On March 7 through March 9, 21 members of the Crown Point Latin Club joined students from fifteen other schools at the 70th Annual Indiana Junior Classical League State Convention at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. In addition to fun activities such as a “That’s Entertainment” talent show and a Roman Banquet, the convention included a variety of competitions at the individual, team, and club levels.
Individually, our students performed extremely well in these events, receiving 21 individual first-place awards and bringing home 134 awards for top-five placings! Additionally, one of our students (Jackson Vrlik) received an Individual Achievement Trophy in Academic Testing. There are only five trophies available in each of those individual achievement categories! Hayden Smith, CP senior, served as the 2023-2024 IJCL First Vice President and planned the convention. She received the 2024 IJCL Elizabeth Love Memorial Scholarship. Additionally, Gabrielle Wagner, CP senior, was elected to serve as Historian for the Indiana Senior Classical League (the college version of our organization) for 2024-2025. Two Crown Point Latin graduates were also elected as ISCL officers: Anna Suppes (Vice President) and Abby Godsen (Secretary).
Mr. Jeremy Walker, CP Latin Club sponsor, was honored during the third General Assembly for his years of service to the organization as IJCL Co-Chair. Logan Pauley and Colton Neal were chosen to perform during the “That’s Entertainment” talent show and were selected as the Fan Favorite Act.
In the much-anticipated Certamen competition (a Jeopardy-style quiz game), the Novice team (first-year Latin students) advanced to the final round and placed third overall. The Intermediate (second-year Latin students) Certamen team also advanced to the final round and returned home as state champions. The Advanced (third and fourth-year Latin students) team also returned home as state champions. Members competing on the novice team were Gabriel Blake, Shaun Ipema, Annie Jacobi, and Asher McAlvey. Members of the intermediate team were Joe Stewart, Lincoln Vickers, Luke Waldschmidt, and Jack Watson. Students competing on the advanced team this year were Nic Collier, Ashley Grindey, Sammie Ipema, Gibson Mehrle, Logan Pauley, Hayden Smith, and Jackson Vrlik.
At the club level, Crown Point once again performed extremely well. In addition to placing second in the overall sweepstakes competition for large chapters, we earned 1st place in the Helen Wampler Spirit Contest (entry compiled by Sammie Ipema, Consul), the Dennis M. Bartlow Publicity Contest (organized by Luke Waldschmidt, Praetor), the Local Publications Contest (organized by Jackson Vrlik, Tempus Canis Chair), and the Digital Scrapbook Contest (organized by Nic Collier and Hayden Smith).
We also placed 2nd in the Delegate Spirit contest (led by Logan Pauley, Spirit Chair), 5th in the Sharon Gibson Community Service (organized by Luke Waldschmidt, Praetor), and 6th in the Chapter T-shirt contests.
We are extremely proud of all of our students for their dedication and enthusiasm for the study of Latin, and look forward to seeing them compete again at next year’s convention! We are especially proud to report that all 21 students finished in the top five in at least one competition, meaning that they all earned points toward the 1,714 total points that we earned.
The next level of competition for these young people will be the National Junior Classical League Convention from July 22-27 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN. For more information on this event, see www.njcl.org.
Students in attendance: Zofia Barick, Gabriel Blake, Nic Collier, Ashley Grindey, Sammie Ipema, Shaun Ipema, Annie Jacobi, Kalei Maynard, Asher McAlvey, Gibson Mehrle, Colton Neal, Kaimbria Noordermeer, Logan Pauley, Hayden Smith, Joe Stewart, Lincoln Vickers, Jackson Vrlik, Gabrielle Wagner, Luke Waldschmidt, Jack Watson, and Emi Wilson.
Latin Club Sponsors: Jeremy Walker and Angela Taraskiewicz
Certamen Coaches: Jeremy Walker, Angela Taraskiewicz, and Ryan Collier
Chaperones: Amy Mehrle, Diana Smith, Ryan Smith, and Jennifer Wilson
-written by Jeremy Walker
