Latin Students Take Top Honors at Austin-area Latin Convention

This President’s Day weekend, Westlake High School hosted the Austin-area Latin Convention.  The convention brought together students from over twenty area schools, 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 finished in first place, the fourth finished in a close second.  Players from all are now eligible to participate in All-Area Certamen teams. The Novice team consisted of Harrison Cauthen, Luke Edwards, Mark Greenberg, Clay Goldsmith, John Houston, and Rhett Parker who were leading the level in points after preliminaries and placed second by one question to Paragon Prep in an extremely close final match-up.  The Middle School team consisting of Laila Antonini, Owen Almy, Guilia Faini, Martina Faini, and Kai Benton, played three great preliminary rounds, advanced to finals, and won first place in their division.  The Intermediate team consisting of  William Berry, Kenzie Dorrance, Lorena Koppel, Nate Sabo, and William Sykes also came out of a competitive set of preliminary rounds in the lead and placed first against Westlake and Valor in a close final round. The Advanced team consisting of Jack Cowan, Bering Edwards, Lorelei Ing, Bunny Pease, Emma Schmidt, and Captain Will Snider dominated the preliminary rounds. They moved onto the finals and placed first convincingly by 180 points against strong teams from Anderson and LASA. The Advanced team will continue as an intact unit to represent Austin at the State Convention on March 27th and 28th at Clear Falls High School in the Houston Area. 
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.  Additionally, each student at the convention takes a test called the Pentathlon testing general knowledge about Latin and Roman culture. Of all the students from any school at the convention, Rachel Kilgard scored higher than any other Latin 1 student, and William Sykes tied for the high Pentathlon score among all Latin 2 students.  Four other students were recognized for having the highest score at any level on their tests.  Michael Barrow scored the top score for Mottoes.  Bering Edwards achieved the high score on the very popular mythology exam. Grayson McKinnerney received the trophy for the best performance of the male character Dramatic Interpretation passage. Emma Schmidt was awarded high scores for both Vocabulary and Latin Derivatives.  For the second year in a row, Lorelei Ing achieved the high score on the Roman History test.  The most difficult academic contest at the convention is called the Decathlon because it encompasses ten different areas of skill and knowledge.  For the second year in a row, Will Snider received the Jo Green Award for attaining the top score on that test for all students who took it at the convention, and, as the senior with the highest score, this year he was named the Senior Scholar and given a $500 scholarship.         
The individual awards follow:
1st Place
Owen Almy  Mythology Level ½ B
Owen Almy Reading Comprehension Level 1/2B
Michael BarrowMottoes Level 3
Kai Benton Roman Life 1/2A
Squeaky Buentipo200 Yard Run
Andrew Buller50 Yard Dash
Meyer Cohen Latin Derivatives Level 3
Meyer CohenVocabulary Level 3
Jack CowanLatin Literature
Jacqueline Drako 440m Relay Middle School
Krista DrakoVocal Ensemble
Cole Eclarinal 440m Relay Middle School
Luke EdwardsMottoes Level 1
Bering Edwards Decathlon Level 4
Bering EdwardsMythology Level 4
Bering EdwardsVocal Ensemble
Martina Faini   Mottoes  Level 1/2A
Martina Faini Roman History 1/2A
Clay GoldsmithGreek History Level 1
Laney GoodrumVocal Ensemble
Karlton Haussman 440m Relay Middle School
Lorelei IngLatin Literature Level 4
Lorelei IngRoman History Level 4
Becker JacksonMonochromatic Art High School
Aliyah Khattary 440m Relay Middle School
Gray McKinnerneyDramatic Interpretation
Zachary Okayli-MasarykGreek Derivatives Level 5
Bunny PeaseSight Recitation Level 3
Emma SchmidtLatin Derivatives Level 4
Emma SchmidtVocabulary Level 4
Will Snider Advanced Grammar Level 5
Will Snider Decathlon Level 5
Will SniderVocal Ensemble
Will SniderVocal Solo - Tenor/ Bass

2nd Place
Michael BarrowAncient Geography Level 3
Squeaky BuentipoAncient Geography Level 3
Squeaky Buentipo50 Yard Dash
Squeaky Buentipo100 Yard Run
Andrew BullerRoman Life Level 5
Bo Carpenter Monochromatic Art Middle School
Bering EdwardsVocal Solo - Tenor/Bass
Henry ErlingerClassical Art Level 5
Giulia Faini Roman Life Level 1/2A
Laney GoodrumVocal Solo - Soprano/Alto
Morgan HarrisonDramatic Interpretation Level 2
Isaac HiltonLatin Derivatives Level 2
Paige Hersch Dramatic Interpretation Level 1/2A
Lila JoseyRoman Life Level 3
Sabrina KalmansRoman Life Level 3
 Zaina Khattary  Latin Literature Level 1/2A
Rachel KilgardGreek History Level 1
 Presley Kuo Mythology Level 1/2A
Presley Kuo Vocabulary Level 1/2A
Zachary Okayli-MasarykClassical Art Level 5
Marnee Richardson Reading Comprehension Level 1/2A
Connor Roossien Sight Recitation Level 1/2A
Caroline SullivanPolychromatic Art
Luke Weaver Greek Derivatives Level 3


3rd Place
Kai Benton Mythology Level 1/2A
        Everett BradleyLatin Derivatives Level 5
Andrew BullerSight Recitation Level 5
Jack CowanRoman History Level 5
Beau DiedeMythology Level 1
Beau DiedeVocabulary Level 1
Mackenzie DorranceGreek Derivatives Level 2
Cole Eclarinal Reading Comprehension Level 1/2A
Ben Jackson Greek Derivatives Level 4
Aliyah Khattary Dramatic Interpretation Level 1/2A
Lorena KoppelReading Comprehension Level 2
Lorena KoppelVocabulary Level 2
Gray McKinnerneyMythology
Bunny PeaseLatin Derivatives Level 3
Gavin ReintjesAncient Geography Level 2
Maria TobiasGreek Derivatives Level 3

Receiving summa cum laude awards for the Pentathlon were:  Michael Barrow, Meyer Cohen, Jack Cowan, Bering Edwards, Rachel Kilgard, Emma Schmidt, Will Snider, and William Sykes.

Receiving maxima cum laudeawards for the Pentathlon were:  Andrew Buller, Krista Drako, Clay Goldsmith, Lorelei Ing, Lorena Koppel, Gray McKinnerney, Zachary Okayli-Masaryk, Bunny Pease, and Maria Tobias.

Receiving magna cum laudeawards for the Pentathlon were:  Patrick Anderson, Squeaky Buentipo, Harrison Cauthen, Beau Diede, Kenzie Dorrance, Henry Erlinger, Laney Goodrum, Morgan Harrison, Ben Jackson, Sabrina Kalmans, Jacob Marcus, and Luke Weaver

Receiving cum laude awards for the Pentathlon were: Everett Bradley, Luke Edwards, Andrew Farmer, Mark Greenberg, Isaac Hilton, John Houston, Becker Jackson, Lila Josey, Vera Milam, Gavin Reintjes, Nate Sabo, Sienna Sherlock, Chaz Stitzer, and Leo Vernor.

Members of the Middle School Latin Club also competed at the Convention. They had a fantastic day as well, taking first place in Certamen and Sweepstakes.
The Certaman Team:
Owen Almy
Giulia Faini
Martina Faini
Laila Antonini
Presley Kuo
Kai Benton

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 March 27-28 at Clear Falls High School in the Houston area.
 
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