CRAMMING FOR THE BIG EXAM ACADEMIC DECATHLON TEAMS PREP FOR COMPETITION.

Byline: David R. Baker Staff Writer

Hot, anxious and itching to compete, the members of El Camino Real High School's Academic Decathlon team gathered in a stuffy classroom Wednesday for one last afternoon of cramming before the start of the statewide contest.

Never mind the unseasonably high temperatures, the lack of air conditioning or the fact that all nine students on the team already had spent months prepping for this brutal academic competition, which begins Friday morning. As other students fled campus Wednesday afternoon with the closing bell, the decathlon team stayed behind to study music, economics and art. Again.

``You find out what you really can do,'' said senior Sean Rostami, munching a crust of bread as he padded around the classroom's linoleum floor in bare feet. After all the preparation, he was ready for the decathlon to start.

``We know all the information,'' he said. ``It's just a question of the actual testing.''

The scene was repeated Wednesday in a handful of high schools throughout the area as teams readied for the California Academic Decathlon, staged this year at three locations in West Los Angeles. The three-day event pits teams from throughout the state against each other in contests designed to probe their in-depth knowledge of many topics.

Most of the teams to beat this year come from Southern California. Last year's national champion, Moorpark High School from Ventura County, will be there. So will Simi Valley High, which scored higher than Moorpark this year in the county competition.

Bishop Alemany High School, a private school from Mission Hills, will make its fourth consecutive appearance at the state competition. And El Camino's students will try to follow the lead of their predecessors, who took the state title three of the last four years and won the national title in 1998.

``You know it's going to be hard,'' El Camino coach Melinda Owen said. ``Every team has their own sharp stick driving them.''

Alemany students started the day with some chaos theory, then moved on to a trial run of the ``Super Quiz,'' a portion of the decathlon that is structured like a game show.

Unlike sports teams, who can watch each other play, decathlon teams must study and practice without seeing much of their competition. The preparation, therefore, requires both discipline and an ability to beat one's own standards, said Alemany coach Janie Prucha.

``Since we don't really know what we're up against, we set goals against ourselves,'' she said. ``If they can be competitive with each other, they can be competitive with anyone.''

The Burbank High School team has been working so hard that three members came down with colds this week, said senior Andrew Chon, president of the Academic Decathlon Club.

``We're getting sick because we're nervous,'' said Chon.

Despite butterfly stomachs, the team is better prepared and closer than ever, Chon said. The team, which calls itself ``The XNTRX'' or eccentrics, has spent the last month making sure that each team member works on his or her weak spots.

``Before, we were close friends,'' Chon said. ``Now, we're more like family.''

Despite the pressure, veteran decathletes say they won't wear out before the contest's start.

``There isn't even a question of burning out,'' said Alemany junior Drew Cowens, who went to the state competition last year. ``You're just so excited to get there.''

- Staff Writer Jennifer Hamm contributed to this article.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Members of the Alemany High School Academic Decathlon team receive flowers from student body president Joe Olesh during a pep rally in anticipation of the state championships this weekend.

(2) Getting into studying includes getting comfortable for El Camino team member Kyle Wilding, 17.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer