By NATHAN QUEVEDO
Merced County Office of Education
& CATHERINE A. AZEVEDO
The Westside Express
Students from four Los Banos schools excelled in the April 27 Merced County Academic Pentathlon. Results were revealed this past weekend for the pentathlon, where families, educators and community members gathered for the Super Quiz and awards ceremony.
In this year’s competition, which brought together 330 middle schoolers from across the county, Los Banos schools and students displayed their academic expertise by earning multiple awards.
Two of the three overall top scoring teams were Los Banos’ Grasslands Elementary School, which earned first place for sixth grade teams, and Los Banos Junior High School which earned first place for seventh grade teams. Le Grand Elementary School earned first place for eighth grade.
Two of the top three performing teams in the Super Quiz were from Los Banos: Los Banos Elementary for sixth grade and Los Banos Junior High for seventh grade. Washington School’s A-Team was the highest performing eighth grade team
Max Menefee, a seventh-grade student at Los Banos’ Creekside Junior High, was the top-scoring student in the competition. Menefee also received the highest overall score in last year’s competition.
The overall highest scoring team, Los Banos’ Grasslands Elementary School, will advance to the United States Pentathlon National Competition in Phoenix, AZ, May 16-18.
The Academic Pentathlon included five subject areas: fine arts, literature, math, science and social science. Students completed a series of tests in each subject area at their school site last week. They then showcased their knowledge in the Super Quiz on Saturday, which featured questions from all five subject areas and required students to work together in teams to answer as many questions as possible within the allotted time.
Organized by the Merced County Office of Education, the Academic Pentathlon is an annual event designed to encourage and recognize academic excellence among students within the county. Materials were centered around a national theme provided by the United States Academic Decathlon. The theme this year was “Technology and Humanity.”
