LOS ANGELES : Taft High Again Wins Local Academic Decathlon

For the second consecutive year, a team from Taft High School in Woodland Hills has captured top honors in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s academic decathlon, winning the right to defend the school’s California title in the state tournament next spring.

According to results announced Tuesday at a tension-wracked awards banquet in Downtown Los Angeles, the nine-student squad from Taft ran up the highest point total in the 13-year history of the citywide contest.

The Taft team also shared first place with Marshall High School in the Super Quiz, the game-show-like portion of the decathlon played before screaming parents and school officials. In eight of the nine subjects, Taft received the highest collective score of any school.

Tuesday’s victory also marked the comeback of Taft coach Arthur Berchin, an English teacher who coached the team from 1985 to 1989 and won the prestigious national championship in his final year. Last April his successor, Michael Wilson, led Taft to a second-place showing in the U.S. Academic Decathlon but took a leave of absence, paving the way for Berchin to return to the helm.