Moorpark High School teacher andacademic decathlon team coach Larry Jones and members of his team are to becongratulated for winning another national title.

This is the third national title forMoorpark High School, having won National Academic Decathlon titles in 1999 and2003, with all three under Jones.

The team from Moorpark won the nationaltitle with a total of 53,119 points out of 60,000 possible. The students scoredthe highest points in the history of the Academic Decathlon, beating their ownrecord achieved at the California state competition in March. The East VenturaCounty students beat exceptional teams from Wisconsin, Texas, Arizona andIllinois as well as 36 other state champions.

Students also competed individually inthe 10 subject areas, with Moorpark taking a combined total of 36 medals. Inthe Super Quiz competition about the Civil War, the Moorpark Musketeers setanother record with a total team score of 5,940 out of a possible 6,000 points.The school is a perennial contender in county, state and national competitions.California teams have won nine of the last 13 national titles.

It did not come easy. Moorparkstudents usually studied seven hours a day. That is a tribute to what hard work and diligence can doand the rewards they can bring.