Richardson High School
| Richardson High School | |
 | |
| School Founded | 1890 |
| Team Established | |
| History | |
| City | Richardon, Texas |
| Team Colors | Purple and Gold |
| Principal | Charles Bruner |
| Head Coach | Michael Hill |
| Associate/Other Head Coach(es) | Sara Korotkow |
| National Championships | |
| State Championships | |
| Regional/County Championships | |
| Region/County Location | X |
| Highest Finish | |
| School Website | {{{website}}} |
Richardson High School
Coached by Michael Hill and Sara Korotkow, the Richardson High School Academic Decathlon team consists of a diverse, silly group of sophomores through seniors dedicated to making steady improvements and becoming a force to be reckoned.
In January 2012, a team consisting of counting members Marin Young (H, 10), Wilson Yeh (H, 11), Hannah Born (S, 11), Jasmine Hamid (S, 12), Caleb Born (V, 12), and William Kuhn (V, 12) scored 33.5k at the Region X meet. The under-2,000-point gap between Richardson and State inspired the returners to work harder than ever, and a new team with incredible potential was recruited.
The 2013 team sent 15 Decathletes to make Richardson's first showing at the Rockwall Invitational, where the six Honors, six Scholastic, and three Varsity members present took 9th place with a seven-event team score of 25.8k. Twelve students medaled: Honors Marin Young in economics, Scholastic Hannah Born in art, Scholastic Stuart Seelman in social science, Varsity Abbie Harris in language and literature, and over half the team in math, including perfect scores by Honors Marin Young, Kevin Sun, Wilson Yeh, and Peter Mikhael, and Scholastics Patrick Ralston and Hannah Born (who later in the season was miraculously found to be a varsity).
2013 saw the remarkable return of the school as it finished tenth overall for large schools at Regional competition, narrowly missing 40k (without Super Quiz) and advancing to State for the first time since 2007. While qualifying for State was the team's goal and most celebrated achievement in Region X, other awards include an incredible third-place finish in both Super Quiz and overall for the team; six total subject medals (in math, music, economics, science, speech, and art) won by Marin Young, Olga Matveeva, and Hannah Born; and for the first time in Richardson history, two overall individual medals, second Honors for Marin Young and fifth Scholastic for first-year competitor Olga Matveeva.
Following this impressive run at Regionals, the team pushed valiantly through another month of hard work in preparation for a new level of competition. The effort paid off when four Richardson Decathletes medaled at the 2013 Texas State meet: Marin Young in economics, Chris Campbell in interview, and Olga Matveeva and Hannah Born in essay. The small score decrease from Regionals to State only encouraged the team, once again, to strive not just for success but for improvement and growth of the program.
In 2014, the team continued to build on the previous year's success in spite of unusually rigorous competition. On November 13, 2013, Richardson High School history was made when the team snagged the District (Round 1) championship for the first time in at least a decade. (Richardson's crosstown rival Pearce went on to narrowly eke out a victory at Regionals but could not defeat Richardson twice in a row.) Richardson earned ten medals at Regionals and eight at State, finishing the year strong with a team score of 41,237.
In 2015, Richardson won the RISD district scrimmage by a narrow margin of only one question. The team went on to show well at the Rockwall invitational with the top scoring varsity (Patrick R.) and one of the top showing varsity teams in the nation. At the Region X competition, RHS was the 2nd-highest scoring large school, had a 3rd place Super Quiz finish, and 18 individuals medals. They dropped a bit at State, but still had a 15th place showing with 42,506.2 and 4 individual medals.
Richardson strives to remember that its success has been anything but consistent and is not to be taken for granted. The team moves forward with high goals, letting the past serve not as a legacy of pride but as inspiration to continue the growth seen in recent years.
