Latin students milled about sporting togas, centurion armor, and tunics while reciting sections of the Catilinarian orations. Such activities were the norm at the Area A Junior Classical League convention held in Clear Falls High School on Feb. 25.

Middle and Upper School students competed in academic and ludi sporting events at JCL. Middle School won first place in their division and Upper School won second in the small high school division.

Ludi refers to public games that were held for entertainment since days of Ancient Greece. JCL ludi is largely based on these events from antiquity, including sprints, relay races, discus throw, and more modern events like volleyball and basketball. Freshman Colton Morgan placed second in the 200-meter sprint and 3rd in the 100m. The St. John’s basketball team won first place.

Students swept the academic competitions, many placing first in geography, grammar, derivatives, reading comprehension and sight recitation in their respective levels. All students were required to take the Pentathlon exam, a five-subject test that covers topics ranging from history to literature.

Junior Olivia Zhang placed first in both the grammar exam and Decathlon, a ten-subject test that covers the subjects of the Pentathlon along with Roman life, comprehension, and geography.

JCL was founded in the 1936 by Latin teachers who saw that fewer students were learning the language due to its difficulty.

“It has been a great way to keep interest among kids who like the culture and the history but maybe aren’t so good at the language,” Latin teacher Melinda Wolfrom said. “It’s a win-win for everyone, and Latin stays alive.”

Latin students annually compete in both the area and state competitions. State will be held in San Antonio later this month.

Individual Awards

Sambhu Balakrishnan – 3^rd place Mythology, Level II

Hrishabh Bhosale – 1^st place Ancient Geography, Level III

Hrishabh Bhosale – 1^st place Sight Recitation, Level III

Rohen Chawla – 2^nd Place Latin Vocabulary, Level II

Saager Chawla – 1^st place Reading Comprehension, Level III

Emily Chen – 3^rd place Reading Comprehension, Level IV

Olivia Grobmyer – 2^nd place Classical Art, Level II

Jack Kagan – 3^rd place Latin Mottoes, Level II

Roman Lewis – 4^th place Roman History , Level III

Sam Lu – 3^rd Place Reading Comprehension, Level II

Sareena Marshall – 2^nd place Mythology, Level III

Colton Morgan – 4^th Place Roman History, Level II

Daniel Poag – 1^st place Latin Derivatives, Level III

David Seo – 3^rd place Latin Grammar, Level III

Kennedy Sholeen – 4^th place Latin Derivatives, Level II

Melody Trautner – 3^rd place Ancient Geography

Olivia Zhang – 1^st place Grammar and 1^st place Decathlon, Level III

Ludi (Athletic & Certamen Competitions)

Colton Morgan – 2^nd place in the 200 meter and 3^rd in the 100 meter

1^st Place Basketball Team – Olivia Grobmyer, Jack Kagan, Roman Lewis, Sam Lu, David Seo,  Kennedy Sholeen

*This article was updated on May 4, 2024 to reflect a name change.