Sophomore Briana Sandoval was one of 16 students who placed in two out of a possible three competitions at the regional Latin Forum recently where she and 37 other West Shore Latin students competed against students from Edgewood, Holy Trinity, Rockledge, Satellite and Spruce Creek.

“My drawing was an imaginative representation of Mount Olympus. It basically compared the mythological world to the real world,” Sandoval said. “My favorite part of the regional forum was the awards ceremony where I won first place for the drawing, but it was accidentally categorized in the wrong grade.”

The possible awards derived from tests in two academic subjects as well as submitting a project in categories such as models, paintings and speeches.

“I took tests in vocab and derivatives because [Latin teacher Maria] Petosa thought I would do well in them,” freshman John Sorgenfrei said. “They were hard because I didn’t know any of the answers to them.”

Twenty to 25 of the regional participants are advancing to the State forum, which will be held at the Wyndham Orlando April 9-11.

This being her second trip to state, Petosa is confident in her students. Now knowing what to expect, she plans to better prepare them this year.

“[At state] we hope to place in the Top 20 overall as a school,” Petosa said. “The kids have a better chance of placing on tests [this year]. They’ve been taking practice tests, so they know what to expect more.”

The winners from the regional forum are as follows:

Academic Tests: Anya Johnson- Classical Art I, third Place. Myth 1, second Place; Cassie Kirby- Classical Art II, fifth Place; Makana Grimm- Classical Art Advanced, fourth Place; Rohan Saini- Classical Geo II, first Place. Roman Customs II, third Place; Joshua Boyer- Classical Geo II, fourth Place. Roman Customs II, second Place; Bryce Rothery- Classical Geo II, fourth Place; Briana Sandoval- Classical Geo Adv, second Place; Kumari Naicker Giles- Classical Geo Adv, fourth Place; Brittany Reyes- Classical Geo Adv, fifth Place; Cole Yorio- Roman Customs II, second Place; River Grace- Roman Customs Adv, fourth Place. Myth Adv, third Place; Christopher Sorgenfrei- Latin Derivatives I, fifth Place. Latin Vocab 1, second place; Jimmy Hubbard- Latin Derivatives I, fifth Place; Cassie Kirby- Latin Derivatives II, fifth Place; Noel Taylor- Latin Derivatives Adv, fifth Place; Trey Plyler- Greek Derivatives II, fourth Place; Kylie Minter- Greek Lit II, third Place; Sophia Pietrzak- Greek Lit II, third Place. Myth II, second Place; Adam Blackwell- Hellenic History II, fourth Place; Matt Johnson- Hellenic History Adv, fifth Place. Myth Adv, fourth place; Chris Johnson- History of Empire I, second Place. Myth 1, fourth place; Trey Plyler- History of Empire II, fourth Place; Rhys Sheker- History of Republic II, second Place; Laura Rantanen- Latin Lit Adv, third Place; Cole Yorio- Mottoes II, second Place; Helen McSorley- Mottoes Adv, third Place. Vocab Adv, fifth place; Brandon Rabel- Mottoes Adv, fourth Place; Heidi Baker- Mottoes Adv, fourth Place; Nick Sutton- Mottoes Adv, fourth Place; Zak Morgan- Reading Comp Adv, first Place; Jack Baney- Vocab Adv, fourth Place.

Creatives: James Crown- 2-D Non Graphic Art, fourth Place; Briana Sandoval- Drawings, first Place; Makana Grimm- Drawings, third Place; Laura Rantanen- Illustrated Booklets, second Place; Joshua Boyer- Misc, second Place; Ariana Issitt- Misc, third Place; Walter Wilinsky- Misc, fifth Place; Matt Johnson- Misc, third Place; Sophia Pietrzak- Models, second Place; Chris Johnson- Models, third Place; Brandon Rabel- Models, fourth Place; River Grace- Modern Myth, first Place; Rhys Sheker- Multimedia, third Place; Alex Sosa- Multimedia, fifth Place; Maggie Dercole- Paintings, first Place; Cassie Kirby- Paintings, fourth Place; Chris Sorgenfrei- Sculpture, second Place; Luke Spenik- Sculpture, fourth Place; Noel Taylor- Textiles, first Place.