Urbandale Community School District: UHS Academic Decathlon Team Takes 3rd Place At State Competition

Press release from the Urbandale Community School District:

March 7th, 2022

UPDATE: The Urbandale High School Academic Decathlon team earned Third Place at the Iowa State Academic Decathlon Competition held March 4–5, where they competed in 10 events related to the theme Water: A Most Essential Resource. The team studied challenging materials to test their academic strength in Art, Music, Literature, Economics, Science, Social Science, Math, Essay, Speech, and Interviews. The state team consisted of Bella Richards (captain), Will Jacobson, Joseph Sibley, Brannen Kent, Natasha Mills, Peggy Barley, Bellah McFarlane, and Aldin Omerovic. Alice Tsao served as the sole alternate on the state team.

Water: A Most Essential Resource.

Individual Awards:

• In the honors division, Joseph Sibley won Gold in Literature and Bronze awards in both Science and Art. Bella Richards won the Gold Essay award.
• Natasha Mills won the Bronze award for Essay in the scholastic division.
• Peggy Barley built on her previous year’s success by winning Gold for her speech, Silver in Art, Math, and Interview, and Bronze for Music in the varsity division.

Additionally, UHS Principal Tim Carver was honored with a Special Recognition Award to be presented at the March 28 UCSD school board meeting.

Next year’s theme will be “The American Revolution and the New Nation.” If any student would like to participate, please email Mrs. Forristall at [email protected]

Congratulations to the UHS Academic Decathlon team for their third place finish at the state competition! Many thanks to Carrie Baird-Forristall for sharing this exciting update.  Well-done! #UHSpride 

Pictured: Brannen Kent, Will Jacobson, Aldin Omerovic, Joseph Sibley, Peggy Barley, Bella Richards, Bellah McFarlane, Alice Tsao, Natasha Mills, and Carrie Forristall.

Photo Credit: Rachel Kent

The Urbandale High School Academic Decathlon team earned 2nd Place at the Central Iowa Regional competition held January 27–28, where they competed in academic events related to the theme, “Water: A Most Essential Resource.” The Regional teams studied extremely challenging materials to test their academic strength in Art, Music, Literature, Economics, Science, Social Science, Math, Speech, and Interviews.

A total of 21 individual awards went to the team, which consisted of Bella Richards (captain), Will Jacobson, Joseph Sibley, Brannen Kent, Natasha Mills, Peggy Barley, Bellah McFarlane, and Aldin Omerovic. Alternates on the team were Lejla Jukic, Jackie Hernandez, Zoe Kerchal, and Alice Tsao. The team moves on to compete at the State level in Mason City on March 4–5. Any student can participate next school year by enrolling in Academic Decathlon Class or joining the Academic Decathlon Club.

Congratulations to the UHS Academic Decathlon Team for their 2nd Place finish in the Regional Competition! A tremendous amount of preparation and hard work resulted in these outstanding achievements. Thank you to UHS Extended Learning Program Teacher, Carrie Baird-Forristall, for facilitating, guiding, and leading these remarkable students. Many thanks to Carrie Baird-Forristall for sharing these fantastic achievements. UCSD is incredibly #proudofU!

Individual Awards:

• Will Jacobson (Honors division): 3rd place in Music
• Bella Richards (Honors division): 3rd place in Art
• Joseph Sibley (Honors division): 2nd place OVERALL scorer; 1st place in Music & Art, 3rd place in Literature, Social Science, Economics, and Interview
• Natasha Mills (Scholastic division): 2nd place in Science & 3rd place in Literature & Art
• Peggy Barley (Varsity division): 2nd place OVERALL scorer; 1st place in Music & Science, 2nd place in Literature, Art, Math, & Interview
• Bellah McFarlane (Varsity division): 3rd place in Art
• Aldin Omerovic (Varsity division): 2nd place in Social Science

UHS Academic Decathlon Team (primary members) Joseph Sibley, Will Jacobson, Aldin Omerovic, Natasha Mills, Bellah McFarlane, Brannen Kent, Bella Richards, and Peggy Barley.

UHS Academic Decathlon Team (primary members and alternates; not pictured Zoe Kerchal) Row 1: Brannen Kent, Aldin Omerovic, Will Jacobson, Joseph Sibley, Alice Tsao. Row 2: Lejla Jukic, Jackie Hernandez, Bella Richards, Peggy Barley, Natasha Mills, and Bellah McFarlane.

This press release was produced by the Urbandale Community School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.