The Corbett Alumni Association strives to reconnect our graduates through alumni events and to support the further development of our alma mater for a new generation of students.
MEMPHIS - Corbett High School senior Lara Dunton captured the gold medal in language and literature this past weekend at the U.S. Academic Decathlon National Finals, while her Oregon state championship team finished 27th place overall. Corbett represented Oregon in the competitions after Dunton led the Columbia Gorge contingent to a resounding victory in the Oregon Academic Decathlon state championship in February. At nationals she scored 840 out of a possible 1,000 points on the language & literature objective exam, matching the score of two-time national champion Kris Sankaran from California's Moorpark High School.
"She's proven again and again she has the ability to score right up there with the top dogs," said Oregon's state decathlon director Christian Cerone. "Leading the nation in an event isn't very easy to do, especially in a program as young as Oregon's."
Corbett joined state champions from 34 other states, plus a team from London, England, in the two-day competition for the right to be crowned national champion. Sankaran's Moorpark team emerged as the overall victor in the ten-event competition for the second straight year.
Other strong Corbett performances included a fourth place in interview by junior Morgon Purvine, and fifth and sixth-place finishes in math by senior Tyler Jones and junior Jacy Clare, respectively. Jones also placed in the top ten in economics, while Dunton earned top-ten finishes in economics, music, and science to go along with her gold medal.
"The gold medal is the first national award in the two-year history of Oregon Academic Decathlon and only the third medal awarded to an Oregon student at the national competition since its inception in 1981," Cerone noted.
The Gresham Outlook, Apr 28, 2009, Updated Apr 28, 2009
Corbett High School senior Lara Dunton was awarded the gold medal in the language and literature event of the U.S. Academic Decathlon National finals last weekend in Memphis, Tenn.
The gold medal is the first national award in the two-year history of Oregon Academic Decathlon and only the third medal awarded to an Oregon student at the national competition since it began in 1981.
Dunton scored 840 out of a possible 1,000 points on the language and literature objective exam. This was tops in the field of students participating in her category and matched the score of two-time national champion Kris Sankaran from California's Moorpark High School.
Sankaran holds the record for the highest individual overall score in Academic Decathlon history and earned recognition as the highest scoring student overall in this year's finals. Lara's ability to keep pace with such a strong competitor was not lost on Christian Cerone, Oregon state director.
"She's proven again and again she has the ability to score right up there with the top dogs," Cerone said. "Leading the nation in an event isn't very easy to do, especially in a program as young as Oregon's."
Corbett finished in 27th place overall, a step up from their 31st place performance in last year's national competition. Corbett, which represented Oregon, joined teams from 34 other states, plus a team from London, England, in the two-day competition for the right to be crowned national champion.
Other strong performances by Corbett students included a fourth-place finish in interview by junior Morgon Purvine, and fifth- and sixth-place finishes in math by senior Tyler Jones and junior Jacy Clare, respectively.
Jones also placed in the top 10 in economics, and Dunton earned top-10 finishes in economics, music and science to go along with her gold medal.
Seniors Matthew Hammel, William Matheson, and Laura Kimes, junior Brandon Sager and sophomore Sasha LaGreide round out Corbett's nine-member team.
