Liberty High School, located in Frisco, Texas, is a Medium-size school whose Academic Decathlon team has seen success since the school first opened its doors in Fall 2006. The team notably won Medium School State in 2009, third in all of Texas, and has continued fielding strong teams since.
Liberty High School is the third of six high schools in Frisco ISD, a district well-known for its solid Academic Decathlon teams. In 2006, the rapid growth of the city led to the emergency opening of Liberty High School in the new building that was originally meant to be Fowler Middle School. That year, Liberty welcomed many freshmen and sophomores who would previously have attended Centennial High School. By the start of the next school year in 2007, Liberty's intended building was finished, and the previous year's Academic Decathlon team was ready to prepare for a great performance at that year's competitions.
In the 2007 season, the team's first year of competition, they impressively managed to place second in Small School State competition with 37,522.7 points despite being composed solely of freshmen and sophomores. Nancy Yuan took first place in the Honors division with the school's first score over 8,000 points, fourth in the entire state regardless of size. Scholastic David Han also took first place in his bracket, and two other Decathletes placed in the top five individuals.
In 2008, four of the highest-scoring Decathletes from the previous year joined with five newcomers to take second place at Small School State once again, this time with 43,629.1 points. Five Decathletes placed in the top five of their respective brackets, three of whom scoring over eight thousand points: Honors Nancy Yuan and Michael Perusse as well as Scholastic David Han, whose performance earned him the current record overall score for a Liberty Scholastic. Nancy Yuan's score of 8,660.3 remained the highest score in the history of Liberty Academic Decathlon for six years.
The next year, the tight-knit team had eight returners and was ready for an even better performance at State than ever before. Despite nervousness about having been upgraded a size, the team went on to win first place at Medium School State with a score of 46,067.1, with a Decathlete from each bracket placing in the top five and all three Honors scoring over 8,000 points. Due to the school's astounding success in the third year of its existence, head coach Derek McDowell won Coach of the Year award in 2010. The team was also recognized, albeit unofficially, for having three members with the last name Yuan, only two of whom (Varsities Jonathan and Rachel) related. However, as two schools at Large School State scored higher, the team did not advance to Nationals.
With the first graduating class of Liberty passing, five of the top Decathletes left the team. With only three returners (Varsity Jonathan Yuan became a Scholastic and did not become part of the final team), the team placed sixth overall at Medium School State with 41,484.4 points. Varsity and four-year Decathlete Cody Haines placed as third overall in his bracket with 7,230.7 points, the current highest Varsity score in Liberty's history.
After an admittedly poor showing (by Liberty's standards) at 2011 Medium School State, placing eleventh with 39,327.2 points and a single returner, the 2012 season fared much better. Despite not finding two of the team's varsities until a mere two weeks before Regionals competition, they, four returners, and two other newcomers placed sixth at Medium School State with 41,404.9 points. Honors John Yan and Henry Zhang both put in the first State scores of over 8,000 since 2009, with John's 8,493.7 behind only Nancy Yuan's 2008 and 2009 scores.
At the end of the 2012 season, longtime head coach Derek McDowell was promoted to the position of the district head high school science coordinator and handed head coaching duties to Gary Loney. All four other assistant coaches except for Gary Mumford either moved schools or stepped down, leaving almost the entire coaching staff to be revamped. Then, midway through the 2013 season, Loney was offered an administration job in nearby McKinney ISD, leaving Mumford the new head coach. Despite the changes in leadership and having only two returners, Liberty went on to have its second most successful year to date (as per overall state rank), placing sixth overall at Medium School State with 42,089.3 points (without SuperQuiz). Scores over 8,000 were earned by Honors Sebastian Garza and also by Vik Shirvaikar, who placed fifth overall in the Honors division with a score of 8,557.9 as a sophomore. Vik's score was the third highest ever achieved by a Liberty Decathlete and also broke Liberty's record for the highest total objectives score.
Though six members of the 2013 team graduated, Liberty came back the next year to get their second-highest-ever Regionals score with 40,891.8 points. Honors Abel Sen and Vik Shirvaikar set new Regionals individual records with their scores of 8,607.2 and 8,582.4, respectively. At State, they increased to 42,683.7 points, sixth in Medium Schools and sixteenth in the state. Vik shattered the previous Liberty high score by over 300 points with his score of 8,966.4, and Abel notably earned a perfect score on the Economics test, beating out every other person in the state by eighty points.
