Tracy High School’s Academic Decathlon squad took second of 19 teams at the countywide competition last weekend.

The 29th annual San Joaquin County Academic Decathlon Championship was Jan. 30 and Feb. 5 in Stockton, at the campus of the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Tracy High’s team said they were proud of this year’s showing, an improvement from last year, when they placed fourth. Lodi High School placed first this year, for the fourth year in a row, and will compete at the state level in March.

Tracy’s 50 students enrolled in the year-round class were excited this year’s competition theme was the French Revolution.

Anne Bednarz, the Academic Decathlon coach, is also the school’s French teacher.

Senior Paolo Mariani said now, the team is “basking in the glory,” and planning another party.

Mariani, who plans to study dentistry at the University of the Pacific in the fall, said the intellectual competition, parts of which are scored in real-time in front of an audience, is nerve-racking, but a lot of fun.

Hector Sanchez, a Tracy High junior, said the team is just glad it survived this far during the school’s budget crisis. The school pays for the students’ materials and entry fees into the county competition.

“We’ve been glad to rely on a few friends at the district,” he said.

Academic Decathlon teams are made of nine students with varying grade point averages. Students with an “A” average compete at the Honor level, “B” students compete as Scholastic, and C students are on the Varsity team.

The Academic Decathlon tests students in art, economics, essay, interview, language and literature, mathematics, music, science, social science, and speech.

Natalie Craig, a junior Varsity team member, won first place overall. She also took first in the art, economics, music and language and literature categories. She took third in science and in speech.

Hector Sanchez, a junior on the Scholastic team, won first place overall. He won first in essay and music; second in interview and language and literature and third in economics.

Anna Xie, a junior on the Honors team, won third place overall. She also took first in speech and second in essay and language and literature.

Other Tracy High School winners are as follows:

Alternates:

Karen Hoi, third place in art

Nihir Patel, first in science, second in economics and fifth in math

Niraj Punjya, fifth place overall. Punjya took second place in essay and math and third in science

Caitlin Dong, first place in essay and second in language and literature

Yousof Osmani, fifth place in language and literature

SuHo Bae, fifth place in math

Zeeshan Klaliq, third place in math

Emily Dang, third place in math

Anmol Bhangu, second place in math

Michelle Dang, first place in math

Bonnie Lin, fourth place in music

Geno Urbano, second place in science

Laqshya Taneja, second place in science

Arash Gill, fourth place in the Superquiz competition

Varsity:

Justin Abraham, third place in economics

Madison Brady, first place in speech and third in essay

Josh Suarez, first place in essay and second in math

Hamza Ahsan, third place in interview

Honors:

Shamn Singh, first place in interview, math and science

Paolo Mariani, third place in math