Merced High School Earns First Place in 2026 Merced County Academic Decathlon

The 45th Annual Merced County Academic Decathlon came to a close tonight, Feb. 7, after several rounds of competition including essays, multiple choice tests, speeches, interviews and a Super Quiz.

Merced High School emerged as the top scoring team of the competition. Rishabh Saha from Merced High School was the top scoring student of the day for the second year in a row. Merced High was also the top team for the Super Quiz.  

This is Merced High School's 21st win, earning first place in the 2022 competition. The school will advance to the State Academic Decathlon in Santa Clara this March. Merced High was one of the competition’s original teams when the Merced County Academic Decathlon started in 1982.

Teams from high schools across Merced County participated in the competition, which challenged students’ knowledge and skills in math, science, social science, music, art, economics, literature, public speaking, interview and writing.

At the awards presentation, students were recognized for their participation in the competition both individually and as a team. Three of the highest scoring members of each team received the Robert Wayne Scholarship on behalf of donations and sponsorship from the Merced School Employees Federal Credit Union. 

Sponsor partners included Educational Employees Credit Union, Merced County Office of Education, Merco Credit Union and Travis Credit Union.

The Merced County Academic Decathlon pits local high schools against each other in a contest of academics. High Schools who participated this year include Atwater, Buhach Colony, Delhi, El Capitan, Golden Valley, Hilmar, Livingston, Los Banos, Merced and Pacheco.