The team is looking forward to continuing their success in the 2015 competition year.
Performance Chart
Year
Regionals Score
Regionals Rank
State Score
State Rank
Gap Closure
2007
33,450.4
67th overall, 2nd in Small
37,522.7
40th overall, 2nd in Small
15.34%
2008
40,239.3
30th overall, 2nd in Small
43,629.1
19th overall, 2nd in Small
17.15%
2009
42,956.7
10th overall, 1st in Medium
46,067.1
3rd overall, 1st in Medium
18.25%
2010
39,019.4
31st overall, 9th in Medium
41,484.4
21st overall, 6th in Medium
11.75%
2011
35,226.8
51st overall, 17th in Medium
39,327.2
33rd overall, 11th in Medium
16.55%
2012
38,578.3
32nd overall, 11th in Medium
41,404.9
21st overall, 9th in Medium
13.20%
2013
38,424.2
29th overall, 10th in Medium
42,089.3
15th overall, 6th in Medium
16.99%
2014
40,891.8
16th overall, 6th in Medium
42,683.7
16th overall, 6th in Medium
9.38%
2015
43,361.8
17th overall, 6th in Medium
45,039.4
13th overall, 3rd in Medium
10.08%
2016
41,198.4
38th overall, 10th in Medium
45,132.9
21st overall, 8th in Medium
20.92%
2017
37,636.6
53rd overall, 17th in Medium
37,297.1
49th overall, 16th in Medium
-1.52%
2018
37,967.1
71st overall, 21st in Medium
41,844.2
47th overall, 13th in Medium
17.60%
2019
34,871.8
85th overall, 29th in Medium
37,019.8
61st overall, 22nd in Medium
8.55%
2020
37,934.9
52nd overall, 13th in Medium
38,418.2
50th overall, 15th in Medium
2.19%
2021
40,182.2
N/A
39,653.5
33rd overall, 8th in Medium
-2.67%
2022
38,125.6
25th overall, 11th in Medium
41,399.0
20th overall, 10th in Medium
14.96%
2023
36,707.5
34th overall, 12th in Medium
38,803.3
31st overall, 9th in Medium
9.00%
2024
38,470.8
28th overall, 10th in Medium
39,768.2
28th overall, 9th in Medium
6.03%
State Ranks by Subject (All Sizes, with Ties & Counting Scores Only)
Year
Math
Music
Econ
Science
LangLit
Art
SocSci
Essay
Speech
Interview
Objs
Subs
Overall
2007
22
29
45
29
33
37
36
20
48
7
45
22
40
2008
11
16
27
16
19
18
21
26
37
8
21
19
19
2009
1
14
12
2
7
7
7
13
5
27
4
14
3
2010
7
30
12
18
27
18
26
23
44
23
21
24
21
2011
14
35
29
31
34
35
26
37
15
53
30
41
33
2012
14
35
18
9
36
16
27
23
35
4
24
13
21
2013
13
14
6
22
11
14
10
27
40
5
14
24
15
2014
15
19
10
12
26
17
15
9
15
16
17
8
16
2015
12
16
8
15
16
9
10
23
13
5
13
15
13
2016
24
22
23
31
28
21
19
5
17
10
29
4
21
2017
31
49
37
35
42
43
28
66
23
51
50
52
49
State Ranks by Subject (All Sizes, Superscored & No Ties)
Year
Math
Music
Econ
Science
LangLit
Art
SocSci
Essay
Speech
Interview
Objs
Subs
Overall
2007
27
44
63
22
52
60
46
19
33
12
48
14
41
2008
11
30
40
19
28
30
27
28
20
12
23
19
21
2009
1
10
14
3
9
7
8
19
5
13
5
9
3
2010
5
50
15
16
34
17
33
9
31
24
20
10
19
2011
20
43
36
34
44
47
34
38
41
40
35
42
34
2012
27
46
28
15
51
23
25
24
19
7
29
7
19
2013
15
19
12
24
15
18
17
29
23
3
15
23
15
2014
12
22
12
17
27
22
20
6
15
12
17
7
16
2015
15
13
7
21
18
10
12
11
4
7
13
4
11
2016
29
28
27
44
44
29
24
3
28
22
30
5
27
2017
46
70
56
46
62
55
34
51
36
72
53
55
56
State Ranks by Subject (Competition Size, Superscored & No Ties)
In the team's first year of competition, they impressively managed to place second in Small School State competition with 37,522.7 points despite being composed solely of freshmen and sophomores. Nancy Yuan took first place in the Honors division with the school's first score over 8,000 points, and her score continues to be the fifth top score every recorded by a Liberty Decathlete to this day. Scholastic David Han also took first place in his bracket, and two other Decathletes placed in the top five individuals.
