moorpark won the U.S. Academic Decathlon and narrowly lost last year's state title to rival Simi Valley High School Simi Valley High School is a secondary school located in Simi Valley, California which was established in 1920 as the first high school in the valley. It nestles in the Santa Susana Mountains and is adjacent to the San Fernando Valley, part of the city and county of Ventura. . Although Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. placed second nationally, it couldn't field a coach this year after husband-and-wife coaching team Ken and Sally Hibbitts retired. Now, with experience behind them and a veteran coach, Moorpark's scholars figure they've got the best chance at becoming Ventura County's newest champs. On Jan. 13, they and 15 other teams wrote essays, delivered speeches and endured personal interviews in the first round of 10 events. Now they are focused on the remaining events, including the Super Quiz, the only public portion of the decathlon, which will be held Feb. 3 at Oxnard High School Oxnard High School, or OHS as it is commonly referred to, is a public four-year high school serving grades 9-12 in Oxnard, California. The school is the oldest in the Oxnard Union High School District, and is the oldest public high school in all of Ventura County. . In preparation for the second round, the Moorpark team is spending countless hours after school and weekends memorizing immunology, number theories, economics, Boston Museum artwork, and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's ``Frankenstein.'' Moorpark coach Larry Jones Larry Jones is also the real name of Atlanta Braves player Chipper Jones. Walter "Larry" Jones (born September 22, 1942 in Columbus, Ohio) is a retired American basketball player. He played professionally in the NBA and ABA, from 1964 to 1974. said the team has a good chance of winning. ``The chemistry of the team is terrific,'' Jones said. ``It's really a competitive group.'' The winning local team will advance to the state championship, to be held March 16-18 in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . The state winner will then compete for the national title April 17-22 in Anchorage, Alaska. Of the schools competing in the local contest, five have secondary teams: Channel Islands, Oak Park, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Santa Susana High schools. Peter Huybers, the coach at Santa Susana High in Simi Valley, said that he is hoping one of the campus' two teams will place in the top three. It finished sixth last year, its highest ranking ever. ``Ventura County is the best county in the nation for the Academic Decathlon,'' Huybers said. ``We are an example for California and the nation of how to do it.'' |
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