| Student | Subject | Category | Place | Score | Competition | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caleb Born | Art | Varsity | 3 | 560 | Regionals | 2012 |
| Caleb Born | Speech | Varsity | 3 | 953 | Regionals | 2012 |
| Caleb Born | Interview | Varsity | 3 | 913 | Regionals | 2012 |
| Marin Young | Math | Honors | 3 | 857 | Regionals | 2013 |
| Marin Young | Music | Honors | 3 | 800 | Regionals | 2013 |
| Marin Young | Science | Honors | 2 | 820 | Regionals | 2013 |
| Marin Young | Economics | Honors | 2 | 940 | Regionals | 2013 |
| Marin Young | Overall | Honors | 2 | 8,154 | Regionals | 2013 |
| Olga Matveeva | Speech | Scholastic | 1 | 990 | Regionals | 2013 |
| Olga Matveeva | Overall | Scholastic | 5 | 6,844 | Regionals | 2013 |
| Hannah Born | Art | Varsity | 1 | 720 | Regionals | 2013 |
| Team | Super Quiz (3,600 point system) | All | 3 | 2300 | Regionals | 2013 |
| Team | Overall (including SQ) | All | 3 | 42,253 | Regionals | 2013 |
| Chris Campbell | Interview | Scholastic | 3 | 993 | State | 2013 |
| Olga Matveeva | Essay | Scholastic | 2 | 918 | State | 2013 |
| Hannah Born | Essay | Varsity | 3 | 971 | State | 2013 |
| Marin Young | Economics | Honors | 3 | 940 | State | 2013 |
| Marin Young | Music | Honors | 1 | 1000 | Regionals | 2014 |
| Marin Young | Science | Honors | 2 | 920 | Regionals | 2014 |
| Marin Young | Social Science | Honors | 3 | 800 | Regionals | 2014 |
| Marin Young | Lang & Lit | Honors | 4 | 780 | Regionals | 2014 |
| Marin Young | Mathematics | Honors | 4 | 800 | Regionals | 2014 |
| Emily White | Speech | Honors | 1 | 1000 | Regionals | 2014 |
| Emily White | Art | Honors | 3 | ? | Regionals | 2014 |
| Patrick Ralston | Economics | Scholastic | 4 | ? | Regionals | 2014 |
| Abbie Harris | Interview | Varsity | 4 | ? | Regionals | 2014 |
| Lauren Amos | Speech | Varsity | 1 | 1000 | Regionals | 2014 |
| Marin Young | Science | Honors | 1 | 980 | State | 2014 |
| Marin Young | Economics | Honors | 3 | 880 | State | 2014 |
| Marin Young | Music | Honors | 1 | 1000 | State | 2014 |
| Marin Young | Social Science | Honors | 3 | 880 | State | 2014 |
| Marin Young | Overall | Honors | 1 | 9,134.8 | State | 2014 |
| Peter Mikhael | Science | Honors | 3 | 920 | State | 2014 |
| Peter Mikhael | Interview | Honors | 2 | 996.7 | State | 2014 |
| Lauren Amos | Speech | Varsity | 3 | 956.7 | State | 2014 |
| Patrick Ralston | Overall | Varsity | 1 | 7,583.4 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Emily White | Art | Honors | 2 | 920 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Patrick Ralston | Art | Varsity | 4 | 740 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Patrick Ralston | Economics | Varsity | 2 | 860 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Ashley Ubben | Interview | Scholastic | 3 | 973.3 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Katharine Gavitt | Essay | Honors | 4 | 755 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Emily White | Lang & Lit | Honors | 2 | 800 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Patrick Ralston | Lang & Lit | Varsity | 1 | 660 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Patrick Ralston | Mathematics | Varsity | 2 | 885.7 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Emily White | Music | Honors | 3 | 880 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Lauren Amos | Music | Varsity | 3 | 640 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Peter Mikhael | Science | Honors | 4 | 920 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Patrick Ralston | Science | Varsity | 2 | 820 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Emily White | Speech | Honors | 4 | 990 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Daniel Thorne | Speech | Scholastic | 1 | 973.3 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Conner Kraeplin | Speech | Varsity | 1 | 986.7 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Lauren Amos | Speech | Varsity | 4 | 926.7 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Team | Overall | All | 3 | 42,729.6 | Regionals | 2015 |
| Patrick Ralston | Economics | Varsity | 3 | 800 | State | 2015 |
| Lauren Amos | Essay | Varsity | 2 | 960 | State | 2015 |
| Patrick Ralston | Mathematics | Varsity | 1 | 942.9 | State | 2015 |
| Daniel Thorne | Speech | Scholastic | 2 | 960 | State | 2015 |
- In order to avoid incomplete information, this chart only includes 2012 R2, 2013 R2-R3, and 2014 R2-R3. Please note that 4th place medals were awarded at 2014 and 2015 R2 because two medium schools competed with the large schools in Region X.
