Granada Hills Charter HS Academic Decathlon Champs a Study in Teamwork

Ten months of studying -- sometimes eight hours per day, including Saturdays -- can cut into a high school student's free time. But months of hard work turned into a lifetime of memories last weekend for members of Granada Hills Charter High School Academic Decathlon team.

Academic Decathlon: Final Results | Video: Super Quiz Relay

"It feels like you're trapped," said senior Sean Wejebe. "Winter was when the long hours started. I remember thinking, 'What am I doing here? Am I doing this to myself willingly.'"

And that's when the teamwork helped Wejebe and his teammates focus.

"Eventually, it gets easier when you realize your whole team is doing it and you're working toward this common goal," said Wejebe, who finished with the third-highest score (9,441) in Academic Decathlon history Saturday when Granada Hills Charter School won its second-consecutive National Academic Decathlon title.

The team finished with 54,081 points, the highest score ever in the competition.

When students joined the team last summer, some were intent on winning another national title for the school. Others just wanted to improve their studying or public speaking skills.

"A lot of us had trouble at the start of the year with our studying skills," said senior Julie Wall. "We practiced every day, Saturdays included, for about nine, 10 months. There were a lot of weekends when I'd have to go to the movies on Sunday."

All that hard work led to the national championships. Here are a few examples of the questions they faced during the Super Quiz round.

After the Napoleaonic Wars, arms experts determined that the most effective way to improve guns was to focus on the a.) bullet b.) barrel c.) trigger d.) stock or e.) powder. A is the correct answer.
In 1930, using a divided rule strategy, France decreed that Berber courts of appeals were beyond the jurisdiction of Muslim courts in a.) libya b.) Tunisia c.) Syria d.) Algeria e.) Morocco. The correct answer is E.
After a series of wars fought in 1826, 1852 and 1886, Great Britain annexed the fiercely independent kingdom of: a.) Thailand b.) Burma c.) Tibet d.) Pakistan e.) Afghanistan. The correct answer is B.

Wall was "blown away" Saturday when the announcer called out their names at the national championship in Albuquerque.

Students spoke Monday at a welcome-back celebration at the school. They thanked coaches, teachers, friends, family members, custodians, cafeteria workers and anyone else who came to mind.

The students and their coaches also talked about a lesson that wasn't about math, science or literature.

"You've heard about the points they scored and the medals they earned, but it makes me emotional -- just how much they care for each other," said coach Matthew Arnold, who also teaches English. "That family feeling they have is going to last a lot longer."

The students were selected for the team after a tryout process during the summer. Tryouts include a practice decathlon test and math and essay tests. The team has nine members -- none of whom were on last year's championship team -- and four to six alternates.