Latin Students Showcase 3A's

The Middle and Upper school Latin teams showcased their 3A’s at the Texas State Junior Classical League Convention on April 4-5 in Bellaire. Hosted by Bellaire High School, St. Thomas Episcopal and St. John’s School, over 1,800 students from 87 schools came together to celebrate their studies of the ancient world and to compete in contests ranging from academic to artistic to athletic. 

FWCD was involved in many aspects of the event, as Andrew Lobo ’26 assisted in the planning and hosting of the event as the local Area C Chair, and Middle School Latin Teacher Clint Hagen helped run the grading room as the State Chair.

Over the course of two days, there were over 100 contests providing multiple opportunities for students to showcase their excellence. 

The Upper School team finished third in the Red Sweepstakes, which is based on cumulative points earned by the team, and the Middle School team placed eighth in their division at state. FWCD students also placed individually. 

"Seeing our incredible young people meeting and competing with some of the best students from around the entire state makes the time and sacrifices worth it," said Upper School Latin Teacher Bryan Carlson. "I am always amazed to see how our students grow and develop through this sort of outside of the school room academic opportunities."

“The Middle School students performed really well, and many of them placed in the top 10 against schools with much larger teams,” said Hagen. “I’m very proud of their hard work.”

Below are the results:

Nat Angel ’28
Classical Art - Seventh Place
Pentathlon - Cum Laude

Ethan Gatzke ’27
Pentathlon - Magna Cum Laude

Cash Hickman ’27
Greek History - Eighth Place

Andrew Lobo ’26
Grammar Advanced - First Place
Latin Derivatives - First Place
Pentathlon - Summa Cum Laude

Hudson Parcells ’28
Pentathlon - Maxima Cum Laude

Blake Wood ’27
Latin Literature - Sixth Place
Mosaics - Ninth Place
Pentathlon - Summa Cum Laude
Vocabulary - Second Place

Aaron Bagshi ’29
Grammar ½ and 1 - Sixth Place
Pentathlon - Magna Cum Laude
Roman History Monarchy and Republic - Sixth Place

Clay Gatzke ’29
Ancient Geography - Eighth Place
Greek Life and Literature - Third Place
Pentathlon - Cum Laude

Morgan Gatzke ’29
Pentathlon - Maxima Cum Laude
Vocabulary - Fourth Place

Emma Hodge ’30
Greek Derivatives - Seventh Place
Pentathlon - Maxima Cum Laude
Vocabulary - 10th Place

Grace Kim ’29
Greek Derivatives - Third Place
Pentathlon - Magna Cum Laude
Roman Life - Sixth Place

Samuel Lim ’30
Latin Derivatives - Fifth Place
Mythology - Sixth Place
Pentathlon - Maxima Cum Laude
Pottery - Fifth Place
Sculpture - Seventh Place

Burkley Massey ’29
Cartoons - Ninth Place
Dramatic Interpretation: Passage 1 - Third Place
Latin Derivatives - Third Place
Pentathlon - Maxima Cum Laude
Swimming 50M Freestyle - Middle School Girls First Place 

Mars McWaters ’29
Greek History - Third Place
Pentathlon - Summa Cum Laude
Roman History Empire - Fifth Place

Ian Wood ’30
Open Certamen Novice - Third Place
Pentathlon - Summa Cum Laude
Roman History Empire - Third Place
Roman History Monarchy and  Republic - Fourth Place