Nine Students Compete at State Academic Decathlon from SHS-Named First Runner- up at the State Contest in the Large School Division-Losing to Omaha Marian High School!

February 23, 2026

There were nine SHS students that traveled to Bellevue University to compete at the
State Academic Decathlon on Saturday, February 21 st , 2026. The contest was to also
be held on Friday, February 20 th but canceled due to the weather. Students were
divided into three levels of competition-based on their GPA’s -Scholastic, Varsity and
Honors - and asked the same test questions in a variety of categories. The theme this
year was “The Roaring Twenties.”
The students competed in a series of online tests in Art, Literature, Music, Math,
Economics, Science, Social Science, and a Super Quiz Bowl event-plus wrote an essay
as well. They studied and were quizzed on the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott
Fitzgerald in the Literature Test.
SHS students attending included: Team:  Calvin Shipley, Alaina Bartels, Cardin
Goracke, Kayla Albright, Ava Slechta, Nathan Kulhanek, Marshall Seevers, John
Wieseman, and Lucian Gunn. No alternates were allowed to attend the event. The SHS
team coach/sponsor is Noelle Baker -SHS educator. The team is sponsored by the
School District of Seward-High Ability Learner Program (HAL) and the Seward Rotary
Club.

Of the nine students, four medaled in a variety of contests at the state level. Medalists
included…Literature-Scholastic - 2nd Ava Slechta, Art-Scholastic - 2nd Ava Slechta,
Math--Varsity - 3rd - Nathan Kulhanek, Scholastic - 1st - Ava Slechta, Honors - 2nd -
Kayla Albright, Economics-Scholastic - 3rd - Marshall Seevers, Seward Top Team
Scorer-Kayla Albright. The team was first runner-up to Omaha Marian High School in
the Large School Division and the “overall” winner of the Decathlon was Mount Michael,
who will represent Nebraska at the National Level of Competition.