FWCD Latin Teams Place First in Home Contest

The FWCD Mason Middle School served as the site of a Latin “Friendly” in early December. A “Friendly” is a practice event leading up to the area and state Certamen contests. “For us at FWCD, ‘Friendly’ is a bit more apt because one of our goals is to cultivate participation in Latin contests in the metroplex and particularly in Fort Worth,” said FWCD Latin Teachers Bryan Carlson (Upper School) and Clint Hagen (Middle School). 

About 100 students from seven schools around the metroplex participated in the Falcon Friendly Certamen Tournament and Fall Festival on December  9. In addition to certamen, the competitive quiz-bowl activity typically at a Friendly event, there were other digital contests to challenge students in their classical knowledge, such as gimkit. On this competitive platform, students compete by answering questions on various topics (in this instance, all Latin-related) on their electronic devices. There was also an art contest with senior Abbie Proell as the critic judge.

The competition’s final results placed FWCD at the top of the podium. In the Novice Division, FWCD’s Middle School team of eighth graders Hudson Parcells, Nat Angel, Nicky Burdman and Ronan Acuna Guba won first place, defeating Trinity Christian Academy and St. Mark’s School of Texas in the final. In the Advanced Division, FWCD’s Upper School team took home gold. Blake Wood ’27, Andrew Lobo ’26, and Akshay Vasudevan ’26 defeated St. Mark’s and Covenant Classical School in the final.

“The Middle School team showed a lot of promise in this tournament,” Hagen said. “We should be a contender for the regional title in February, and I would like to see us place in the top three at state.”

“The Upper School team really is impressive this year. Andrew is a sophomore and went to state last year at the intermediate level. This year, he may lead the team back to state in his first year at the advanced level,” Carlson said. “He is backed up by Akshay, another sophomore, who is improving with each tournament. The team is anchored by Blake, a freshman who, as an eighth grader, ‘played up’ with the Upper School team at state. Not only do we have a great team, but we have a lot of potential for growth in the coming years. I am so proud!”

To help secure funds for the event, Carlson applied for a grant through the Classical Association of the Midwest and South Committee for the Promotion of Latin. He was awarded $155 for the contest’s trophies. Upper School Latin Club members Kaitlyn Chu ’25, Samantha Saade ’26 and Murphy Hoefer ’25 assembled the trophies (see photo in Kudos). 

FWCD has hosted this Falcon Friendly event for nearly five years. When FWCD began competing in the National Junior Classical League (NJCL) nearly 10 years ago, it was the only school in Tarrant County with Latin teams regularly competing in area or state NJCL events. Over the years, Carlson and Hagen have enhanced the School’s Latin program and grown the Latin teams. With that established program, they began inviting neighboring schools to contests. FWCD hosted the contest for the entire North Texas area in 2018 and has encouraged its peer and sister schools to participate.

“Mr. Carlson has been working for several years to help more Fort Worth schools participate in NJCL events,” Hagen said. “Last year, we shared a bus with TVS to a tournament at St. Mark’s. We were excited to host them this year at our tournament, and we are working with them so that they can host their own tournament this year.”

Under the guidance and expertise of Carlson and Hagen, FWCD’s Latin students and teams are known locally, statewide and nationally. Latin unlocks linguistic proficiency and fosters a profound connection to our cultural heritage in a rapidly evolving world. With its rich legacy, this language bridges the past and present, offering a unique lens to gaining insights into diverse fields, from language and science to law and literature. 

Falcon Friendly Participating Schools
Covenant Classical School
Fort Worth Country Day
Founders Classical Academy of Prosper
Greenhill School
Trinity Valley School
Trinity Christian Academy
St. Mark’s School of Texas