On March 8-10, the WHHS Junior Classical League (JCL) spent their weekend dressed as Ancient Romans, togas and all, in Columbus, Ohio. Thirteen members of the WHHS JCL, ranging from seventh graders to juniors, traveled to the Ohio Junior Classical League convention at the Crowne Plaza Columbus.

“Every school that teaches Latin in the state goes, and we compete in a whole bunch of events, but not all are Latin based,” Leah Dah, ‘22, said.

The convention is made up of a series of Classics themed events, not simply translating Latin all weekend, from Certamen, which is a Classics version of Academic Quiz Team, to lectures given on topics such as Roman government.

The team, along with club advisers Tara Ligon, Michelle Martinez and Nick Lander, all WHHS Latin teachers, spent months preparing for the convention at their weekly meetings, practicing tasks such as textile creation and Latin reading comprehension. All this preparation paid off when the WHHS students dominated the competition, earning the titles of first overall per capita and first academic per capita for the first time in school history, blowing the second place team out of the water by a margin of 15 points.

“We have a couple of very good students on our team, such as Alan Zhang, and I feel that they were integral to our success,” Otto Kindel, ‘20, said.

This was the first JCL conference for many of the team members. “It was cool to be with people who have the same appreciation of Latin as you,” Chloe Goodman, ‘23, said. “It takes a special kind of person to be this into Latin and Classics… and it’s fun to geek out about Latin and Roman culture and Greek mythology,” Pablo Reed, ‘22, said.

The team participated in a variety of events, from jewelry making to a Classics pentathlon. They placed in many categories, winning medals and trophies in such an abundance of categories that there is no longer anymore room in Ligon’s room, where all the awards from previous years competitions have been stored. “The Classics team needs their own trophy case, I don’t have any place to put this year’s awards,” Ligon said.

Outside of the competitions, other events are organized for the students to attend, such as classes that teach skills like weaving and academic panels on topics such as archaeology. In addition, on the last night of the convention there is a toga banquet. “We all used bed sheets to make togas to wear to the dinner, where everyone ate and danced. It was a lot of fun,” Dah said.