Klein Forest High School
| Klein Forest High School | |
 | |
| School Founded | 1979 |
| Team Established | 1984 |
| History | |
| City | Houston, Texas |
| Team Colors | Green and Gold |
| Principal | Lance Alexander |
| Head Coach | Timothy Chun (2021 - Present) Wanda Savage (1990s) |
| Associate/Other Head Coach(es) | Judith Dano (2023 - 2024) Yujin Seo (2022 - 2023) Shridevi Kotta (? - 2021) Anne Watson (2000s) Elyse Rothfeld (1997 - 2011) |
| National Championships | None |
| State Championships | None |
| Regional/County Championships | At Least One (1985) |
| Region/County Location | Region VI (Northwest Houston) |
| Highest Finish | 4th Overall at State State/Texas/1984 |
| School Website | https://kleinforest.kleinisd.net/ |
Team History
Late 1980s: Pre-Savage Era
As the site of the State/Texas/1987 competition, Klein Forest High School was the location of Texas Academic Decathlon history after John Foster Dulles High School won the state championship with the smallest margin of victory in the history of the Texas Academic Decathlon state finals.
1990s: Savage Era
Under the coaching of Wanda Savage and with Elyse Rothfeld as her assistant coach, the Klein Forest High School team had achieved its highest team score (41,080, State/Texas/1995) and team placement (23rd Overall, State/Texas/1993) at the state level. The Klein Forest team qualified to the state level from 1993 to approximately 1997 during this period.
Notable scorers include Calvin Christopher (Honors), who individually placed 14th at State/Texas/1995 with a score of 8,158 and a Gold Medal in Interview; Seta Nataraj (Scholastic), who individually placed 10th at State/Texas/1993 with a score of 7,563 and a Bronze Medal in Literature; and an unnamed member (Varsity), who individually placed 7th at State/Texas/1993 with a score of 7,168.
2000s: Post-Savage Era
In 2001, the Klein Forest team had achieved what would be its last known state qualification until 2023. In the State/Texas/2001 competition, the team placed 25th overall with a score of 35,765.
In 2003, the Houston Chronicle posted an article in commemoration of the Klein Forest team's performance in that year's regional competition (https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/article/Klein-Forest-Academic-Decathlon-team-shines-9764494). Corinne Taetz was the team captain in the 2002-2003 school year.
2010s: Thoughts and Prayers Era (Dark Ages)
Christopher Bartie (Varsity) received the only known medal (Silver in Interview) received by Klein Forest during this period in the Regionals/Texas/Region VI/2017 competition. Most notably, Darrion Nguyen (also known as Lab Shenanigans) competed on the Klein Forest team during this time.
2020s: Chunaisseonce (Chun + Seo + Renaissance Haha)
In 2021, Timothy Chun took over as the coach of the Klein Forest Academic Decathlon team. Although at this time, Klein Forest did not yet have an Academic Decathlon-specific class period, Mr. Chun was able to form a full team of 9 by the time of the Regional competition. However, given the lack of a class period, the team reported that it was difficult to meet and study. In light of this, the team found moderate success, with Andy Do (Scholastic) receiving a Bronze Medal in Math and Maya Lee (Scholastic) receiving a Silver Medal in Economics at the Regionals/2022 competition. At the 2022 Region II Octathlon competition, the team of 6 (3 Honors and 3 Scholastic members) continued this trend of moderate success. Vivian Nguyen (Scholastic) received a Bronze Medal in Essay and Silver Medal in Social Science, Jennifer Lim (Scholastic) received a Silver Medal in Science (through a score of 640 achieved through, in her own words, reading the entire Science Cram Kit for the first time on the bus ride to the venue), and A'Mya Gibson (Honors) was the team's highest scorer. After the competition, the rest of the team laughed at one member's score of 85.7/1000 in the Math examination.
