PORTLAND — Monmouth Academy placed second Saturday in the Maine Academic Decathlon, winning a spot at the national competition next month and scholastic bragging rights for another year.

Teams from Edward Little, Oak Hill and Mountain Valley high schools also finished in the top seven in the event, which was held at Deering High School.

Matt Bryant, a junior at Monmouth who won seven medals for individual categories, said he was proud of his team’s performance.

“I am definitely happy with second place,” he said as the winners were announced. “First would have been awesome, but I am really pleased with how we pulled together at the end.”

More than 250 students from 20 teams took part in the academic decathlon, now in its 26th year. High school teams from across the state are pitted against one another in a daylong competition that includes interviews, impromptu speeches and written exams. Individual scores are tallied throughout the day to determine the winning team.

Four winners from Maine earn a spot at a national tournament, although only the top team will travel to Charlotte for the event in April.

Scarborough High School won this year’s event for the third year in a row. Oak Hill finished fifth, Edward Little sixth and Mountain Valley seventh.

Teams have nearly a year to study the material, which is based on a theme. This year’s event focused on the Great Depression, requiring students to bone up on 1930s’ economic policy, art deco-style architecture and even the geological conditions that created Dust Bowl conditions in the Midwest.

“It’s a very unique experience,” said Deseree Tanguay, a senior at Edward Little High School, who was participating in her first Academic Decathlon. “You’ve got all these people spending their Saturday morning taking tests and giving speeches.”

Students said they enjoyed taking the tests to see how they stacked up, but make no mistake about it, this event is serious competition.

“It’s kind of intense when you’re testing. You want to score high,” said Darby Beaulieu, a junior at Oak Hill. “You want to prove yourself.”

Kristine Kahl, a junior at Monmouth Academy, said all that competition can lead to a stressful day.

“It’s a long day, with a lot of test-taking,” she said during a lull in the testing. “Even though it takes it out of you, it’s still exciting.”

While much of the scoring takes place during the day, during speeches and written tests, most participants look forward to the Super Quiz, which takes place in the gym in front of hundreds of cheering parents and teammates.

In this event, teams of three from each school clustered together on the basketball court while questions were read by Channel 6 meteorologist Joe Cupo, the moderator. Participants had seven seconds to answer each of 10 multiple-choice questions. Unlike the other tests, students knew right away if they got the answer right.

Students from each team who get the correct answer raise their hands — to cheers and applause from the crowd. Coaches from other teams are seated nearby to verify answers and to prevent cheating.

Kym Couch, a senior at Mountain Valley, said it can be tough to answer correctly during Super Quiz, when the pressure is really on.

“You know all the answers when you’re up here,” she said, referring to when she is sitting on the bleachers rather than answering Super Quiz questions.

Judging by the number of hands raised for each question, this quiz was not easy. Participants were asked about sedimentary rock, the most efficient type of coal and the High Plains aquifer. They also had to know the porosity of clay (0.5) and be able to name the first person to recognize the law of superposition (Steno).

Joel Olstein of Auburn said he felt a sense of pride every time his son, Zach, raised his hand with a right answer.

“It’s a terrific event,” he said. “All of the interest is on sports around here. It’s good to have a competition for academics.”

While most teams enter the competition in hopes of winning, the group from Edward Little wanted most of all to improve on last year’s seventh-place finish. They did just that, finishing sixth. A beaming coach Erik Gray said his team did “awesome.”

“We are already thinking about next year,” said Gray, whose goal is to “build something great at Edward Little.”

While their counterparts look ahead to next year’s competition, Monmouth’s team must prepare for an online national tournament next month.

Monmouth coach Cathy Foyt said the event is every bit as serious as the physical competition, with medals and other awards to top scorers. Like many of her students, she’s looking forward to the competition.

“It will be good opportunity to see where we stand,” she said.