Hallmark Academy Wins Fresno County Academic Decathlon Championship
Hallmark Academy won the Fresno County Academic Decathlon championship, defeating University High and competing against 23 teams. They will represent the county in the upcoming state competition.
Hallmark Academy, a Sanger Unified alternative school of choice for K-12 students, celebrated first place on Saturday in the Fresno County Academic Decathlon.
The school dethroned the long-time county champion, University High, by winning the Super Quiz and the overall championship. In total, twenty-three teams from high schools in Fresno, Clovis, Kerman, Fowler, Kingsburg, Reedley, Orange Cove, Firebaugh, and Coalinga participated in the event.
Hallmark's overall score was 45,898.6, approximately 200 points higher than University High's score of 45,690.2 points.
Other schools in the top ten include:
- Sanger High - 32,626.6
- Clovis High - 31,776.0
- Design Science - 31,701.2
- Sunnyside High - 31,253.5
- Clovis North - 29,963.2
- Kerman High - 29,748.9
- Bullard High - 28,231.8
- Buchanan High - 28,135.4
Hallmark, University, Sanger, Design Science, Clovis North, and Bullard competed in Division 1, while Clovis, Sunnyside, Kerman, and Buchanan participated in Division 2.
In the Super Quiz, University High placed second behind Hallmark Academy, with Clovis North, Design Science, and Clovis High following closely.
Next month, Hallmark will represent Fresno County in the state championship competition at the Santa Clara Marriott, with the winner advancing to the national competition in May in Des Moines, Iowa. This year’s theme is Our Changing Climate.
Founded in 1990, Hallmark Academy has an approximate enrollment of 300 students, with around half in grades 9 through 12. Last year, Hallmark's academic decathlon team excelled at the National Academic Decathlon competition in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, earning first place among Division V schools.
University High took part in last year's online Small Schools decathlon, achieving first place for the 16th time since 2007.
