In the blistering cold of Roanoke, West Virginia, nineteen of our high-achieving Latin students took part in the West Virginia Junior Classical League Latin Convention, held annually to showcase their passion for the Classics. Our Latin 1s, 2s, and 3/4/5s all competed in group vocabulary competitions, Certamen, a toga fashion show (yes, we are that kind of nerds), and individual tests, with four Linsly students gaining/regaining their state-wide positions in the organization. Held at Stonewall Resort, four schools from all over West Virginia offering Latin competed, including Linsly, Huntington High School, Covenant School, and St. Joe’s. Across all the categories, Linsly excelled; we came, we saw, and we conquered.
Their Latin-filled fun began Tuesday afternoon with the group vocabulary competition; 10 vocab words of often extremely obscure vocabulary were read to the students. Latin 3/4/5 Team 3 group, headed by Sophie Toma and Annalise Johnson, secured the win. The Latin 1 and Latin 2 groups were not far behind. Following a toga fashion show and dinner banquet, the students competed in the most coveted event. Certamen, a Latin noun that roughly translates to “struggle” quizzes students on Roman history, Ancient geography, grammar, mythology, and much more. With the pool of questions stemming from 3 different Certamen sources with roughly 1700 questions each, our students were unsure what to expect. But, of course, they were up for the challenge. Our Latin 3/4/5 Team 3 (Sophie Toma, Annalise Johnson, Caroline Martin, and Jaxon Milam) won the Certamen round for the fourth year in a row, defeating the closely following Linsly Latin 3/4/5 Team 2 (Joseph Nodurft, Cali Blass, Alianna Horvath, and Kaylen Intherath), adding to their already impressive collection of blue ribbons.
On day two, the students partook in the most taxing part of the competition: the individual tests. With only an hour and a half to complete as many as twelve different tests, Linsly had to show what they knew and how fast they could come up with it. All nineteen of the Linsly classists placed, with some students bringing home 8+ ribbons. Finally, the 2026 officers were elected for the West Virginia Junior Classical League: Sophie Toma was reelected President, Zack Kuttie was elected Vice President, Jaxon Milam was selected to be treasurer, and Annalise Johnson became the Parliamentarian.
Congratulations to all of the Latin students, and thank you so much to Mrs. Brogan-Johnson for making it all possible!
By Sophie Toma