In 2022, the Academic Decathlon program at Klein Forest High School was revitalized with the addition of an official class period under the coaching of Timothy Chun and Yujin Seo, with the much-appreciated assistance of Emily Righter. Returning member Andy Do was selected as the team's President and Chi Pham was selected as the Vice President. The team placed 2nd at the Klein ISD District Scrimmage during Round 1/2023, marking the school's highest placement in decades. At the team's annual pre-Regionals First Watch brunch, the members received shocking essay scores: members Ryan Nguyen and Alyssa Rodriguez achieved scores over 900, resulting in the team's screaming in joy. After Mr. Chun received the team's final score report right after the completion of SuperQuiz at the Regionals/Texas/Region VI/2023 competition, although with the final team placement scribbled over with a black marker, member Vivian Nguyen was able to uncover the team's placement ahead of the award ceremony by holding the paper through the ceiling light, in a moment inspired by Taraji P. Henson's performance in 2016 film Hidden Figures. This revealed the team's placement to be 2nd overall, causing the members to be in subsequent disbelief, especially causing Chi Pham to panic. At the award ceremony, it was confirmed that the team placed 2nd in the Large School division, achieving its highest placement in decades with 4/9 team members placing individually overall. The 2022-2023 team would then achieve the school's first state qualification in over two decades, advancing to the Frisco state competition based on Regionals/Texas/2023 scores. The team celebrated with some really good Mexican food.
At the State/Texas/2023 competition, the team placed 11th in Division II (Frisco) and 2nd in the SuperQuiz competition. Andy Do individually placed 3rd overall in the Scholastic category, including a Gold Medal in Art, Silver Medal in Essay, Gold Medal in Literature, and Silver Medal in Music. Additional medalists include Ryan Nguyen (Honors), the team's highest scorer who received a Gold Medal in Interview; Chi Pham (Honors), the team's second-highest scorer who received a Gold Medal/Perfect Score in Art and Bronze Medal in Literature; and Denisse Zamora (Varsity), the team's highest Varsity scorer who received Bronze Medals in Art and Essay. The team's time in Frisco included lots of Daiso gift shopping, making full use of their hotel's gym facility, members Denisse Zamora, Geraldine Cruz-Hernandez, and Alyssa Rodriguez utilizing a studying technique combining the treadmill and the Cram Kit (allow us to explain, one day), lots of Celsius energy drinks courtesy of Alyssa Rodriguez, a last minute Target haul, members Vivian Nguyen and Chi Pham exploring the hotel and accidentally partaking in a convention of sorts, Chi Pham running around the hotel strangely, members Chi Pham and Andy Do's specialized (in the vein of Adam Smith) and targeted sleeping schedule which included a shift system, pizza, studying in the hotel lobby, an all-nighter cramming the entirety of the Art Resource guide by Chi Pham, and hotel breakfast raids. After State/2023, the team was recognized by the Klein ISD Board of Trustees at the Recognition of Results ceremony for their performance at the state competition alongside Klein High School senior Fagun Shah.
In the spring of 2023, Klein Forest's Octathlon team, led by coach Yujin Seo, placed 1st in the District competition, 3rd in the Region II competition, and 6th statewide. Regional medalists include Elyse Do (Honors), who received a Bronze Medal in Essay; Michelle Arevalo (Varsity), who received a Bronze Medal in Essay; Derek Vo (Varsity), who received a Silver Medal in Science and Bronze Medal in Math; Brian Tran (Varsity), who received a Bronze Medal in Literature; and Santiago Estrada (Varsity), who received a Bronze Medal in Music.
Rosters
Academic Decathlon
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chi Pham (Team Captain) Julieta Chagoya Ahad Rahman A'Mya Gibson Carlos Paredes S3 Hillary Than-Trong Michelle Arevalo Emily Aranas |
Shakira Truong Chi Pham Ryan Nguyen Andy Do (Team Captain) Vivian Nguyen Ryan Bautista Denisse Zamora Geraldine Cruz-Hernandez Alyssa Rodriguez |
Lambert Le Matthew Nguyen Ashley Velasquez Andy Do Maya Lee Nhu Lam Nathan Naval Mikhail Yusri Jo Hernandez |
Tiffany Nguyen Nikita Villegas Danny Tran Christian Guevara Kristina Pham Krigina Pham Matthew Huynh Julia Medrano V3 |
Tiffany Nguyen H2 H3 S1 S2 S3 V1 V2 V3 |
H1 H2 H3 S1 S2 S3 V1 V2 V3 |
| 2018 | 2017 | 2003 | 2001 | 1998 | 1997 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kristen Shotton Xochitl Haney H3 Annalee Noble Henry Fuentes S3 Wilson Gomez Yisel Castro V3 |
Rosangela Martinez Itzel Garcia H3 Marissa Garcia S2 S3 Wilson Gomez Madeleine Diaz Christopher Bartie |
Corinne Taetz (Team Captain) Natalie Welscher Allison Rader Tommy Nguyen Pat Kuiper Alexandra Bullard Matt Clough Bart Kercheval Desiree Pesina |
Antoinette Nguyen Samir Patel H3 David Jan Stanley Palmer Neil Golke Jason Connelley V2 V3 |
Cameron Cooper Stephen Tsui Jason Kercheval Kevin Ruggerio Sara Rovang Huey Le Farhan Sharta Zecca Quadre Chris Wheeler Jon Garner Marguerite Preston |
Stephen Caulfield Cassie Wibbenmeyer |
| 1996 | 1995 | 1993 |
|---|---|---|
| John Kretlow Jim Kretlow Andy Glass Jay Mangrium Michelle Zeringue Amartya Dutta Mat Watson Shanthi Nataraj Allison May Eric Christ |
Calvin Christopher Kristina Spakovsky Tommy Tran Michael Zeringue Andy Glass Edward Stangler Chris Chou Mike Moocher |
Judy Yu Seta Naraj H3 Cali Tran S2 S3 Jason Connelley V2 V3 |
- 1998, 1996: These members participated in the Round 1 competition, but it is unsure which members were selected for the Regional and State teams.
