LCWM Academic Decathlon Team Makes History at Nationals
By: Billy James
Facing tough competition from across the United States, the LCWM Academic Decathlon team scored 27,803.0 points to finish 8th in division five at the United States Academic Decathlon national competition in Des Moines, Iowa. A total of 71 teams competed in five divisions based upon each team’s state score. El Camino Real Charter School from California was the overall champion of the competition.
This year’s national competition marks LCWM’s most successful in school history. Four students earned a total of five individual medals at the competition. Lauryn Hellekson earned a bronze national medal in speech. Nason Krzmarzick earned a silver national medal in science. Morgan Klinkner earned a gold national championship medal in speech. Abigail Buffington earned two nationals medals, a bronze national medal in interview and a gold national championship medal in speech. These medals mark LCWM’s 14th – 18th national Academic Decathlon medals over the program’s history. Past national medal winners are Kiera Fredericksen with a bronze speech medal at the 2002 national competition in Phoenix, Arizona; Michael Coates with a bronze interview medal at the 2013 national competition in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Leah Jones with a bronze interview medal, Mason Jones with a silver interview medal, and Michael Coates with a silver economics medal at the 2014 national competition in Honolulu, Hawaii; Brady Swanson with silver medals in economics and science and Jake Ebargary with a silver medal in math at the 2017 national online competition, Grady Wolters with a bronze interview medal, Jake Ebargary with a gold interview medal, and Samuel Germscheid with a gold speech medal at the 2018 national competition in Frisco, Texas; and Christian Fells with a gold math medal and Gabe Kietzer with a gold interview medal at the 2023 national competition in Frisco, Texas.
Karl Schwartz was Minnesota’s Highest Scoring Student with a score of 5,415.7 points. He earned a $250 scholarship. Karl was also voted as the team MVP and earned an additional $250 scholarship as well as an MVP gold medal.
Members of the LCWM team are:
Honors: Morgan Klinkner, Jasmine Fleming, and Karl Schwartz;
Scholastic: Lauryn Hellekson, Jacob Nelson, and Nason Krzmarzick;
Varsity: Abigail Buffington, Owen Cooper, and Reese Anderson.
Team coach is Billy James.
This nationals trip to Des Moines, Iowa, contained so many memorable moments. On Tuesday, April 29, the team traveled to Des Moines. On Wednesday, April 30, the team traveled to Boone, Iowa, to participate in a Railway Excursions tour where the team took pedal cars out into the wilderness to cross a high trestle and the Des Moines River. On Thursday, May 1, the team went through registration as well as a welcome activity involving all teams and the United States Academic Decathlon Board of Directors. The speech competition was then held on Thursday afternoon and evening.
Friday, May 2, saw a full day of competition. The students took written tests in science, economics, math, social science, and music. Friday afternoon saw the teams take part in the Super Quiz Relay, an event where all students (in groups of three) answered 18 questions orally on stage. The event began with a parade of flags, and Owen Cooper was the Minnesota flag bearer.
On Saturday, May 3, the national awards banquet was held. Abigail Buffington was the Minnesota flag bearer during the parade of flags. LCWM’s big moments came during the interview, science, and speech awards when the four students earned their five national medals. After the awards banquet, the team traveled to Top Golf. The team then traveled home on Sunday, May 4. This nationals trip to Des Moines, Iowa, was a fantastic experience for everyone.
The team would like to thank Tracy Meadows, Karissa Hall, Sue Ehlers, Alex Keilen, and Brett Benson for their help in preparing the students for competition. The team would also like to thank the community for making this trip possible through its financial support.