Wilmot seeking repeat in Academic Decathlon

Wilmot Union High School captured its third consecutive state Academic Decathlon championship last week, moving forward to National competition, where they will defend their title from last year. Members are (front from left): Brenna Simmons, Ashley Dabbs, Angela Schumacher, Alexa Lewis; (back row) Carl Simmons, Joey Burba, Kyle Kostrova, Isaac Bruley and Carlie Banchi (Submitted/The Report).
Wilmot Union High School captured its third consecutive state Academic Decathlon championship last week, moving forward to National competition, where they will defend their title from last year. Members are (front from left): Brenna Simmons, Ashley Dabbs, Angela Schumacher, Alexa Lewis; (back row) Carl Simmons, Joey Burba, Kyle Kostrova, Isaac Bruley and Carlie Banchi (Submitted/The Report).

Team notched third straight state title

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

Wilmot Union High School is going national in the Academic Decathlon, after winning the team’s third consecutive state championship in the Wisconsin Dells Friday.

In addition to the state title, the team set a school record in an Academic Decathlon.

The event is a competition composed of ten categories: art, economics, essay, interview, literature, math, music, science, speech and social science.

With the state championship, the team is seeking a repeat of last year’s national performance, where they captured the Division 2 title in Garden Grove, California.

“It’s a humbling transformation to go from representing your school to representing the entire state, a state steeped with a tradition of success at this event,” said Academic Decathlon coach Don Serkowski.

The team entered the state competition trailing Waukesha West by 156 points in the rankings of a possible 60,000 points.

However, the nine-member squad pulled through, courtesy of five seniors that demonstrated leadership.

“As only seniors can, they felt that sense of urgency that comes from knowing this is the final time they ever got to compete at this event,” Serkowski said.

The five seniors on the squad are Carlie Banchi, Carl Simmons, Angela Schumacher, Ashley Dabbs and Joey Burba.

Banchi, who earned five total medals, has been on the team since the first of three state titles.

“She has always been the center of the team,” Simmons said. “She always makes sure everyone else gets their work done and does everything she can to make everyone around her better.”

Banchi notched the third highest score in the honors division, obtained three gold medals in science, essay and music and also garnered two bronze medals in art and social science.

Additionally, Banchi accomplished a perfect score of 1,000 in the science competition.

Simmons, meanwhile, had the highest individual honors score of 8,858 points in the state, setting the all-time school record. It is the second straight year he posted the top individual score in state.

Simmons earned silver medals in music, art, interview and social and added bronze medals in science, economics, language and literature.

“My partner in crime has really been maintaining his success,” Banchi said.

Burba, who competed in the scholastic division, obtained 8,178 points for the highest in the state competition.

The top scholastic finisher earned gold medals in science, music, art and language/literature, a silver in social science and bronze in economics.

In the varsity division, Schumacher notched a school record 7,552 points, and led all decathletes in the state competition.

Schumacher obtained gold medals in music, art, economics and social science along with a silver in language/literature and a mathematics bronze medal.

Dabbs rounded out the senior class with a gold medal in language/literature and a bronze in art.

While the seniors were credited for leading the way, Simmons noted there were several underclassmen that could signal a sign of future success, including sophomore Isaac Bruley and junior Kyle Kostreva.

Bruley earned a social science gold medal, a silver in language and literature, and bronze medals in music and economics in the scholastic division.

Kostreva received the third-highest score in the honors division, adding silver medals in art, economics and social science, and a bronze in music.

“Bruley stepped up a lot this year, and you can just tell he knows what to do,” Carl Simmons said.

Other medalists were Alexa Lewis with a bronze in social science and sophomore Brenna Simmons, who earned bronze medals in art and language/literature.

Wilmot, whose team accounted for 42 total medals, had all nine members take home at least one, a first for the school.

While both Banchi and Carl Simmons are savoring the state title, they noted the accomplishment is a testament to the team concept.

“I am really excited and had a really great time with my team,” Banchi said. There were several of them that really stepped up and we worked really hard.”

“It is incredible to win in something, but it is always about the team,” Simmons said.

The decathletes seek to defend their Division 2 national championship in Anchorage, Alaska in April.


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