A select group of Huskies have just culminated months of hard work and collaborative study.
On Saturday, Feb. 7, at Roybal Learning Center, a team of North Hollywood High School students competed in the final (subjective) portion of the yearly Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon (“AcaDec”) a chance for high school teams from across the region to test their knowledge of broad subjects.
Earlier, on Saturday, Jan. 24, NHHS hosted the first (objective) part of the competition, which included multiple-choice exams on seven topics ranging from art to economics to mathematics. At the subjective portion in February, teams performed interviews and speeches, along with a high-pressure “Super Quiz.”
AcaDec’s regional winners participate in the state competition and eventually the United States Academic Decathlon (USAD).
Mr. Alvarez, the co-coach of North Hollywood’s “decathletes,” has a long history with AcaDec. He competed as a student between 2016 and 2018 before returning to coach in 2023.
Before the January objective competition, Mr. Alvarez expressed his goals for the nine-member team. “The concrete goal is to make it to state.” Last year, NoHo’s team did not advance. “If we make it to that upper echelon, that upper tier, we’ve accomplished our goal,” he added.
On a “less tangible level,” he emphasized, “I really hope that all the members that have put in so much work are recognized for that work.” That could mean metals, scholarships, or other honors.
Though AcaDec now occurs on a national scale, it actually traces its history back to Southern California. The very first Decathlon was in 1968 for Orange County, and Dr. Robert Peterson, then the Orange County Superintendent, was the activity’s creator. LAUSD became involved in the late 1970s, and the first national USAD was held in 1982.
Now, in 2026, one of our school’s decathletes is Larissa Iovino, a Zoo Magnet junior, who also manages the team’s social media profile, enjoys the opportunity to engage with a wide variety of topics beyond what she encounters in class. She shares Mr. Alvarez’s goal to advance to state, and also hopes to personally “win one or a few medals.”
For SAS junior Sosi Williams, who is new to the team this year, being part of AcaDec isn’t just about improving her own abilities. “I’m also motivated by my friends on the team because we just push each other to do the best that we can,” she shared.
Despite the variety of topics each decathlete encounters, each AcaDec is centered around a broad theme. This year’s is “The Roaring Twenties”—the vibrant American historical period between 1920 and 1929.
Aligning with that theme, Iovino recalled, “Some teammates and I actually took a class over the summer with Mr. Alvarez,” where “we read our literature piece for this year, ‘The Great Gatsby’” (first published in 1925). At this activity, they also quizzed each other and practiced impromptu speeches.
Mr. Alvarez expressed his pride in the team. “All of the members are really locked-in, studying, after-school practice multiple times per week; we’ve come in on Saturdays, we came in during Winter Break. I think we’re really firing on all cylinders.”
“We tried our best and it definitely wasn’t easy,” added Williams after the first part of the competition, “but I think that because it’s challenging, that’s what makes it fun.”
On Saturday, Feb. 28, our decathletes will receive their results for this year’s Los Angeles County Academic Decathlon. If all goes to plan, they will continue the season at the state competition in March. In any case, their efforts will have taken them far.
