April 21, 2025

Ross Middle School finished fourth Tuesday in the 20th annual Stanislaus County Academic Pentathlon. It wasn’t the outcome that the students, their coaches and supporters hoped for given Ross’ success in the event (five titles since 2018).

“I know the kids were disappointed, but no one had their heads down,” said Principal Mary La Rosa.

Two Ross students earned two gold medals each -- Dante Duran (Varsity division science, Varsity fine arts) and Juan Vasquez (Varsity social science, Varsity speech). The other Ross gold medalist was Sofia Mendoza (Honors speech), who received a perfect score for her speech and won a plaque as the top speaker in the county.

Other top finishers for Ross were Alina Garcia-Manzanero (second in Scholastic math, second in Scholastic social science, third in Scholastic essay/literature), Willow Leazer (second in Scholastic essay/literature, third in Scholastic speech, fourth in Scholastic science), Mikala Forks (third in Scholastic math), Nataliee Norman (fifth in Varsity math), Arianna Flores (fifth in Scholastic fine arts), Noah Garica (fifth in Honors fine arts), Duran (third in Varsity social science, fifth in Varsity math) and Vasquez (second in Varsity essay/literature, fourth in Varsity fine arts).

Garcia-Manzanero was recognized for earning the most points for Ross.

For the uninitiated, here is how the Academic Pentathlon works:

Seventh- and eighth-graders are broken up into three divisions – Varsity, Scholastic and Honors – based on their grade-point averages. Points and medals are awarded to the top five finishers in each subject area in each division.

The event tests students on math, fine arts, literature, science and social science. There are also speech and essay tests, plus the always exciting Super Quiz to wrap up the day at the Petersen Event Center at the Stanislaus County Office of Education in downtown Modesto.

The theme of this year’s competition was “Our Changing Climate” and questions in all the categories involved the causes and effects of climate change.

Among teams, Blaker Kinser of Ceres totaled 15,865.10 points to win, followed by La Loma of Modesto and Great Valley Academy of Modesto.

Ross was fourth, its lowest finish in the past eight competitions. Ross captured Academic Pentathlon titles in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024, and finished second in 2023. There was no event in 2020 during the pandemic.

“Every year is different,” La Rosa said. “These kids worked super-hard; they started months and months ago. Kudos to them for all their hard work and to Mrs. (Crystal) Case who is the coach, but gets help from other teachers.”

La Rosa said she was especially impressed with the teamwork of this year’s pentathletes.

“Out of all the teams I’ve seen in the past, this was the most supportive group for each other,” she said. “When one teammate got a top award, the others lost their minds. That’s good stuff. That really warms my heart.”