Students Win State Decathlon, Scholarships for College
Nashville, TN – Fifteen seniors earned the top scores in the state academic decathlon Saturday, netting college scholarships for their achievement. Dollar General Corporation sponsored $1,000 scholarships for winners for use at the college of their choice. The top-scoring team, Madison Academic Magnet High School in Jackson, will represent Tennessee at the United States Academic Decathlon in Honolulu, Hawaii.
“I commend all the decathlon participants for their hard work and commitment to their education,” Education Commissioner Lana Seivers said. “Providing challenging academic opportunities like the state decathlon is valuable in encouraging students to aim for higher levels of achievement.”
Tennessee’s academic decathlon gives students an opportunity to compete in rigorous team and individual scholastic challenges. Teams advance through local, regional and state level competitions to qualify for the national finals. Nearly 300 students, parents and teachers attended the event held at Austin Peay State University.
“We are grateful to Dollar General for rewarding Tennessee’s top seniors and supporting their continuing education,” said Emory Register, director of the Governor’s Study Partner Program & Academic Decathlon. “We must take every available opportunity to recognize our students’ scholastic achievements.”
The following seniors earned top scores and a $1,000 college scholarship:
| Student |
School |
School System |
|---|---|---|
| Amanda Reed | Lebanon High School | Wilson County |
| Marty Mitchell | Chester County High School | Chester County |
| Justin Littlejohn | Mt. Pleasant High School | Maury County |
| Steven Castellaw | Obion County Central (Red) | Obion County |
| Isaac Olmedo | Haywood High School | Haywood County |
| Rick Skelley | Liberty Technology Magnet | Madison County |
| Frances Johnson | Loudon High School | Loudon County |
| Kelli King | Fairview High School – Team 1 | Williamson County |
| Daniel Cunningham | Seymour High School | Sevier County |
| Andrew Moffatt | William Blount High School | Blount County |
| Tharon Snuggs | Obion County Central (Blue) | Obion County |
| Scott Archer | North Side High School | Madison County |
| Aimee Dickinson | Fairview High School – Team 2 | Williamson County |
| Virgilio Gozum | Madison Academic Magnet | Madison County |
| Cameron Presley | Heritage High School | Blount County |
Members of the winning Madison Academic High School team include: Virgilio Gozum, Cherrell Denwiddie, Amy Kerr and Kenneth Stewart, Cory Cronin, Ronald Nelson, Al Robert, Beth Steinberg and Tony Carroll. The national competition will consist of 10 events to take place April 25-28 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The United States Academic Decathlon was founded in 1981.
Photos are available upon request. For more information, contact Rachel Woods at (615) 253-1960 or Rachel.Woods@state.tn.us.