Team Roster:
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rachel Macfarlane (12) Rahfin Faruk (12) Denise Crawford (11) Benjamin Irwin (12) Abby Diamond (12) Jasmine Hamid (11) Sabrina Brooks (12) Katy Surratt (11) Zack Jargowsky (12) |
Marin Young (10) Wilson Yeh (11) Katherine Zahn (11) Hannah Born (11) Jasmine Hamid (12) Daniela Nzali (12) Caleb Born (12) William Kuhn (12) Derrick Parks (12) |
Marin Young (11) Wilson Yeh (12) Emily White (10) Olga Matveeva (12) Stuart Seelman (12) Chris Campbell (11) Hannah Born (12) Karisa Keith (12) Abbie Harris (11) |
Marin Young (12) Emily White (11) Peter Mikhael (11) Patrick Ralston (11) Koen Moore (10) Yunuen Sigler (12) Chris Campbell (12) Abbie Harris (12) Lauren Amos (11) |
Emily White (12) Peter Mikhael (12) Katharine Gavitt (10) Cole Odlozil (12) Daniel Thorne (10) Ashley Ubben (10) Patrick Ralston (12) Lauren Amos (12) Conner Kraeplin (11) |
- Positions within each category for 2011 are unknown at this time. For instance, the student listed as H1 may actually have been H3.
| Year | Regionals Score | State Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 41,480.7 | 40,652.2 |
| 2015 | 42,729.6 | 42,506.2 |
| 2014 | 39,920.4 | 41,237.8 |
| 2013 | 39,952 | 39,317 |
| 2012 | 33,543 | DNC |
| 2011 | 33,482 | DNC |
| 2010 | 28,780 | DNC |
| 2009 | 30,361 | DNC |
| 2008 | 31,775 | DNC |
| 2007 | 36,621 | 34,814 |
| 2006 | 36,462 | 35,520.8 |
| 2005 | 39,215 | 39,100.9 |
| 2004 | 40,991 | 42,167 |
| 2003 | ? | 44,352 |
| 2002 | ? | 42,617 |
| 2001 | ? | 37,240 |
| 2000 | 43,542 | 43,306 |
| 1999 | ? | 38,487 |
| 1998 | 41,965 | 39,359 |
| 1997 | ? | 42,396 |
| 1996 | ? | 43,576 |
| 1995 | ? | 34,119 |
| 1994 | ? | DNC |
| 1993 | 41,356 | 40,692 |
| 1992 | ? | ? |
| 1991 | ? | ? |
| 1990 | ? | 40,540 |
Acknowledgements
Richardson High School Academic Decathlon owes much of our success to contributions from the RHS community, team members' families, and supportive friends. We would like to thank:
- Sandra Hill, former head coach, for building the RHS AcDec team to what it is today.
- Abbey Mitchell, Ngan Pham, and Brenna McConniel, the 2014 alternates, for doing everything they could to support and facilitate the competing team's success.
- Mr. Charles Bruner, RHS Principal, for enthusiastically supporting Academic Decathlon from the very beginning of his days at Richardson.
- Mr. Charles Pickett, past RHS Principal, for generous financial resources and enthusiastic support throughout the competition season.
- Pamela Patton, Julie Harris, and Laura and Ty Young, frequent parent volunteers, for guest teaching and/or facilitating activities in the past year.
- The Rockwall HS coaching team, for sharing wisdom with our coaches and hosting a well-run invitational that proved an invaluable learning experience for our team.
- Coach Dean Webb, Berkner HS, for displaying an enthusiastic attitude about Decathlon and selflessly helping our coaches prepare organizationally for the State competition.
- Coach Chris Yetman, Canyon Del Oro HS, for providing our team with study resources and extensive pacing wisdom.
- Coach Todd Decker, South Mountain HS, for offering friendly encouragement and contributing study resources.
- Coach Samuel Kullens, Franklin HS, for consistently providing encouraging words, valuable advice, and curricular and organizational materials.
- Countless friends, for offering words of encouragement and believing in our team's potential. While our supporters are too many to list, among the most helpful have been Nick Synodis, Sebastian Garza, Robb Dooling, Will Bishop, and Brendan Guinn.
We appreciate these individuals and many more for their role in making Richardson a growing part of the Academic Decathlon community.
