Luther Prep Competes at JCL

Wisconsin Junior Classical League 

Convention Summary (2025)

 

The Wisconsin Junior Classical League convention took place on January 30th – Feb 1st. Luther Prep’s 20 students were among the 330 students from 11 high schools who attended this year’s convention in Madison, WI.

 

At the convention, students take part in a variety of activities, including general assemblies, spirit contests, competitions in art, chess, essays, and oratory, as well as a toga banquet.

 

Students are also tested on their knowledge of the classics of ancient Greece and Rome. This year students took a number of tests and placed in the top 5 for their respective levels in the categories listed below: 

 

Category 

Level

Place

Student

Latin Derivatives

1

5th

Molly Augsburger

 

2

3rd

Matthias Gumm

 

4

4th

James Norton

Latin Reading Comprehension

4

3rd

John Balge

 

4

5th

Allie Hinz

 

4

5th

Veronica Brock

Pentathlon

4

5th

Allie Hinz

Greek Derivatives & Vocabulary

1

3rd

Molly Augsburger

 

2

5th

Andrew Bessert

 

2

5th

Matthias Gumm

 

4

4th

James Norton

Greek History, Literature, & Life

2

3rd

Andrew Bessert

 

4

5th

Caleb Hahnke

Ancient Geography

1

5th

Zeke Hefti

Mythology

4

5th

Caleb Hahnke

Impromptu Essay

1

2nd

Isabella Stelter

 

4

4th

Dan Hoogervorst

Impromptu Art

4

4th

John Balge, Micah Boggs, Dan Hoogervorst

 

Another highlight of the convention is a competition called certamen. (Certamen is a Jeopardy-style quiz bowl game.) Teams from each school compete against each other, 3 at a time in 3 preliminary rounds. Each preliminary round consists of 15 toss-up questions with 2 bonus questions for each toss-up question. Whichever team answers the toss-up correctly gets a chance at the two bonus questions. For each level (1-4), the top 3 teams after the preliminary rounds, compete in the final round: 20 toss-up questions, 2 bonus questions per toss-up.

 

This year our Latin 4 team made it to the finals and placed 3rd overall. Congrats to the following seniors on our team: John Balge, David Grunewald, Caleb Hahnke, Allie Hinz, James Norton, Logon Sellnow.

 

We thank the organizers of the WJCL for making the convention possible this year. Above all, we thank God and give him the glory for the gifts he has given to our students and for the ways in which he is preparing them to be a blessing to his church, as was evident at this year’s convention.