Spot
Decathlete
Grade
Round 1
Regionals
Objs
Subs
Rank
State
Objs
Subs
Rank
Change
Gap Closure
H1
Danielle Matise
10
2,665
5,552.5
2,977.1
2,575.4
6,518.1
3,621.4
2,896.7
7
965.6
21.71%
H2
Andrew Hsu
10
3,200
6,343.7
3,851.4
2,492.3
2
6,786.0
4,044.3
2,741.7
5
442.3
12.10%
H3
Nancy Yuan
10
4,690
7,856.4
5,434.3
2,420.3
1
8,260.7
5,539.3
2,721.4
1
406.1
18.93%
S1
David Han
10
3,320
5,864.7
3,480.7
2,384.0
1
7,083.7
4,341.4
2,742.3
1
1,219.0
29.48%
S2
Andrea Calderon
10
2,080
5,187.1
2,907.1
2,280.0
5,372.1
3,132.1
2,240.0
17
185.0
3.84%
S3
Cody Haines
9
3,030
5,248.1
3,732.1
1,516.0
6,194.9
3,957.9
2,237.0
3
946.8
19.92%
V1
Seth Johnson
10
DNC
DNC
DNC
DNC
3,583.5
1,827.1
1,756.4
35
N/A
N/A
V2
Jeannie Nguyen
9
1,865
4,002.7
2,092.1
1,910.6
4,537.7
2,275.7
2,262.0
21
535.0
8.92%
V3
Marco Neumayr
10
1,930
4,136.6
2,468.6
1,668.0
4,659.7
2,764.3
1,895.4
18
523.1
8.92%
Team
9.78
18,035
33,450.4
21,059.2
13,310.3
1
37,522.7
22,922.9
14,778.1
2
4,072.3
15.34%
Major contenders for the team were Kristen Robinson (9, H), David Jacobs (9, H), Stacey Welsh (10, H), and Michael Perusse (9, S). Other contenders were Elizabeth Brown (9, H), Kristine Davis (10, H), James Park (10, H), Divya Kasety (9, H), Peony Lee (9, H), Cindy Vermeer (10, S), and Sam Beckett (10, V).
Varsity Adam Tabba (10) originally made the team but was unable to participate at Regionals, so Seth Johnson was a last-minute replacement.
In 2008, four of the highest-scoring Decathletes from the previous year joined with five newcomers to take second place at Small School State once again, this time with 43,629.1 points. Five Decathletes placed in the top five of their respective brackets, three of whom scoring over eight thousand points: Honors Nancy Yuan and Michael Perusse as well as Scholastic David Han, whose performance earned him the current record overall score for a Liberty Scholastic. Nancy Yuan's score of 8,660.3 remains the highest score ever recorded in the history of Liberty Academic Decathlon.