- 1997: We do not currently have official records, but these are two known participants.
- Placeholders denote unknown student names or simply a deficiency of a member in that category.
- Additional members: Tram Nguyen (Class of 2013), - Burge (H1, Class of 2005, First Name Unknown), Zhen Quen (Kenny) Ng (H1, Team Captain, Class of 2010), Jerry Vettemthadathil (H2, Vice President, Class of 2010), William Fletcher Thorne (H3, Class of 2010)
2023
| Student | Category | Grade | Round 1 | Regionals | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shakira Truong | A | 11 | 4,411.4 | 6,450.6 | DNC |
| Chi Pham | A | 11 | 4,202.9 | 6,750.4 | 7,462.9 |
| Ryan Nguyen | A | 12 | 3,602.9 | - | 7,741.1 |
| Andy Do | B | 12 | 4,071.4 | 5,886.8 | 6,553.9 |
| Vivian Nguyen | B | 11 | 3,377.1 | 5,652.6 | 5,036.8 |
| Ryan Bautista | B | 12 | 3,168.6 | 4,366.9 | 5,090.0 |
| Denisse Zamora | C | 12 | 2,948.6 | 5,649.6 | 5,532.5 |
| Geraldine Cruz-Hernandez | C | 12 | 2,588.6 | 4,158.6 | 5,260.4 |
| Alyssa Rodriguez | C | 12 | 2,037.1 | 4,820.3 | 5,166.1 |
| Team | 21,600.0 | 35,210.2 | 37,640 |
2024
| Student | Category | Grade | Irving Invitational | Round 1 | Regionals | State (USADIC Round III) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chi Pham | A | 12 | 4,725.7 | 4,817.1 | 7,664.3 | 5,554.3 / 7000 |
| Julieta Chagoya | A | 11 | - | - | - | DNQ |
| Ahad Rahman | A | 10 | - | - | - | DNQ |
| A'mya Gibson | B | 12 | - | - | - | DNQ |
| Carlos Paredes | B | 11 | - | - | - | DNQ |
| - | B | - | - | - | - | - |
| Vivian Nguyen | C | 12 | 4,042.9 | 4,017.1 | DNC | DNQ |
| Hillary ThanTrong | C | 11 | - | - | - | DNQ |
| Michelle Arevalo | C | 11 | - | - | - | DNQ |
| Emily Aranas | C | 10 | - | - | - | DNQ |
| Team | - | 19,488.5 | - | DNQ |
Academic Octathlon
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| - - - - - - - - - |
A Elyse Do Viet-Anh Dang Deesean Palmer Hermilo Osorio Leon Rodriguez Maxine Barrera Derek Vo Brian Tran Roberto Pocasangre B Julieta Chagoya Emily Vo Hayley Tu Mai Nicole Sisson Bao Nguyen Debbie Hoang Sara Setha Michelle Arevalo Santiago Estrada |
A'Mya Gibson Lauren Garcia Mia Raynor Jennifer Lim Vivian Nguyen Elsa Vuong Karol Banegas - - |
Medal Wall
National Medals
| Year | Rank | Grade | Bracket | Decathlete | Score | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2 | 12 | Honors | Chi Pham | 963.6 | Art |
| 2024 | 3 | 12 | Honors | Chi Pham | 920 | Social Science |
State Medals
| Year | Rank | Grade | Bracket | Decathlete | Score | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 2 | - | Honors | Judy Yu | 980 | Speech |
| 1993 | 3 | - | Scholastic | Cali Tran | 920 | Speech |
| 1993 | 3 | - | Varsity | Jason Connelly | 950 | Speech |
| 1993 | 3 | 12 | Scholastic | Seta Nataraj | 760 | Literature |
| 1995 | 1 | - | Honors | Calvin Christopher | 990 | Interview |
| 1995 | 3 | 12 | Honors | Kristina Spakovsky | 920 | Science |
| 1995 | 3 | 12 | Honors | Kristina Spakovsky | 940 | SuperQuiz |
| 1995 | 3 | 12 | Scholastic | Michael Zeringue | 900 | Science |
| 2001 | 1 | - | Honors | Antoinette Nguyen | 975 | Essay |
| 2001 | 3 | - | Varsity | David Jan | 925 | Essay |
