Ruchi Srivastava ’08 invited upper level Certamen competitors to join in the Rice University Owl Certamen this past weekend, which included academic subject tests, as well. Read an article about the event, including comments by Srivastava, on the Rice website.

The three Harker competitors, juniors Nik Datuashvili and Richard Fan, and sophomore Kevin Duraiswamy, trounced their competition – two teams from St. Johns school in Houston – in the final round. Harker garnered 160 points to 20 and 15 for the two other teams.

In addition to the Certamen win, each Harker competitor earned top level placing in the academic tests. Duraiswamy was first in Mottoes, Quotes and Abbreviations (Latin and Greek), Datuashvili was first in Latin Language, and Fan was second in Roman History and Life.

“Rice has a group of advanced Latin students who were top Certamen competitors in high school,” said Donald Morrison, professor of philosophy and classical studies and the faculty sponsor of the event. “They love the language and the culture and the competition so much that they organize and run this tournament for nearly 150 Houston-area secondary-school Latin students.”

The public is invited to the final rounds of Certamen, a quiz-bowl competition about all things Roman and Latin. “It’s like the final, championship round in a high school debate tournament,” Morrison said. “No other events are scheduled at that time, and all the participants gather in the auditorium to watch the best teams play.”