The AcDec team sat around a Starbucks table reading aloud “The Mark on the Wall” by Virginia Woolf. The story was a detailed description of a snail on the wall that supposedly represented sexism and the modern age. These are the kinds of abstract concepts students met twice a week to discuss and study in preparation for competition. Their work paid off.
The AcDec team won District for the first time in more than a decade, beating powerhouse teams Pearce and Berkner.
On Tuesday night the AcDec team went to Heights Elementary to compete in the subjective part of the competition. Students had to prepare a four minute speech on a topic of their choosing, then perform a second impromptu two-minute speech picked from three prompts. Last, they interviewed with each of the three judges.
“During the competition itself, there were a few stressful moments, but I mostly felt confident that this was what I was supposed to do,” senior Marin Young said. “Everything about competing felt right.”
The objective part of the competition took place at the RISD Professional Development Center the next morning. Students took seven 30-minute tests covering math, music, economics, science, language & literature, art and history. The final quiz was a “superquiz” where competitors sit in front of an audience and compete with other students by answering questions.
“I’m a big fan of outline-style note-taking, and I went through hundreds of flashcards,” Young said. “Making flashcards this summer helped me a lot with preparation.”
Awards were given to the top three students in each division, the top overall score and the school’s ranking on the superquiz. Richardson won first place in the district, as well as first place in the superquiz.
“Now that this round is over, I’m excited to move forward. I knew I had great teammates this year, but everyone’s incredible achievements were far beyond my wildest hopes,” Young said. “Richardson is becoming a name to know in AcDec, and I’m proud of how far we’ve come.”
The following is a list of students who competed and their placements in each competiton:
Top Overall Scorer: Marin Young
Overall Honors 3rd Place: Emily White
Overall Honors 4th Place: Peter Mikhael
Overall Scholastic Scorer 1st Place: Patrick Ralston
Overall Varsity Scorer 1st Place: Lauren Amos
Overall Varsity Scorer 4th Place: Abbie Harris
Overall Varsity Scorer 5th Place: Chris Campbell
Art – Honors 1st Place: Emily White
Art – Scholastic 2nd Place: Koen Moore
Art – Scholastic 3rd Place: Ryan Wright
Art – Varsity 2nd Place: Lauren Amos
Economics – Honors 1st Place: Marin Young
Economics – Scholastic 1st Place: Patrick Ralston
Economics – Varsity 1st Place: Chris Campbell
Economics – Varsity 2nd Place Tie: Lauren Amos & Conner Kraeplin
History – Honors 2nd Place: Marin Young
History – Honors 3rd Place: Abigail Mitchell
History – Scholastics 1st Place: Koen Moore
History – Varsity 2nd Place: Lauren Amos
History – Varsity 3rd Place: Chris Campbell
Lang & Lit – Honors 1st Place: Marin Young
Lang & Lit – Honors 2nd Place: Emily White
Lang & Lit – Honors 3rd Place: Peter Mikhael
Lang & Lit – Scholastic 3rd Place Tie: Ryan Wright & Patrick Ralston
Lang & Lit – Varsity 1st Place: Chris Campbell
Lang & Lit – Varsity 2nd Place: Lauren Amos
Math – Honors 1st Place: Marin Young
Math – Honors 2nd Place: Peter Mikhael
Math – Scholastic 1st Place: Patrick Ralston
Math – Varsity 3rd Place: Lauren Amos
Music – Honors 1st Place: Marin Young
Music – Honors 2nd Place: Emily White
Music – Varsity 2nd Place: Abby Harris
Music – Varsity 3rd Place: Lauren Amos
Science – Honors 1st Place: Marin Young
Science – Honors 2nd Place: Peter Mikhael
Science – Scholastic 1st Place: Patrick Ralston
Science – Varsity 1st Place: Lauren Amos Tie Chris Campbell