February 20, 2026

The 2026 Stanislaus County Academic Decathlon wrapped up its final competition with the Super Quiz and Awards Presentation on February 7 at Johansen High School gymnasium at 641 Norseman Drive, Modesto—the theme: The Roaring Twenties.

After the grueling competition, Hughson High School finished second only to Oakdale High School, with an impressive score of 39,068.5, just 120.5 points short of qualifying for the state competition.

“I'm very proud of my students and what they accomplished,” Hughson’s Academic Decathlon Coach Paul Michaelis said. “Each year, I seem to have a great group of HHS students who work hard and have fun. We always have great results, but this year the students put a little more effort in, and we had a result that is one of our best ever.”

The team included Honors - Elizabeth Becchetti, Nicolaus Herrera Katz, Shane Lockwood; Scholastic - Frances Akers, Silah Leazer, Anneliese Ramirez; Varsity - Braden Ballard, Alessandra Lazaro, Jillian Wade; and Alternates - Rose Devlin, & Alexander Jimenez Andrade.

In the 12 years Michaelis has coached the team, he has seen them finish third once, second nine times, and first place twice. One of those years, the team won the county and were the California medium-sized-school State Champions and the medium-sized-school National Champions.

Michaelis outlined their preparation. To prepare, students begin reading and studying over the summer before the school year in which they will compete. As the school year progresses, they spend time studying art, economics, literature, mathematics, music, science, and social science. In addition, they prepare to write an original essay, deliver both an impromptu and a prepared speech, and be interviewed. They take practice tests, give presentations, and have occasional Saturday meetings to help prepare.

It takes time to master the subjects. “It takes a lot of persistence and effort,” Michaelis said. And the work pays off. “Working together day in and day out really builds a team spirit every year. By the competition, the team has become like family. They support and encourage each other.”

Although the main competition is in February, the teams composed the scoring essay in January. Out of three prompts, one each from literature, science, and social science, students had 50 minutes to write a complete essay addressing the prompt they selected just before beginning to write without access to any reference materials.

About two weeks later, the teams gave their speeches and interviews. They practiced delivering a four-minute prepared speech and a two-minute impromptu speech on a surprise topic. Lastly, they were the subject of a 7- to 10-minute interview conducted by adult volunteers. 

On the day of the big competition, Hughson students, along with eleven other high schools, began at 8 a.m., taking seven 30-minute tests with 50 questions each and finished at a little after noon.  After a break for lunch, they competed in the Super Quiz.

The Super Quiz is the only portion of the competition open to the public. Each school sent three members to compete in each of the seven objective tests. The team sits, confers, and gives their answer. After 14 questions, a different group of three takes the hot seats, and then a third round begins. Fast-paced and exciting, each answer was followed by cheers from the crowd. Hughson took second place in the Super Quiz.

Thirty minutes later, the competition results were announced. Hughson came home with 50 medals. Shane Lockwood (7353.7) was one of only six competitors in the county to score over 7000 points and reach bronze competitor status. Izzy Becchetti had the highest score in the county and was the only decathlete in the county to score over 8000 (8113.9) to reach silver competitor status.

The Academic Decathlon is co-sponsored by the Stanislaus County Office of Education, E. & J. Gallo Winery, and Mocse Credit Union.