| 2001 | 2 | 12 | Honors | Niel Golke | 997 | Speech |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | Honors | Ryan Nguyen | 975 | Interview |
| 2023 | 1 | 11 | Honors | Chi Pham | 1,000 | Art |
| 2023 | 3 | 11 | Honors | Chi Pham | 880 | Literature |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | Scholastic | Andy Do | 860 | Art |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | Scholastic | Andy Do | 860 | Literature |
| 2023 | 2 | 12 | Scholastic | Andy Do | 887.5 | Essay |
| 2023 | 2 | 12 | Scholastic | Andy Do | 720 | Music |
| 2023 | 3 | 12 | Scholastic | Andy Do | 6,553.9 | Overall |
| 2023 | 3 | 12 | Varsity | Denisse Zamora | 740 | Art |
| 2023 | 3 | 12 | Varsity | Denisse Zamora | 887.5 | Essay |
Regional Medals
| Year | Rank | Grade | Bracket | Decathlete | Score | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3 | - | Honors | Keith Rozendal | - | Economics |
| 1990 | 3 | - | Honors | Hoang Tran | - | Interview |
| 1990 | 1 | - | Varsity | Di Gazdar | - | Interview |
| 1990 | 1 | - | Varsity | Di Gazdar | - | Speech |
| 1990 | 2 | - | Varsity | Di Gazdar | - | Essay |
| 1990 | 3 | - | Varsity | Di Gazdar | - | Literature |
| 1990 | 1 | - | Varsity | Di Gazdar | - | Overall |
| 1990 | 2 | - | Varsity | Jessica Trevino | - | Science |
| 2003 | 1 | - | Honors | Natalie Welscher | - | Literature |
| 2003 | - | 12 | Honors | Corinne Taetz | - | Literature |
| 2003 | - | 12 | Honors | Corinne Taetz | - | Music |
| 2003 | 1 | - | Scholastic | Tommy Nguyen | - | SuperQuiz |
| 2003 | - | - | Scholastic | Tommy Nguyen | - | Literature |
| 2003 | - | - | Scholastic | Pat Kuiper | - | Art |
| 2003 | - | - | Scholastic | Pat Kuiper | - | Literature |
| 2003 | - | - | Varsity | Matt Clough | - | Interview |
| 2003 | - | - | Varsity | Matt Clough | - | Social Science |
| 2003 | - | - | Varsity | Matt Clough | - | Music |
| 2003 | - | - | Varsity | Matt Clough | - | SuperQuiz |
| 2003 | 3 | - | Varsity | Matt Clough | - | Overall |
| 2003 | 1 | - | Varsity | Bart Kercheval | - | Interview |
| 2003 | 1 | - | Varsity | Bart Kercheval | - | SuperQuiz |
| 2003 | 4 | - | Varsity | Bart Kercheval | - | Overall |
| 2003 | - | - | Varsity | Bart Kercheval | - | Math |
| 2003 | - | - | Varsity | Bart Kercheval | - | Social Science |
| 2003 | - | - | Varsity | Bart Kercheval | - | Economics |
| 2008 | 3 | - | Honors | Joel Macaluso | - | Overall |
| 2008 | 4 | - | Scholastic | Reed Crossley | - | Overall |
| 2017 | 2 | - | Varsity | Christopher Bartie | 960 | Interview |
| 2022 | 3 | 12 | Scholastic | Maya Lee | 400 | Economics |
| 2022 | 2 | 11 | Scholastic | Andy Do | 314.3 | Math |
| 2022 | 2 | 10 | Scholastic | Jennifer Lim | 620 | Science^ |
| 2022 | 2 | 10 | Scholastic | Vivian Nguyen | 540 | Social Science^ |
| 2022 | 3 | 10 | Scholastic | Vivian Nguyen | 877 | Essay^ |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | Honors | Ryan Nguyen | 987.5 | Essay |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | Honors | Ryan Nguyen | 800 | Social Science |
| 2023 | 2 | 11 | Honors | Shakira Truong | 800 | Art |
| 2023 | 2 | 11 | Honors | Shakira Truong | 720 | Science |