Spot
Decathlete
Grade
Round 1
Regionals
Objs
Subs
Rank
State
Objs
Subs
Rank
Change
Gap Closure
H1
Michael Perusse
10
5,176.4
7,662.3
5,260.7
2,401.6
3
8,123.7
5,470.0
2,653.7
3
461.4
19.74%
H2
Andrew Hsu
11
4,530.0
7,853.0
5,200.7
2,652.3
2
7,961.7
5,225.7
2,706.0
4
108.7
5.06%
H3
Nancy Yuan
11
5,164.3
8,322.4
5,860.7
2,461.7
1
8,660.3
6,045.0
2,615.3
1
337.9
20.14%
S1
Cody Haines
10
3,752.1
6,601.0
4,485.0
2,116.0
6,366.3
4,258.6
2,107.7
13
-234.7
-6.90%
S2
Justin Lazarow
11
3,740.0
6,074.1
4,031.4
2,042.7
7,366.6
4,978.6
2,388.0
3
1,292.5
32.92%
S3
David Han
11
4,367.1
7,258.3
4,948.6
2,309.7
1
8,061.9
5,442.9
2,619.0
1
803.6
29.31%
V1
Jonathan Yuan
10
2,342.1
4,268.6
2,843.6
1,425.0
5,311.7
3,300.0
2,011.7
16
1,043.1
18.20%
V2
Chereen Pasha
11
2,577.9
4,173.1
2,446.4
1,726.7
4,907.1
2,835.7
2,071.7
19
734.3
12.60%
V3
Rachel Yuan
11
3,232.1
5,936.0
3,694.3
2,241.7
6,104.9
3,707.9
2,397.0
8
168.9
4.16%
Team
10.67
24,269.9
40,239.3
27,092.9
13,508.1
1
43,629.1
28,944.4
14,835.4
2
3,389.8
17.15%
A major contender for the team was David Wu (10, H). Other contenders were James Park (11, H), David Jacobs (10, H), Enrique Benavides (10, H), Praveen Sevugan (10, H), Kishan Nayak (9, H), Ganesh Sanekammu (9, H), Sam Jin (10, H), Andrea Calderon (11, S), Marco Neumayr (11, S), Elizabeth Brown (10, S), Bethany Packham (10, S), Kuniko Velez (10, S), Saad Nabeel (11, S), and Jeannie Nguyen (10, V).
In the team's third year, the tight-knit team had eight returners and was ready for an even better performance at State than ever before. Despite nervousness about having been upgraded a size, the team went on to win first place at Medium School State with a score of 46,067.1, with a Decathlete from each bracket placing in the top five and all three Honors scoring over 8,000 points. Due to the school's astounding success in the third year of its existence, head coach Derek McDowell won Coach of the Year award in 2010. The team was also recognized, albeit unofficially, for having three members with the last name Yuan, only two of whom (Varsities Jonathan and Rachel) related. However, as two schools at Large School State scored higher, the team did not advance to Nationals.
Spot
Decathlete
Grade
Round 1
Regionals
Objs
Subs
Rank
State
Objs
Subs
Rank
Change
Gap Closure
H1
Michael Perusse
11
5,559.3
7,784.6
5,648.6
2,136.0
3
8,220.1
5,756.4
2,463.7
7
435.5
19.66%
H2
Andrew Hsu
12
5,105.7
7,820.9
5,252.9
2,568.0
2
8,128.9
5,428.6
2,700.3
10
308.0
14.13%
H3
Nancy Yuan
12
5,911.4
8,450.8
5,857.1
2,593.7
1
8,562.0
5,994.3
2,567.7
2
111.2
7.18%
S1
Michael Bostock
11
3,978.6
6,459.3
3,965.0
2,494.3
9
7,175.2
4,417.9
2,757.3
13
715.9
20.22%
S2
Justin Lazarow
12
4,333.6
7,213.0
4,723.6
2,489.4
3
7,728.7
5,129.3
2,599.4
5
515.7
18.50%
S3
David Han
12
5,138.6
7,290.8
5,161.4
2,129.4
2
7,935.1
5,431.4
2,503.7
3
644.3
23.78%
V1
Jonathan Yuan
11
2,968.6
4,822.2
3,102.9
1,719.3
15
5,504.3
3,457.9
2,046.4
42
682.1
13.17%
V2
Rachel Yuan
12
3,737.9
5,830.0
3,730.0
2,100.0
7
6,917.9
4,157.9
2,760.0
5
1,087.9
26.09%
V3
Cody Haines
11
4,739.3
6,351.2
4,112.9
2,238.3
3
6,703.3
4,395.0
2,308.6
7
352.1
9.65%
Team
11.56
29,420.1
42,956.7
29,233.6
14,483.7
1
46,067.1
30,864.3
15,693.3
1
3,110.4
18.25%
A major contender for the team was Jeannie Nguyen (11, V). Other contenders were David Wu (11, H), David Jacobs (11, H), and Elizabeth Brown (11, S).
With the first graduating class of Liberty passing, five of the top Decathletes left the team. With only three returners, the team placed sixth overall at Medium School State with 41,484.4 points. Varsity and four-year Decathlete Cody Haines placed as third overall in his bracket with 7,230.7 points, the current highest Varsity score in Liberty's history.
