CUPID TOUCHES YOUNG, OLD; TEENS FIND ANSWER TO ROMANCE ON ACADEMIC DECATHLON TEAM.Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer For months, Nick Lange and Shaun Berry tried to keep their budding romance a secret from their coaches on the top-ranked 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. teams at 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] . They were treading on unchartered territory since no team in recent memory had ever had a couple start dating. They'd agreed not to tell 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. , not really knowing how he'd react. But they soon found out that they weren't fooling anyone. ``I was talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to Mr. Jones about Nick one afternoon, and we were saying what a great guy he was,'' Shaun said. ``Jones turned to me and said, `Yeah and he has great taste, too.' And he winked at me. I knew then that he already knew about us.'' The 17-year-olds said they have been dating officially since October. They were brought together by a shared interest in the Academic Decathlon team, and they fell for each other over long study sessions after school and group dates with other team members. The two said they both had crushes on each other almost from the beginning, when they met at a team orientation meeting in May 1998. ``It wasn't love at first sight,'' says Shaun, smiling up at her boyfriend. ``But it was love at first handshake, that's for sure.'' Shaun, a junior then, was new to the school and was recruited for the school's B team by the Academic Decathlon coaches, who saw potential in her school transcripts. Nick, who also is now a senior, was set to be the team captain of the championship A team, which recently won a spot in the statewide competition. It wasn't until they and a few friends on the Academic Decathlon team took a trip to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, also known as LACMA, is the official and world-renowned art museum of the County of Los Angeles, California, located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. that things really clicked. ``I strategically ended up in Nick's car,'' Shaun said. ``We exchanged glances across the room. It's such a cliche, puppy-love story.'' ``It was all very casual,'' Nick said, gently nudging Shaun's shoe with his. ``I still haven't gotten down on my knee and asked her to go out with me. It was more like, Are we a thing?'' The Academic Decathlon competitions are famous for the long hours teams spend studying and memorizing facts for the 10 rigorous tests they encounter. Many times students say their teammates are often their only shot at a social life. As for the future, the two said they were going to take it as it comes as they both prepare to go on to college. Nick will attend California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts known as CalArts U.S. private institution of higher learning in Valencia. Created in 1961 through the merger of two other art institutes, it was the first in the U.S. or DePaul University in Chicago. And Shaun will go either to New York University New York University, mainly in New York City; coeducational; chartered 1831, opened 1832 as the Univ. of the City of New York, renamed 1896. It comprises 13 schools and colleges, maintaining 4 main centers (including the Medical Center) in the city, as well as the or Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College, at Bronxville, N.Y.; primarily for women; chartered 1926, opened 1928 as Sarah Lawrence College for Women; renamed 1947. It is noted for its creative arts program. in Bronxville, N.Y. ``We won't even be in the same area,'' Nick said. ``But I think that'll be healthy.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) Nick Lang, left, and Shaun Berry were brought together by a shared interest in the Moorpark team. Michael Owen Baker/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion