Mariemont High School Latin Teams Succeed at Xavier Certamen

Seven Mariemont High School students competed at the Xavier University Certamen on Feb. 1, earning a first and third place finish in the team competition.

Juniors Jackson Hacias and Nick Elin competed together as an upper level team and won first place over teams from Summit Country Day, Moeller and an independent student.

Freshmen Harry Manzler, Tommy Willis, Frankie Willis, Jerry O’Neil and Lucy Gee competed as a pair of teams in the intermediate division while Manzler, Tommy Willis and Frankie Willis advanced to the finals and placed third.

The certamen (Latin word for contest or competition) is broken up into three rounds. In each round, teams are asked questions Jeopardy-style in categories of Latin language, Latin vocabulary, Greek and Roman history, Greek and Roman mythology and Roman life. After the first three rounds, the top three teams advance to a final round to determine first through third place finishes in each division.

At the Xavier Certamen, Mariemont competed against teams from Summit Country Day, Seven Hills, Moeller, Royalmont, St. Xavier, Sycamore, Walnut Hills, Mt. Notre Dame and Mercy-McAuley.

There is one local certamen remaining on the schedule for the Latin teams before the Ohio state finals which are held each year during the Ohio Junior Classical League Latin Convention in Columbus.