| 2023 | 3 | 11 | Honors | Shakira Truong | 660 | Music |
| 2023 | 2 | 11 | Honors | Chi Pham | 887.5 | Essay |
| 2023 | 2 | 11 | Honors | Chi Pham | 760 | Literature |
| 2023 | 2 | 11 | Honors | Chi Pham | 760 | Music |
| 2023 | 3 | 11 | Honors | Chi Pham | 740 | Art |
| 2023 | 3 | 11 | Honors | Chi Pham | 6,750.4 | Overall |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | Scholastic | Andy Do | 800 | Art |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | Scholastic | Andy Do | 680 | Literature |
| 2023 | 2 | 12 | Scholastic | Andy Do | 540 | Economics |
| 2023 | 2 | 12 | Scholastic | Andy Do | 580 | Music |
| 2023 | 2 | 12 | Scholastic | Andy Do | 580 | Social Science |
| 2023 | 2 | 12 | Scholastic | Andy Do | 5,886.8 | Overall |
| 2023 | 1 | 11 | Scholastic | Vivian Nguyen | 600 | Social Science |
| 2023 | 1 | 11 | Scholastic | Vivian Nguyen | 600 | Music |
| 2023 | 1 | 11 | Scholastic | Vivian Nguyen | 514.3 | Math |
| 2023 | 2 | 11 | Scholastic | Vivian Nguyen | 540 | Economics |
| 2023 | 3 | 11 | Scholastic | Vivian Nguyen | 580 | Science |
| 2023 | 4 | 11 | Scholastic | Vivian Nguyen | 5,652.6 | Overall |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | Varsity | Denisse Zamora | 800 | Art |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | Varsity | Denisse Zamora | 620 | Literature |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | Varsity | Denisse Zamora | 740 | Social Science |
| 2023 | 2 | 12 | Varsity | Denisse Zamora | 440 | Economics |
| 2023 | 4 | 12 | Varsity | Denisse Zamora | 5,649.6 | Overall |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | Varsity | Geraldine Cruz-Hernandez | 540 | Science |
| 2023 | 2 | 12 | Varsity | Alyssa Rodriguez | 925 | Essay |
| 2023 | 3 | 10 | Honors | Elyse Do | 950 | Essay^ |
| 2023 | 3 | 10 | Varsity | Michelle Arevalo | 850 | Essay^ |
| 2023 | 2 | 10 | Varsity | Derek Vo | 520 | Science^ |
| 2023 | 3 | 10 | Varsity | Derek Vo | 685.7 | Math^ |
| 2023 | 3 | 10 | Varsity | Brian Tran | 400 | Literature^ |
| 2023 | 3 | 10 | Varsity | Santiago Estrada | 380 | Music^ |
| 2024 | 1 | 12 | Honors | Chi Pham | 880 | Art |
| 2024 | 1 | 12 | Honors | Chi Pham | 820 | Social Science |
| 2024 | 1 | 12 | Honors | Chi Pham | 720 | Science |
| 2024 | 1 | 12 | Honors | Chi Pham | 680 | Music |
| 2024 | 1 | 12 | Honors | Chi Pham | 580 | Economics |
| 2024 | 2 | 12 | Honors | Chi Pham | 640 | Literature |
| 2024 | 3 | 12 | Honors | Chi Pham | 950 | Essay |
| 2024 | 1 | 12 | Honors | Chi Pham | 7,664.3 | Overall |
| 2024 | 3 | 10 | Honors | Ahad Rahman | 680 | Social Science |
| 2024 | 1 | 11 | Scholastic | Carlos Paredes | 973.3 | Speech |
| 2024 | 3 | 11 | Scholastic | Carlos Paredes | 930 | Interview |
| 2024 | 2 | 11 | Varsity | Hillary Thantrong | 440 | Literature |
| 2024 | 3 | 11 | Varsity | Hillary Thantrong | 400 | Social Science |
- ^ denotes a regional Octathlon medal
- ^^ denotes a USADIC Online medal
- State medals from before 2000 are largely unknown
- Regional medals from before 2020 are virtually unknown, with some exceptions as some years' award ceremonies were reported by the Houston Chronicle