Spot
Decathlete
Grade
Round 1
Regionals
Objs
Subs
Rank
State
Objs
Subs
Rank
Change
Gap Closure
H1
Michael Perusse
12
5,786.4
8,115.0
5,545.0
2,570.0
1
7,604.0
5,746.4
1,857.6
14
-511.0
-27.11%
H2
David Jacobs
12
4,291.4
7,287.4
4,675.0
2,612.4
9
7,488.8
4,957.1
2,531.7
19
201.4
7.42%
H3
David Wu
12
4,380.0
7,306.9
4,587.9
2,719.0
8
7,665.0
5,195.0
2,470.0
12
358.1
13.30%
S1
Pratik Bhosale
10
3,042.1
6,302.2
4,057.9
2,244.3
5
6,441.2
4,082.9
2,358.3
24
139.0
3.76%
S2
Elizabeth Brown
12
3,545.7
6,010.7
3,730.0
2,280.7
10
6,536.7
3,881.4
2,655.3
21
526.0
13.19%
S3
Michael Bostock
12
4,206.4
DNC
DNC
DNC
7,212.4
4,605.7
2,606.7
10
N/A
N/A
V1
Max Brown
10
3,067.9
4,730.0
2,955.0
1,775.0
4,965.0
2,934.3
2,030.7
44
235.0
4.46%
V2
Andrew Wouters
11
DNC
4,478.7
2,205.0
2,273.7
5,235.6
2,764.3
2,471.3
40
756.9
13.71%
V3
Cody Haines
12
4,225.7
6,554.6
4,205.0
2,349.6
2
7,230.7
4,635.7
2,595.0
3
676.1
19.62%
Team
11.44
25,212.1
39,019.4
25,167.9
14,479.7
3
41,484.4
27,200.0
15,330.0
6
2,465
11.75%
Other contenders for the team were Mark Yang (10, H), Chris Skrodzki (10, S), Jonathan Yuan (12, S), and Joseph Sanders (12, V).
2011 was a major rebuilding year for Liberty, with everyone who'd ever shown interest in the team gone but for returning Varsity Andrew Wouters (Mark Yang, Pratik Bhosale, and Max Brown all moved, while Chris Skrodzki did not participate). Notable additions to the team include the future Region IX champions Yueheng "Henry" Zhang (Honors 2012) and Kovan Barzani (Scholastic 2013). A particular highlight was Varsity Charles Meek who nearly hit 7k at State. Despite great potential, overall scores had fallen from those of the past, and 2011 was known as "the Great Depression of Liberty AcDec." It nevertheless set up a foundation for a return to success the next year.
Spot
Decathlete
Grade
Round 1
Regionals
Objs
Subs
Rank
State
Objs
Subs
Rank
Change
Gap Closure
H1
Marshall Pudjiadi
11
3,784.3
5,635.0
3,674.3
1,960.7
7,311.4
4,647.1
2,664.6
24
1,676.7
38.41%
H2
Angela Moncy
9
3,541.4
5,389.7
3,287.1
2,102.6
5,955.0
3,816.4
2,138.6
61
565.3
12.26%
H3
Yueheng Zhang
11
4,734.3
7,322.4
4,826.4
2,496.0
9
7,442.4
5,025.7
2,416.7
20
120.0
4.48%
S1
Kovan Barzani
10
3,325.7
5,647.6
3,354.3
2,293.3
6,388.8
3,847.1
2,541.7
32
741.2
17.03%
S2
Chris Montgomery
10
3,725.0
5,524.0
3,239.3
2,284.7
5,902.8
3,892.1
2,010.7
46
378.8
8.46%
S3
Jake Rastberger
12
3,018.6
5,184.8
3,532.1
1,652.7
5,807.4
3,700.7
2,106.7
49
622.6
12.93%
V1
Charles Meek
12
3,489.3
5,845.0
3,885.0
1,960.0
2
6,902.7
4,115.0
2,787.7
7
1,057.7
25.46%
V2
Andrew Wouters
11
2,311.4
5,252.8
3,042.1
2,210.7
5
5,378.8
3,131.4
2,247.4
39
126.0
2.65%
V3
Spencer Long
11
DNC
4,401.7
2,440.0
1,961.7
4,921.0
2,525.0
2,396.0
53
519.3
9.28%
Team
10.78
21,370.0
35,226.8
22,314.2
13,349.0
5
39,327.2
24,658.4
14,913.4
11
4,110.4
16.55%
Major contenders for the team were Alec Cheung (11, H), James Ye (9, H), Sebastian Garza (10, H), Abbey Elakodical (10, S), Vishal Pattni (10, S), and Joey Stanley (9, V). Other contenders were Annie Lu (11, H), Sylvia Yang (9, H), Bharath Sevguan (10, H), Khagu Patel (10, S), and Jamyla Jones (11, S).
