Upper Lake High School's Academic Decathlon team, pictured here after their win at the county level on Saturday, February 7, 2009, placed sixth among small Division 3 schools at the 30th annual California Academic Decathlon, held in Sacramento March 13 to 16. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

UPPER LAKE – Upper Lake High School's academic decathletes put on a strong performance in the California Academic Decathlon over the weekend, with one student capturing 10 individual medals.

The team, led by former academic decathlete and first-year coach Anna Sabalone, placed sixth out of 20 teams in Division 3, the category for small schools, according to the final results released by state officials on Monday.

This year's topic was Latin America. The competition took place in Sacramento.

Upper Lake's team consisted of Kyle Coleman, Courtney Havrilla, Belarmino Garcia Jr. and alternate Sarah Barnes, honors category (grade point averages of 3.75 to 4.0); Marisa Feliciano-Garcia, Stephanie Tregea, Thonyoon Chao and alternate Hannah Johnson, scholastic (GPAs of 3.0 to 3.74); and Chae Carter, Ben Mullin, Megan Morgan and alternate Brenda Mendoza, varsity (GPAs of 2.99 and below). Sabalone is head coach, with Steve Harness acting as assistant coach.

The competition emphasizes teamwork. However, one Upper Lake student emerged as a star in the competition – Ben Mullin, who was among the county competition's most decorated individual academic decathletes.

Mullin was the highest scoring student in Division 3's varsity category, with a point total of 7,172.1. Overall, he was ranked 41^st amongst highest-scoring students. More than 500 students from 39 counties competed.

In addition to winning top honors for the division's varsity category, Mullin also placed first amongst Division 3 varsity students in the Super Quiz and social science; tied for first in interview and speech; and placed second in art, economics, essay, language and literature, and music.

Ben Mullin, pictured here in February, won 10 individual medals at the state Academic Decathlon competition, held March 13 through 16, 2009, in Sacramento. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

Mullin's teammate, Marisa Feliciano-Garcia, won second place in the Division 3 scholastic category for her performance in the interview.

The overall winner for all divisions was Ventura County's Moorpark High School, with 50,752.9 points.

Upper Lake scored 35,444.5 points in competition, up from the 34,736 points it scored to win the Lake County Academic Decathlon title in February, as Lake County News has reported.

Finishing ahead of Upper Lake in Division 3 were Acalanes High School, Contra Costa County, 37,879.9 points; Marysville High School, Yuba County, 36,087.8 points; Ponderosa High School, El Dorado County, 35,849 points; Summerville High School, Tuolumne County, 35,694.2 points; Davis High School, Yolo County, 35,523.9 points.

Overall, Upper Lake's team finished 46^th out of 60 teams in large, middle and small school divisions.

In the Super Quiz, Imperial County's Central Union High School placed first in Division 3 with 4,005 points. Upper Lake finished 12^th overall in the Super Quiz, with 3,340 points. Los Angeles Unified's El Camino High School topped all divisions in the Super Quiz with 5,650 points.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

{mos_sb_discuss:2}