The Latin competitors returned from Area F on Feb. 21 with the highest of individual awards yet again. They also dominated the other schools, placing first overall to add to their string of victories.

“There were 15 schools in our division, and the highest score [Westlake’s] was 970 points,” Latin teacher Alan Abbe said. “Second place [earned] 654. It’s 14 points for each first place win, 12 points for each second place and 10 points for each third place. So that’s a whole lot of wins going on there.”

Westlake also managed to snag the first place spot for Olympica, the event that covers a variety of sports. Out of 28 schools that competed, Westlake came in first with 206 points. Certain students also managed to go above and beyond to attain a “high point,” or the highest score ever recorded, for specific events.

“We had seven high point winners, including John Thomas, who not only got a high point in Advanced Grammar but also a high point in Pentathlon,” Abbe said. “Some of these people have won high point trophies year after year. John and Grant West have won multiple years as well. In fact, I think all of the high point winners have won several times.”

Junior Winifred Duncan, one of the high point winners, is happy with her results.

“It felt pretty good to get a high point,” Winifred said. “It’s been my third year in a row [winning], so I kind of expected it. [Still], It was a lot of fun.”

The certamen team, or the Latin competition team that participates in quiz bowl challenges, did a respectable job at Area as well.

“I was very proud of the certamen team because when they were going into the final round, they were up against the team that represented the state of Texas last year,” Abbe said. “They were within five points going into the final round, but we ended up getting third place. We kept it pretty close.”

Both the students and Abbe have high hopes for State on March 27 and 29. Within the past five years, the team has finished in the top four or five.

“We always do well in Area, but only sometimes do well at State,” Duncan said. “This year, however, we have a lot of strong kids, so I think we will do well.”