2012 was a return to success for Liberty AcDec. In the Honors division, 2011 top team scorer Yueheng "Henry" Zhang returned with two new students; in the Scholastic division, returning Kovan Barzani joined with newcomer Sonakshee Shree and 2010 Scholastic Pratik Bhosale, who had moved back to the school after an absence in 2011. Despite not recruiting Varsity Moez Janmohammad until a just a month before Regionals competition, and switching out an ineligible Sadat Ahmed (12) for Chris Hong two weeks later, the team placed ninth at Medium School State with 41,404.9 points. Honors John Yan and Yueheng Zhang both also scored over 8,000 for the first time since 2009, with John's 8,493.7 behind only Nancy Yuan's 2008 and 2009 scores.
Spot
Decathlete
Grade
Round 1
Regionals
Objs
Subs
Rank
State
Objs
Subs
Rank
Change
Gap Closure
H1
John Yan
12
5,430.7
7,678.3
5,473.6
2,204.7
5
8,493.7
5,820.7
2,673.0
7
815.4
35.12%
H2
Sarah Wang
10
4,850.0
7,651.8
4,867.1
2,784.7
6
7,469.6
5,238.6
2,231.0
24
-182.2
-7.76%
H3
Yueheng Zhang
12
5,640.0
8,069.9
5,707.9
2,362.0
1
8,053.7
5,712.1
2,341.6
13
-16.2
-0.84%
S1
Pratik Bhosale
12
3,835.0
6,236.1
3,666.4
2,569.7
8
6,589.1
3,915.7
2,673.4
28
353.0
9.38%
S2
Sonakshee Shree
12
3,491.4
5,833.8
3,617.1
2,216.7
16
5,973.9
3,579.3
2,394.6
48
140.1
3.36%
S3
Kovan Barzani
11
3,491.4
6,388.6
4,268.6
2,120.0
6
7,116.0
4,414.3
2,701.7
18
727.4
20.14%
V1
Spencer Long
12
2,840.0
5,035.8
2,672.1
2,363.7
14
5,027.4
2,290.7
2,736.7
56
-8.4
-0.17%
V2
Chris Hong
11
DNC
3,594.7
2,205.7
1,389.0
34
5,358.1
3,156.4
2,201.7
43
1,763.4
27.53%
V3
Moez Janmohammad
12
DNC
5,169.6
3,208.6
1,961.0
12
5,794.3
3,269.3
2,525.0
32
624.7
12.93%
Team
11.56
21,237.1
38,578.3
24,997.2
14,257.8
2
41,404.9
26,288.5
15,651.4
9
2,826.6
13.20%
Major contenders for the team were Marshall Pudjiadi (12, H) and Sebastian Garza (11, H). Other contenders were Annie Lu (12, H), James Ye (10, H), Khagu Patel (11, S), Andrea Nguyen (12, S), Chris Montgomery (11, S), Joey Stanley (10, S), and Preetham Thippana (11, V).
At the end of the 2012 season, longtime head coach Derek McDowell was promoted to the position of the district head high school science coordinator and handed head coaching duties to Gary Loney. All four other assistant coaches except for Gary Mumford either moved schools or stepped down, leaving almost the entire coaching staff to be revamped. Then, midway through the 2013 season, Loney was offered an administration job in nearby McKinney ISD, leaving Mumford the new head coach.
The 2013 season saw a very large number of underclassmen try out for positions on the team, a phenomenon often attributed to the fact that the Academic Decathlon class began to give grades on a weighted GPA scale. Though the numerous freshmen were at a disadvantage due to not having studied over the summer, one Honors rose through the ranks like a Dark Horse candidate: Abel Sen, who eventually narrowly beat out returner Sarah Wang (11) for the third spot on the team and who became the highest-scoring freshman in Liberty history. New to Decathlon after having participated in Octathlon the previous year, sophomore Honors Vik Shirvaikar became the top-scoring student at practices, and two-year Honors contender Sebastian Garza (12) also won a spot on the team.
