Cedar Rapids Jefferson academic decathlon team finishes second in national competition

The Cedar Rapids Jefferson Academic Decathlon Team finished second in the very competitive Division II at the national competition last Saturday in Bloomington, Minn. This is the highest Jefferson has ever finished. They scored 45,435.6 out of a possible 60,000 points and finished ninth overall out of 68 domestic and international teams, earning 23 individual medals.

Caroline Winter earned a second place in Music and third place in Art, Economics, and Literature. She was the team's highest scoring student, scoring 8,553.6 out of a possible 10,000 points. Other top finishers include Chiara Affatigato, second place in Art; Emma Lassen, gold medal in Interview; Karlee Colby, first in Literature and second Art; Elizabeth Buchheim, third in Science; Daniel Daugherty, third in Science and Social Science; Logan Hannen, third places in Interview and Economics, second place in Social Science and gold medals in Science and Speech; Mackenzie Varo, third in Art and second in Literature; and Elias Etten, third in Social Science, second in Art and first in Music and Science.

Individually, Caroline Winter placed second overall in her division. Karlee Colby and Elias Etten placed third in their respective divisions.

The Jefferson decathlon team placed second in the oral Super Quiz on Friday, losing by one question.

The second place showing ties the highest placement Jefferson has had at the national competition. In addition, the 23 individual medals were also the most a Jefferson team has ever earned. Every Jefferson competitor earned a medal at nationals.

The Academic Decathlon is a 10-event scholastic competition for high school students. The curriculum theme for this year was 'The 1960s.”