Certamen Advance to State, Erben '19 and Snider '20 Take Top Awards
By Emma Schmidt '21 and Jennie Luongo, US Latin Teacher
This month the St. Andrew’s Upper School hosted the Austin-area Latin Convention. The convention brought together students from over 25 schools in the Austin-area, allowing students to network and compete in various Classical events.
This month the St. Andrew’s Upper School hosted the Austin-area Latin Convention. The convention brought together students from over 25 schools in the Austin-area, allowing students to network and compete in various Classical events.
Certamen is a buzzer game that requires students to work together, process and synthesize information quickly and effectively, and use their knowledge of Latin creatively to answer questions. St. Andrew’s had four Certamen teams representing the school, in each level of competition: Middle School, Novice, Intermediate and Advanced. Three of those teams will be advancing to the state competition after winning first place this weekend.
The Intermediate team consisted of Squeaky Buentipo and Leo Vernor who played some good preliminaries, however, they did not move onto finals after placing 4th in their division.
The Middle School team consisting of Owen Almy, William Berry, and William Sykes, played three great preliminary rounds, advanced to finals, and, after a tough final round, won first place in their division.
The Novice team consisting of Esme Aguilar, Kenzie Dorrance, and Lorena Koppel easily advanced to finals and placed first against Westlake in a close final round.
The Advanced team consisting of Bering Edwards, Lorelei Ing, Emma Schmidt, and Will Snider dominated the preliminary rounds. They moved onto the finals and placed first against strong teams from Westlake and Anderson.
The Novice, Middle School, and Advanced teams will represent Austin at the State Convention on April 5th and 6th at Anderson High School.
The Intermediate team consisted of Squeaky Buentipo and Leo Vernor who played some good preliminaries, however, they did not move onto finals after placing 4th in their division.
The Middle School team consisting of Owen Almy, William Berry, and William Sykes, played three great preliminary rounds, advanced to finals, and, after a tough final round, won first place in their division.
The Novice team consisting of Esme Aguilar, Kenzie Dorrance, and Lorena Koppel easily advanced to finals and placed first against Westlake in a close final round.
The Advanced team consisting of Bering Edwards, Lorelei Ing, Emma Schmidt, and Will Snider dominated the preliminary rounds. They moved onto the finals and placed first against strong teams from Westlake and Anderson.
The Novice, Middle School, and Advanced teams will represent Austin at the State Convention on April 5th and 6th at Anderson High School.
As a school, St. Andrew's Upper School took second in the overall Academic sweepstakes, calculated by adding points for each student who placed in the top three in their contests. Five students were recognized for having the highest score at any level on their tests. Lorena Koppel scored the top score for Reading Comprehension in level 1. Andrew Buller and Lorelei Ing scored the high scores on Roman History and Roman Life, respectively. Emma Erben was recognized for the second year in a row for having the high score on Latin Derivatives test. Parker Brandt also was recognized for having the high score on Greek History for the second time. Chris Zhao was recognized for having the high score on the Classical Art test.
The most difficult test at the convention is called the Decathlon because it encompasses ten different areas of skill and knowledge. Will Snider received the Jo Green Award for attaining the top score on that test for all students who took it at the convention, while Emma Erben was named the Senior Scholar and given a $500 scholarship for being the senior with the highest score on that exam.
The most difficult test at the convention is called the Decathlon because it encompasses ten different areas of skill and knowledge. Will Snider received the Jo Green Award for attaining the top score on that test for all students who took it at the convention, while Emma Erben was named the Senior Scholar and given a $500 scholarship for being the senior with the highest score on that exam.