Third-year Decathlete Kovan Barzani (12) led the Scholastics, with the newly recruited Sisi Jiang (12) and Nick Murira (10) easy picks for the team. The Varsity division was represented by senior returner Chris Hong; new recruit Chocku Subramanian (12); and two-year-Scholastic-contender-but-now-Varsity Khagu Patel (12).
Despite the changes in leadership and having only two returners, Liberty went on to have its second most successful year to date (as per overall state rank. Regionals was disrupted by the absence of Patel on the day of tests due to family matters, leaving the team to take third place overall with 38,424.2 points as a 10-event score. Regionals did have highlights in Sebastian Garza's score of 8,377.4, the second-highest score recorded by a Liberty Decathlete at Regionals, and Kovan Barzani's Gold finish of 7,112.4, netting him medals in eight events as well as the title of Two-Time Regional Math Champion.
Going into State with a rank of the tenth Medium from Regionals, the team saw a large improvement, placing sixth overall at Medium School State with 42,089.3 points (without SuperQuiz). Scores over 8,000 were earned by Honors Sebastian Garza and also by Vik Shirvaikar, who saw a massive increase from 7,991.9 points at Regionals to placing fifth overall in the Honors division with a score of 8,557.9. His score is the third highest ever achieved by a Liberty Decathlete and also holds Liberty's record for the highest total objectives score.
Spot
Decathlete
Grade
Round 1
Regionals
Objs
Subs
Rank
State
Objs
Subs
Rank
Change
Gap Closure
H1
Abel Sen
9
4,597.1
7,465.9
5,174.3
2,291.6
7
7,528.7
5,080.0
2,448.7
23
62.8
2.48%
H2
Sebastian Garza
12
5,240.0
8,377.4
5,745.7
2,631.7
2
8,038.1
5,611.4
2,426.7
10
-345.6
-21.30%
H3
Vik Shirvaikar
10
5,371.4
7,991.9
5,582.9
2,409.0
4
8,557.9
6,062.9
2,495.0
5
566.0
28.19%
S1
Nick Murira
10
3,362.9
5,128.6
2,720.0
2,408.6
19
5,408.7
2,957.1
2,451.6
53
280.1
5.75%
S2
Sisi Jiang
12
3,480.0
5,840.3
3,682.9
2,157.4
11
6,440.4
4,291.4
2,149.0
28
600.1
14.43%
S3
Kovan Barzani
12
3,817.1
7,112.4
4,371.4
2,741.0
1
7,338.9
4,582.9
2,756.0
6
226.5
7.84%
V1
Chris Hong
12
2,311.4
4,161.7
2,540.0
1,621.7
24
4,358.6
2,468.6
1,890.0
67
196.9
3.37%
V2
Chocku Subramanian
12
2,985.7
4,960.7
2,471.4
2,469.3
12
6,024.4
3,391.4
2,633.0
24
1,083.7
21.42%
V3
Khagu Patel
12
3,071.4
2,293.3*
DNC
2,293.3
34
5,689.6
3,242.9
2,446.7
34
N/A
N/A
Team
11.22
23,965.6
38,424.2
24,394.3
14,952.9
3
42,089.3
27,182.9
15,231.0
6
3,665.1
16.99%
Major contenders for the team were Sarah Wang (11, H), Bahar Sahami (11, H), and Eileen Bau (9, H). Other contenders were Shanee Lu (9, H), Sindhu Senthilkumar (10, H), Trac Nguyen (9, H), Harris Qureshi (9, H), Sabrina Peng (9, H), Thomas Sipp (9, H), Ganesh Avula (9, H), Cindy Jiang (11, H), Alvin Qin (9, S), Larry Yin (9, S), Grace Caputo (11, S), George Zeng (9, S), and Neel Raguboopathi (10, V).
(*) Varsity Khagunesh Patel only competed in subjectives at Regional competition, so his score is out of three events.
At the end of the 2013 season, only three members were not graduating: Honors Vik Shirvaikar and Abel Sen as well as Scholastic Nick Murira. However, Murira likely would become an Honors the next year, and he decided not to participate, leaving the team to have two returners.
