ROD THOMPSON / RTHOMPSON@STARBULLETIN.COM Members of the Hilo High School Academic Decathlon team took a photo break Tuesday during a math lesson from team coach Dane Nelson, right. Team members are, from front, James Cogo, Jeremy Gourd (far left), Brandon Castillo, Hayden Stevens, Lincoln Uyeda, Eli Robinson, Brian Cama (seated) and Kaniel Yano.

Hilo High student team
braves mental Decathlon

The state winners get set for
next month's nationals in Phoenix

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By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

HILO >> The time for after-school practice has come at Hilo High, and team captain Lincoln Uyeda has a question for his coach.

"Can we do hypothesis testing today?" he asks.

This team is different.

Uyeda is captain of the Hilo High Academic Decathlon team, which over the weekend won the statewide competition for the 10th year in a row. It is now preparing for national competition next month in Phoenix.

The Hilo High team came in sixth in the nation last year, and they think they can do better this year. They've spent all school year studying a set of Decathlon books besides their regular class materials.

Academic coach Dane Nelson hears students tell team members they don't see them anymore because the members are studying.

But they're also active at school. Hayden Stevens is captain of the football team. Brandon Castillo is president of the Key Club. Jeremy Gourd is president of the school band.

They are not straight-A students. National rules call for three with an A average, three with a B and three with a C. One teammate dropped out earlier this year, leaving Hilo with eight.

"Almost everyone who does this, their grades go up," Nelson said.

Gourd says school classes are about pleasing people like his mother. "In Academic Decathlon, you can have other people happy, too," he said.

The team has no girls, although girls made up half the team during the first eight state victories.

The boys tried to get girls to join this year. Gourd says he knows a lot of girls smarter than he is, but competition didn't appeal to them.

The biggest threats in Phoenix on April 10-14 will be from California and Texas, says team adviser Charlene Masuhara. Texas provides each of its teams with $5,000, plus $3,000 for each of two coaches during the year.

The Hawaii Department of Education has paid air fares to the nationals in the past, but this year, state support has dropped. Masuhara has to raise $9,000. Call 808-974-4021, ext. 2275, if you're interested in making a donation.