The individual awards follow:
1st Place
Esme Aguilar Mottoes Level 1
Owen Almy Mythology Level ½ A
Owen Almy Sight Recitation Level ½ A
Michael Barrow Roman Life Level 2
William Berry Greek Derivatives Level ½ B
Parker Brandt Greek History Level 4
Parker Brandt Roman History Level 4
Squeaky Buentipo Ludi Sand Volleyball
Andrew Buller Roman Life Level 4
Meyer Cohen Mottoes Level 2
Meyer Cohen Vocabulary Level 2
Sophia Del Conte Ludi Sand Volleyball
Kenzie Dorrance Greek History Level 1
Kenzie Dorrance Mythology Level 1
Bering Edwards Decathlon Level 3
Bering Edwards Mythology Level 3
Emma Erben Decathlon Level 3
Emma Erben Latin Derivatives Level 5+
Becker Jackson Ludi Sand Volleyball
Sofia Gonzalez Vocabulary Level 3
Lorelei Ing Latin Literature Level 3
Lorelei Ing Roman History Level 3
Ben Jackson Ancient Geography Level 3
Lorena Koppel Reading Comprehension 1 Level 1
Lorena Koppel Vocabulary Level 1
Vera Milam Ludi Sand Volleyball
Sina Mohammadi Ludi Chess
Gavin Reintjes Ancient Geography Level 1
Emma Schmidt Latin Derivatives Level 3
Emma Schmidt Roman Life Level 3
Will Snider Decathlon Level 4
William Sykes Roman Life Level ½ B
Nick Zarafshani Ludi Sand Volleyball
Christian Zhao Classical Art Level 5+
Christian Zhao Polychromatic Art
2nd Place
Mia Arriaga 100 Yard Run High School Girls
Mia Arriaga Ancient Geography Level 3
Mia Arriaga Softball Throw High School Girls
Michael Barrow Mottoes Level 2
Everett Bradley Classical Art Level 4
Sophia Del Conte Classical Art Level 3
Sofia Gonzalez Vocal Solo - Soprano/Alto
Aidan Madoff Sight Recitation Level 3
Jacob Marcus Latin Oratory Level 3
Sina Mohammadi Sight Recitation Level 4
Shelby Pomeleo-Fowler Dramatic Interpretation: Male Character Level 3
Shelby Pomeleo-Fowler Vocal Solo - Tenor/Bass
3rd Place
Owen Almy Roman Life Level ½ A
Paige Anderson Roman Life Level 4
Drew Aronoff Ancient Geography Level 4
Mia Arriaga Greek History Level 3
William Berry Latin Derivatives Level ½ B
Andrew Buller Sight Recitation Level 4
Tristram Coffin Costume: Male Character
Tristram Coffin Mythology Level 5+
Sienna Del Conte Classical Art Level 5+
Bering Edwards Vocal Solo - Tenor/Bass
Henry Erlinger Greek History Level 3
John Fontenot Latin Literature Level 3
Sofia Gonzalez Sight Recitation Level 3
Morgan Harrison Softball Throw Middle School Girls
Ben Jackson Greek History Level 3
Taylor Josey Greek Life Level 3
Taylor Josey Roman Life Level 3
Solomon Marshall 50 Yard Dash Middle School Boys
Solomon Marshall Frisbee Throw Middle School Boys
Solomon Marshall Sight Recitation Level ½ B
Solomon Marshall Softball Throw Middle School Boys
Christian Zhao Roman Life Level 5+
Receiving summa cum laude awards for the Pentathlon were: Owen Almy, Meyer Cohen, Kenzie Dorrance, Bering Edwards, Emma Erben, Henry Erlinger, John Fontenot, Sofia Gonzalez, Lorelei Ing, Shelby Pomeleo-Fowler, Emma Schmidt, William Sykes, Will Snider, and Allyssa Weiss.
Receiving maxima cum laude awards for the Pentathlon were: Paige Anderson, Michael Barrow, Parker Brandt, Sophie Buechler, Squeaky Buentipo, Andrew Buller, Maddy Clark, Tristram Coffin, Ben Jackson, Jacob Marcus, Gavin Reintjes, and Leo Vernor.
Receiving magna cum laude awards for the Pentathlon were: Esme Aguilar, Truman Cunningham, Sophia Del Conte, Taylor Josey, Sabrina Kalmans, Lorena Koppel, Aidan Madoff, Gray McKinnerney, Sina Mohammadi, Michael Thomas, Luke Weaver, and Chris Zhao.
Receiving cum laude awards for the Pentathlon were: Mia Arriaga, Drew Aronoff, Everett Bradley, Sienna Del Conte, Avery Duncan, Becker Jackson, Lila Josey, Jack Malone, Vera Milam, Morgan Nascone, Zachary Okayli-Masaryk, Kern Singh-Rehani, and Nick Zarafshani.
We so appreciate the many parents, students, and alumni who helped at the event. Congratulations to all the winners and bonam fortunam omnibus at State. The State Convention will be held on April 5-6 at Anderson High School in Austin, TX.