As the year progressed, both Shirvaikar (11) and Sen (10) became definite picks for the team, and a competition between many of 2013's freshman Honors tryouts for the final Honors spot was won by Shanee Lu (10). In the Scholastic division, a large new crop of interested participants yielded Abhay Rangray (11), and 2013 Scholastic tryout Larry Yin (10) also landed a spot on the team. Then, surprisingly, in mid-November, Murira (11) found out he would in fact still be a Scholastic and decided to make up for not having counted the previous year. His last-minute participation and newfound dedication earned him the final Scholastic spot.
The Varsity bracket proved more troublesome as several participating students lost interest over the course of the year. However, Zaid Bajaria (12), Josh Haley (11), and Lei Shen (11) turned out to be the best crop of new Varsities the team had seen for several years.
The team went into Regionals after several poor showings at scrimmages throughout the preseason, including being last place at the district scrimmage. However, the team ended up beating out half of the district at Regionals, placing third with 40,891.8 points, the school's second-highest Regionals score ever. Honors Abel Sen and Vik Shirvaikar set new individual records for Regionals with 8,607.2 and 8,582.4 points, respectively.
At State, the team further improved their score with Vik Shirvaikar notably setting the highest score in Liberty AcDec history, shattering Nancy Yuan's 2009 record by over 300 points with his 8,966.4, earning him second overall in the competition. Also notably, sophomore Honors Abel Sen achieved a perfect score on the Economics test, outscoring every other person in the state by 80 points.
Spot
Decathlete
Grade
Round 1
Regionals
Objs
Subs
Rank
State
Objs
Subs
Rank
Change
Gap Closure
H1
Vik Shirvaikar
11
6,031.4
8,582.4
5,980.0
2,602.4
3
8,966.4
6,111.4
2,855.0
2
384.0
27.09%
H2
Abel Sen
10
5,551.4
8,607.2
5,842.9
2,764.3
2
8,421.0
5,848.6
2,572.4
8
-186.2
-13.37%
H3
Shanee Lu
10
4,737.1
7,767.4
5,357.1
2,410.3
8
7,913.0
5,300.0
2,613.0
18
145.6
6.52%
S1
Nick Murira
11
3,222.9
6,502.4
3,837.1
2,665.3
7
6,879.3
4,185.7
2,693.6
14
376.9
10.78%
S2
Larry Yin
10
3,551.4
6,307.4
3,857.1
2,450.3
11
6,566.4
4,205.7
2,360.7
23
259.0
7.01%
S3
Abhay Rangray
11
3,085.7
6,366.0
3,654.3
2,711.7
10
6,302.6
3,434.3
2,868.3
27
-63.4
-1.74%
V1
Zaid Bajaria
12
2,237.1
5,732.4
2,985.7
2,746.7
8
5,963.5
3,522.9
2,440.6
21
231.1
5.42%
V2
Lei Shen
11
2,297.1
4,991.5
3,302.9
1,688.6
13
5,339.9
3,408.6
1,931.3
24
348.4
6.96%
V3
Josh Haley
11
DNC
5,101.4
2,911.4
2,190.0
12
5,887.1
3,217.1
2,670.0
35
785.7
16.04%
Team
10.78
22,891.3
40,891.8
25,777.1
15,680.4
3
42,683.7
27,282.9
16,140.5
6
1,791.9
9.38%
A major contender for the team was Brandon Baker (12, V) . Other contenders were Sabrina Peng (10, H), Eileen Bau (10, H), Ashley Huang (10, H), Yujun Chow (9, H), Harris Qureshi (10, H), Prashanth Kotla (9, H), Tahir Khan (9, H), Grace Jeong (11, H), Jane Zhang (9, H), Arushii Nadar (11, H), Derrick Ogola (11, H), Aaron Jabir (11, S), Weiming Hu (10, S), Aish Vemula (10, S), Zac Istas (11, V), Adil Awwal (11, V), and Olivia Nese (9, V).
(*) 2013 Varsity Khagu Patel only competed in subjectives at Regional competition, so his score was out of three events.
(**) 2015 Honors Shanee Lu only competed in Saturday's events at Regional competition, so her score is out of six events (objectives minus the Literature test).
(***) 2017 Honors Justin Lee only competed in the online Essay event for State, so his score consists of only that event.
