Fall 2026 · Torch: U.S. · CERTAMEN REPORT
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CERTAMEN
COMPETITIVE CERTAMEN WINNERS
Jennie Luongo, 2025-26 NJCL Certamen Chair
OPEN CERTAMEN WINNERS
NOVICE
NOVICE
INTERMEDIATE
INTERMEDIATE
ADVANCED
ADVANCED
1ST PLACE
Indiana
2ND PLACE
Virginia
3RD PLACE
Massachusetts
MVP: Gavin Beuchel (IN)
1ST PLACE
Wisconsin
2ND PLACE
Texas
3RD PLACE
Florida
MVP: William Schoonenberg (WI)
1ST PLACE
Virginia
2ND PLACE
Georgia
3RD PLACE
Florida
MVP: Sarah Trainer (VA)
1ST PLACE
Daniel Tang (MA), Dhruv Chaturvedi (TX), Grace Rymell (TX)
2ND PLACE
Abhinav Mishra (TX), Alice Zhu (MA), Delia Colfer (ME), Adam Samnani (TX)
3RD PLACE
Nick Johnston (IN), Samuel Lim (TX), John Schult (MA)
Three Certamen events (Competitive, Open and the World Series of Certamen) happened at the 2026 convention, encouraging and inspiring students to study the ancient Mediterranean and classical languages. We appreciate and are proud of every person who participated in this year’s competition.
The JCL and Certamen communities are enriched by the spirit of fun and good sportsmanship that students bring to convention.
The Certamen Empowerment Award for Women is given thanks to the generosity and vision of former NJCL Certamen player and moderator, Sidhi Gosain. The primary aim of this award, which comes along with a check for $500, is to inspire women to pursue their studies of the classics through the game of Certamen. The award is given to a Certamen player of distinction who is a woman at the NJCL Convention who displays the following characteristics: mentorship of younger students; teamwork, leadership, and other contributions to their Certamen teams; quality of play in Certamen rounds. This year’s recipient is Kate Kim of Virginia.
The Certamen Hall of Fame is an honorary list for those who have won two or more NJCL championships, and this year’s Intermediate team from Wisconsin has been added to that group. Those new members are: Sohil Bucaro, Abby Subedi, William Schoonenberg, and Matilda Micallef.
In the Merens category, begun to honor people who have made contributions to the NJCL Certamen community over a long period of time. The Certamen staff this year has chosen to honor the person who brought Certamen to NJCL, Susan Schearer; long-time coaches and NJCL Certamen supporters, Kaye and Grady Warren; Former Certamen Chair, Ed Long, who expanded the field for semis from six to nine teams; and Doris Kays whose association with Certamen at the Texas JCL and NJCL levels extended over three decades. Congratulations to these new members!
1ST PLACE
Nirav Sadavarte (MA), John Hand (TX), Sahil Dhingra (WI)
2ND PLACE
Gabe Rogutich (WI), Lucy Engstrom (ME), GerasimosPapadopoulos (MA), Yasmin Archer-Yearwood (TX)
3RD PLACE
Sam Turkeltaub (VA), Kuzey Cetingul (WI), Oliver Westfall (TX)
1ST PLACE
Mackenzie Sanford (VA), Ivy Carver (MD), Violet Kerns (PA), Anik Banerji (TX)
2ND PLACE
Tomal Khan (TX), Joshua Li (GA), Morgan Kelly (MD), Nicholson Brownstein (FL)
3RD PLACE
Bani Gourab (MD), Emerson Ohashi (MA), Connor Hickey (WI)