Top Scoring Teams Revealed in Merced County Academic Pentathlon

The results of the Merced County Academic Pentathlon were revealed this past weekend, where family, educators and community members gathered for the Super Quiz and awards ceremony. The annual competition brought together 330 middle school students from across the county to showcase their academic prowess. 

The overall top scoring teams are: Grasslands Elementary School from Los Banos Unified School District who earned first place for sixth grade, Los Banos Junior High School from Los Banos Unified School District earned first place for seventh grade and Le Grand Elementary School from Le Grand Union Elementary School District earned first place for eighth grade. 

The top performing teams in Super Quiz are Los Banos Elementary for sixth grade, Los Banos Junior High for seventh grade and Washington’s A Team for eighth grade.  

Max Menefee, a seventh-grade student at Creekside Junior High, was the overall top scoring student of the competition. Menefee also received the highest overall score in last year’s competition.

The overall top scoring team — Grasslands Elementary School — will now advance to the United States Pentathlon National Competition in Phoenix, Arizona on May 16-18.

The Academic Pentathlon consisted of five subject areas: fine arts, literature, math, science and social science. Students first completed a series of tests in each subject area at their school site last week and then showcased their knowledge in the Super Quiz on Saturday, which features questions from all five subject areas and required students to work together in teams to answer as many questions as possible within the allotted time. 

Organized by MCOE, the Academic Pentathlon is an annual event designed to encourage and recognize academic excellence among students within the county. Materials are centered around a national theme provided by the United States Academic Decathlon. The theme this year was Technology and Humanity.