This spring, students competed in the annual Texas Academic Decathlon Contest, a rigorous academic competition. Each team of students participated in interviews, an essay, speeches and written comprehensive exams on a variety of topics including music, art, literature, math, economics, social science and science.
This year, all ten Frisco ISD teams qualified to compete at the Texas AcDec State Competition, which was split into two locations this year due to COVID-19. Centennial, Frisco, Heritage, Lebanon Trail, Liberty, Lone Star, Reedy and Wakeland high schools all medaled in competition. Notably, Lone Star earned recognition as a 1st Place Team for Medium Schools at the Frisco Meet while Reedy placed 4th for Medium Schools at the San Antonio Meet.
In addition to several awards received by students and their teams, Liberty High School AcDec Coach Gary Mumford was named the Tom Norris Texas Academic Decathlon Coach of the Year for medium schools. The award recognizes his dedication and commitment to student achievement and excellence in Academic Decathlon.
Mumford was nominated for the honor by his students and colleagues who described the impact he has had on the AcDec team, both academically and as an inspirational leader.
Mumford was selected for the honor by coaches from across the state. Learn more about this recognition.
Congratulations to these students and their coaches on their achievements in the State AcDec competition:
Centennial High School
Coaches: Jeff Wolford, Amy Wolford, Kelly Wiggans, Jim Herran
Sohm Chheda - Gold and Silver Medalist
Jacob Domingue - Gold Medalist
Manav Makhija - Silver Medalist
Frisco High School
Coaches: Brent Beeson, Krista Wagner, Carl Black
Ananth Kothuri - Gold (2), Silver (1) and Bronze (5) Medalist
Maadhav Kothuri - Gold (1) and Bronze (2) Medalist
Abbas Pirwani - Silver (1) and Bronze (3) Medalist
Shane Thakkar - Bronze Medalist
Mckinley Xie - Gold Medalist
Heritage High School
Coaches: Gabe Fain, Cristopher Marshall, Tammy Mumford, Aimee Davenport, Patsy Dempsey
Dhvani Patel - Silver Medalist
Lebanon Trail High School
Coaches: Jillian Schattle, Kristen Summers, Daniel Lowe
Govind Narayan - Gold (1), Silver (2) and Bronze (1) Medalist
Krutika Manwadkar - Gold and Silver Medalist
Aashish Kambala - Bronze Medalist
Liberty High School
Coaches: Gary Mumford, Holley Mosley, Tim Johannes, Jennifer Harrison
Shrenick Gannamani - Gold (3) and Bronze (1) Medalist
Timothy Wyatt - Silver Medalist
Lone Star High School
Coaches: Stacy McDonald, Megan Bufford, Jennifer Fitzpatrick, Matt Ray, Anna Yun
Keertika Gullipalli - Gold Medalist
1st Place Team for Medium Schools at Frisco Meet
Team members: John Blazer, Shane Cavanaugh, Trisha Chinnimeni, Keertika Gullipalli, Lucy Huo, Isaac Kadari, Cristina Cruz Miyasaki, Morgan Nydam, Isabella Pereira,
Reedy High School
Coaches: Kathleen Schrantz, Jocelyn Harty, Jeff Schranyz
Rithvi Anakal - Silver (2) and Bronze (2) Medalist
Sitara Hariharan - Bronze (2) Medalist and 4th Place Overall Scholastic
Farhan Iqbal - Bronze (2) Medalist
4th Place Team for Medium Schools at San Antonio Meet
Team Members: Rithvi Anakal, Felipe Anea, Sitara Hariharan, Farhan Iqbal, Sherry Kang, Coonor Leuthold, Doha Mahmoud, Akshay Sethi, Elijah Wilson,
Wakeland High School
Coaches: Joanna Cone, Sarah Woods, Shawn O’Hara
Ahmad Elbeltagy - Bronze Medalist
Labiba Uddin - Gold and Bronze Medalist