[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 963]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



     IN TRIBUTE TO SIMI VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMIC DECATHLON TEAM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 9, 2000

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the Simi Valley 
High School Academic Decathlon Team, which will represent Ventura 
County in the Academic Decathlon California state finals on March 16-
19.
  The Simi Valley team's win this past weekend was impressive, setting 
a new county record of points scored. And, in winning the county 
competition against 15 other schools, they also beat last year's 
National Champions--Moorpark High School, Simi Valley's neighbor to the 
west. Moorpark placed second in this year's county competition. The two 
have been trading the county title for the past eight years.
  This time, the accolades belong to Simi Valley High School. The nine-
student team is representative of the best and brightest our county has 
to offer. They have been accepted to such universities as Harvard and 
Stanford. Seniors David Bartlett, Steve Mihalovitz, Cary Opal, Jeff 
Robertson, Jennifer Tran, Michael Truex, Justin Underhill, Randy Xu and 
junior Kevin White ended the competition with a slew of medals and 
trophies.
  Now these bright young leaders are readying themselves to take on the 
top teams in the state. They will probably face Moorpark High School 
again, as Moorpark is expected to compete as one of the state's wild 
card teams. Simi Valley High School is confident, but not taking 
Moorpark for granted.
  It promises to be an exciting contest--the Super Bowl of intellectual 
competition.
  ``We're cooler than the athletes now,'' Jennifer Tran told a local 
reporter after this weekend's contest. And just as tough.
  Mr. Speaker, I know my colleagues will join me in congratulating the 
Simi Valley High School Academic Decathlon Team for its impressive win 
this week, and in wishing the team great success in the state 
championships.

                          ____________________