Students at Pasadena’s Mayfield Junior School Again Earn Academic National Championships, Secure Top Finishes
Yichen Tan earns top honors at IAC.
The International Academic Competitions (IAC) held its 2025 Middle & Elementary School National Championships over five days in Orlando, Florida, and once again, Mayfield Junior School students excelled. Nearly 2,000 students in grades K-8 competed to determine National Champions in various buzzer-based quiz tournaments.
Yichen Tan wins four IAC National Championships.
After earning two national championships during last year’s IAC event, rising Mayfield 7th grader, Yichen Tan, followed up his stellar 2024 performance with another impressive showing in 2025. This year, Tan was crowned a National Champion in the National Science Bee, National Academic Bee, U.S. History Bee, and U.S. Geography Championships.
Coach Jill Frazee, Liam Godinez, Jacob Maue, Yichen Tan, Guy Butler, Hugo Teltser, Ben Brown, Mina Feser, and Charlie Murphy
In the National Championship Exams, Tan won gold in Ancient History, Biology, Earth Science, Environmental Science, and Science Picture Quiz; Silver in American History and Political Science; and Bronze in History Picture Quiz, Physical Science, and Women’s History. Tan also secured a semifinalist award in both the National History Bee and National Geography Bee.
Liam Godinez, Charlie Murphy, Yichen Tan, and Jacob Maue
Tan’s fellow classmates also contributed to the success in team competitions. Mayfield took home Silver medals in the Academic Bowl, covering all academic subjects, and Bronze in the History Bowl.
Jacob Maue, Yichen Tan, Charlie Murphy, and Guy Butler
Rising 7th grader, Jacob Maue, placed first in the Ornithology exam, and recent 2025 Mayfield graduate, Mina Feser, advanced to the quarterfinals in 8th Grade Science.
Mina Feser
Rising 8th graders Ben Brown and Hugo Teltser (History, Geography), and rising 7th graders Guy Butler and Maue (History, Science) placed in the Top 50% in individual competitions. Charlie Murphy and Liam Godinez finished in the Top 60% in History.
Yichen Tan, Liam Godinez, Jill Frazee, Charlie Murphy, and Jacob Maue
Students who finished in the top two-thirds of the National History Bee or on teams in the Top 50% of teams in the National History Bowl qualified for the 2025 International History Bee, which IAC will oversee in Paris, France, this summer. Students who finished in the top two-thirds of the National Geography Bee and US Geography Championships qualified for the 2026 International Geography Championships, which IAC is organizing in Khao Lak, Thailand.
Jacob Maue
Jacob Maue, Guy Butler, Yichen Tan, and Charlie Murphy
Mayfield Junior School, 405 South Euclid Avenue, Pasadena, (626) 796-2774 or visit www.mayfieldjs.org.