SAN DIEGO — St. Michael’s School in Poway took first place overall in the 2025 Catholic Academic Junior High Decathlon, which drew 33 teams from local schools.
That victory earned St. Michael’s a slot in the national competition, which was held virtually on March 14 and where they ranked fourth place overall.
St. Michael’s coach, Lisa Matens, said that she and Assistant Coach Amber Samuels are very proud of their team’s “grit and determination over the past seven months.”
“They have been heroic in their preparations and dedication to practices,” Matens said.
“This year’s competition was tough … The scores separating the first-, second-, and third-place teams (at the diocesan-level contest) were very close,” she said, “and we recognize that, had one or two questions gone the other way, we would not have been holding the perpetual trophy and receiving first-place medals.”
Academic Decathlon, held this year on March 1 at St. Augustine High School, is a “knowledge bowl” competition for Catholic school students in the sixth through eighth grades.
It consists of two team events – the Logic Quiz and the Super Quiz – and eight individual subject tests.
For the Logic Quiz, teams are given one hour to solve 20 problems based on visual/spatial, verbal and mathematical reasoning, and formal logic. The Super Quiz consists of 50 multiple-choice questions about Fine Arts, Literature, Religion, Science and Social Studies.
The St. Patrick School Gold Team, one of two teams representing the Carlsbad-based school, took first place in the Logic Quiz, with the school’s Green Team claiming second.
Good Shepherd School won first place in the Super Quiz.
For the individual subject tests, a member of each participating team is given an hour to complete a multiple-choice test in a particular subject. The first-place winners, who automatically advance to the national-level competition included:
— Current Events: Ethan Dang, St. Michael’s School
— Fine Arts: Makenna Mohnacky, St. Patrick School (Green Team), Carlsbad
— Math: Nathan Lee, St. Michael’s School. (He later won first place in the national competition.)
— Science: Carter Thomas, St. Patrick School (Gold Team), Carlsbad
— English: Minka Bush, St. Didacus School
— Literature: Christian Martin, Mater Dei Catholic Elementary School (Blue Team), Chula Vista
— Religion: Gabriella Horejs, Good Shepherd School, San Diego
— Social Studies: Viviana Grajeda, Stella Maris Academy, La Jolla
“It was cool to see my friends and classmates, work together and study hard, and then for us to go to the event and gather with our fellow decathletes from the other schools, who have, like us, been studying,” said Gabriella Horejs. “You feel a sense of community.”
Students weren’t the only winners at the Decathlon.
Matthew Palpal-Latoc, who has coached the Academic Decathlon team at Good Shepherd School for seven years, was named “Coach of the Year.”
“It’s an incredible honor to win this award, especially with so many exceptional coaches in the diocese,” he said. “However, I cannot accept this as an individual recognition. This award represents the work the students have put in the last few months, all the help given by my fellow teachers at Good Shepherd, and the never-ending support given to the Academic Decathlon program each year by (Principal Ladonna Lambert) and (Assistant Principal Mary Ann Thiebach).”
The Good Shepherd School team took third place overall this year.
Elizabeth Kramer, associate superintendent of the Diocese of San Diego’s Catholic schools, noted that the Decathlon program “focuses on academic excellence and emphasizes the importance of community service inspired by Catholic Social Teaching.”
She shared that something new was incorporated into the program.
“Each year, the Decathlon materials encourage teams to engage in meaningful learning,” she said, “and this year, for the first time, there was an opportunity to engage with the materials through service projects.”
Kramer cited the “inspiring service projects” undertaken by the two schools that participated in this optional activity: St. Martin of Tours Academy in La Mesa and St. Michael’s School.
Members of the team from St. Martin of Tours supported IRC San Diego (International Rescue Committee) and Stuffed With Love Charity Foundation by collecting, sanitizing and wrapping more than 65 stuffed animals for refugee children in the San Diego community, and adding notes of encouragement.
The team from St. Michael’s worked with the contemplative branch of the Missionaries of Charity, who have a convent in South San Diego.
According to Coach Matens, they “created both a physical bouquet of decorated flower pots, with soil and seeds, and a spiritual bouquet of prayers, Masses and cards” for elderly women living in the Missionaries of Charity’s women’s homeless shelter in Tijuana.
“Enlisting the assistance of the Contemplative Missionaries of Charity in South San Diego,” she said, “we visited them in person to deliver our gifts.”
