Video: National champs

 
Moorpark High School wins first place in the 2008 U.S. Academic Decathlon.
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Jason Redmond / Star staff Jonah Buck, left, Angela Chen, Anaamika Campeau and Paul Watanabe cheer upon winning first place at the U.S. Academic Decathlon in Garden Grove on Saturday.

An appearance on Oprah. Reading the Top 10 list on the "Late Show with David Letterman." And a chartered flight to Washington, D.C., to meet the president.

These are some of the possible outcomes of Moorpark High School's history-making win over the weekend at the U.S. Academic Decathlon.

With 53,119 points, the dynastic team broke its own record, set in the state competition in March, by 240 points. It scored the most points in the history of the game and won by the slimmest margin at a national competition: 23 points, or the equivalent of one question.

Under coach Larry Jones, the win makes the school a three-time national champion since 1998.

Since Saturday, Jones said, he's received phone calls and e-mails from people inquiring about the team for appearances on New York talk shows. Traditionally, the president also personally congratulates the national winners at the White House.

Moorpark was one of 41 teams that competed in the 27th national competition. About 360 students from around the country battled in 10 academic events over a four-day competition.

Second-place finisher Waukesha West High School of Wisconsin scored 53,096, earning the second-highest score in history.

Pearland High School in Texas finished third, with 51,590 points.

A perfect score is 60,000.

Shortly after the win in Garden Grove, the team was whisked back to Moorpark in a limousine ride donated by a local business.

Once inside, team members reviewed their individual scores and used their cell phones to check national Academic Decathlon blogs that were heating up around the country.

The national spotlight carried them back to Ventura County, with calls from CNN, various network news channels and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sending his congratulations.

"I applaud the nine students from the Moorpark High School decathlon team for winning this year's competition," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "These students join a long list of California teams to earn this badge of academic excellence, and they make all of us in our great state proud."

Exhausted from nonstop studying and an awards ceremony that summoned all their adrenaline, most of them fell asleep on Saturday's long ride back to Moorpark, Jones said.

The team was welcomed to the city with a police and firetruck escort to Vons parking lot, across from Moorpark High School.

There, about 150 friends, parents, school and city officials waved banners and cheered the academic champions. Another reception is planned for Wednesday.

But just because the competition is over doesn't mean the cramming is done.

Team members cracked open books again to study for the Advanced Placement tests, taking place this week.

For the first time since September, Jones' room at Moorpark High School was clear of decathletes Monday afternoon.

"They all left," Jones said. "They couldn't believe they're getting home during the day."

Moorpark High School will have a reception for the 2008 champions at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Performing Arts Center, 4500 Tierra Rejada Road.