Reported by Bill Kelly, STATEWIDE Correspondent

The decathlon is one of the most grueling events in sport. A test of athletes' strength and skill. Apply the same standards to a test of the mind, and you have the Academic Decathlon, a contest that requires the same kind of dedication and preparation. In tonight's Perspective we followed Omaha Creighton Prep's Academic Decathlon team as they worked to carry on the school's winning tradition.

[Judge asking question:] "Which county was not one of the original signers of the Declaration of the United Nations?"
   So there's Creighton Prep, two-time state champion in the Academic Decathlon.
   [Judge:] "The correct answer is (B) France."
   Just minutes into the big finale quiz in front of parents and opponents, and Omaha North is pulling ahead. It's regionals and if Prep hasn't collected enough points in the first seven tests today, the unheard of will happen. Creighton Prep, Masters of the Academic Decathlon, will not go on to the state finals.
   [Judge:] "Yugoslavia was created following the dissolution of (A) German Third Reich..."
   The preparation began months ago.
   [Creighton Prep teacher at a practice session:] "You need to get a copy of Chapter Nine on rangeland forest and wilderness management."
   It's 7 o'clock in the morning and the members of the Prep team are voluntarily here to get a lecture on ecology.
   [Teacher:] "This story is believed it fell partly because of misuse of their land so it's been going on for a long time. We just need to learn to deal with it."
   This intensive training made Prep the bad boys of the state's smartest competition. These are not all "A" students. They can't be. The rules of Decathlon require team members with "B" and "C" averages. Their scores have equal weight.
   [Jeannie Brayman:] "If I have "C" students that can't score well, we won't possibly win. I don't care how many points the "A" students got. We can't possible win."
   Jeannie Brayman is the coach behind the winning Decathlon tradition at Prep. Her strategy: build the total team score for a team victory. That's more important than any one individual's performance.
   [Brayman:] "I do have some kids that I think perhaps are in the genius category, yes. I have others that the educational theoricians would call brilliant, which is, you know, smart below that, and we have kids that are just normal kids, but they are -- some of them are over-achievers and some are under-achievers. It's a neat mix of different kinds of kids."
   And interesting kids. There's Ryan Dworak, who loves science, a good candidate for valedictorian this year, quiet and intense.
   [Dworak:] "This year I've really enjoyed the government section on the part that dealt with capitalism, socialism, fascism, and communism. I've really enjoyed reading about the different systems and how they've either succeeded or failed.
   Vince, the sophomore newcomer to the team, has a "B" grade average and a remarkable ability to retain information.
   [Vince:] "It's, like, an enormous amount of information, I mean, over every possible subject you can think of. Books and pamphlets are huge. And we just keep going over it again and again and again until we learn it."
   Ryan Carbon, the artist, the gourmet chef, class clown. He's a "C" student who will be the first to tell you that his grades don't reflect his ability.
   [Carbon:] "And I'm a "C" level student. I'm an under-achiever. I'm not stupid."
   None of them are stupid. To compete in this kind of event, Jeannie Brayman sees one common element.
   [Brayman:] "I hope they get out of it the same thing I get out of it, which is a love of learning, and I hope that they're there because they like to learn. I know some of the kids are there because they are highly competitive kids and that's neat, too."
   [Bill Kelly:] "Do you really want to win this thing?"
   [Vince:] "Yeah."
   [Kelly:] "Why is that so important?"
   [Vince:] "It's kind of an honor to do it, because, you know, this is a pretty prestigious school. We saw they did it last year. You know, the Governor even came. I just kind of want to be part of that."
   [Carbon:] "We all have to learn the same things. It's not like "A"'s have to learn calculus and the "C"'s have to learn multiplication. We all have to learn. Actually this year, I think it's trigonometry. This year we all have to learn trigonometry. And we all have to know the Odyssey from cover to cover."
   [Brayman:] "Okay, so that's Zeus and the wind, all right?"
   The Odyssey, that book by Homer, dreaded by students across the planet, must be thoroughly dissected by anyone hoping to do well in this year's Academic Decathlon.
   [Brayman:] "She was the one who gave him the choices, like, between the clashing rocks and all that good stuff."
   Jeannie Brayman throws every possible teaching technique at her team from lectures by local experts to plastering the walls with outlines and highpoints. There are professionally-prepared study guides and flashcards with likely quiz questions. Then the tables turn and the students become teachers.
   [Ryan teaching:] "And there are two main ppers to the carbon cycle. The first part is photosynthesis."
   [Kelly:] "Do you like teaching?"
   [Ryan Dworak:] "Not really, no. It's something that we have to do. It's neat to learn from the other students, though. You kind of share what you know. It's not really teaching. It's more of a discussion."
   [Brayman:] "So not only do they learn it, let's say passively, they have to learn it actively as well, and then they have to go back and teach it. So I think that's really a neat way to learn how to learn."
   For five months the learning does not stop. This session was over Christmas break. They showed up, often without being told, even when school was closed because of weather. They want to learn. They want to win.

[Priest, praying:] "We ask the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit in our worship right now to inspire you men to do as well as possible..."
   Creighton Prep is a Catholic boys school, so the day before the Regionals, there is one decidedly parochial tradition.
   [Priest:] "...and to be very happy no matter what happens, whether you end up in eighth place, first place, whatever."
   This will also be the only pep talk the team will get from their coach. It is not the typical pre-game locker room session.
   [Brayman:] "I really truly do not care whether you win or lose tomorrow. It doesn't matter to me. And if I succeed in passing the spirit of the love of learning on to you in the course of Decathlon, I feel I have succeeded, that I have taken first place every year when I do that. If I can't do that, I am a failure at this.
   At a pizza dinner later, the bravado of high school boys returns. This will recharge their batteries for a night of cramming.
   "This is serious time, this is serious time."
   Back at school, the team breaks into pairs for one last push. Concentrate on your weaknesses, they're told.
   "X equals five thirds and Y equals, umm..."
   [Brayman:] "They have already reviewed. Now it's just sort of like okay, let me just go over it one more time to feel good about it, and that's tough. It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of discipline to do that."
   There are seven areas they must master for Regionals: Mathematics, Language and Literature, Social Science, Economics, Science, and Fine pers. The study session will last until 11 o'clock tonight. Saturday morning and competitors register for the day's contest.
   "Oh, I am so tired, I don't know if I'm ready for anything at this point."
   The Prep team stocked with cases of coke, bags of cookies, and a small portable library of study helpers, looks for any last minute nugget of trivia.
   [Brayman:] "Usually if they go into it and they're nervous, that's probably a pretty good thing. It's kind of like, you know, a case of butterflies before you go on stage. I think that's typical. If you don't have that, you're too complacent."
   [Test Proctor:] "I welcome all of you to the day of competition."
   [Brayman:] "I don't feel that this team has any one person that's going to be a standout, but I think over all there's an evenness of ability here that I haven't seen in years, and that makes me very hopeful that they will do very well as a group."