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Latin I Students Are Sage Hill’s First State JCL Champions
In likely a first for Sage Hill, a team of Latin I students are state champions following the 2026 California Junior Classical League at St. Francis High School in Sacramento.
Sage Hill JCL took home third place overall and two other Competitive Certamen teams earned second place statewide.
Max Diaz ‘29, Jasper Kim ‘29, Madelynn Lee ‘29, Arthur Sparks ‘29 and Alex Zuo ‘29 won first place in a huge upset over crosstown rival University High School, Latin teacher and World Languages Department Chair Dr. Jeffrey Feland said.
“Obviously, we’re really proud of ourselves, especially since we heard from Dr. Feland later that we're the first Sage Hill team ever to win first at state,” Madelynn said. “We kind of made history!”
In other convention news, Aanya Pillai ‘27 and Chelsea Chen ‘27 were elected to the 2026-27 California JCL (CAJCL) Executive Board. Aanya will serve as CAJCL Parliamentarian and Chelsea will serve as CAJCL Secretary. Julia Ball ‘26 was also a recipient of the Lura A. Wallace and Paul E. Shickle CAJCL Scholarship, which comes with a $2,000 prize.
“I’m really proud of all the students’ work and how they have continued to show up and show out year after year,” Dr. Feland said. “Our students’ dedication to their studies is truly phenomenal!”
Madelynn encourages fellow underclassmen to consider joining Sage Hill JCL so they can also enjoy the experience of attending the state convention.
“Being there is really different from what I thought it would be because it’s so busy rushing from competition to competition and other activities,” Madelynn said. “You're exhausted by the end of the day but it's really rewarding. You learn so many different things.”
Sage Hill's 2026 California JCL State Convention Awards
Chapter Awards
· 3rd place Overall
· 1st place, Digital Scrapbook
Team Awards
· 1st place, Competitive Certamen, HS-1 (Max Diaz ‘29, Jasper Kim ‘29, Madelynn Lee ‘29, Arthur Sparks ‘29 and Alex Zuo ‘29)
· 2nd place, Competitive Certamen, HS-1 (Jenny Cao ‘28, Minhkha Le ‘28, Annabelle Tang ‘28 and Annie Zhou ‘28)
· 2nd place, Competitive Certamen, HS-2 (Natalie Song ‘27, Maxwell Lee ‘27, Chelsea Chen ‘27, Aanya Pillai ‘27 and Alex Kong ‘27)
· 1st place, Project Runway
· 2nd place, That’s Entertainment (Maxwell Lee ‘27 and Chelsea Chen ‘27)
· 3rd place, Basketball
Individual Awards
· Highest Score in the Convention on three exams by Alex Kong ‘27 (Mottoes, Geography, and Mythology)
· 1st place, Academic Pentathlon, Madelynn Lee ‘29 (HS-1)
· 1st place, Classical Art, Lauren Levine ‘29 (HS-1)
· 1st place, Digital Art, Jenny Cao ‘28 (HS-2)
· 1st place, Derivatives, Natalie Song ‘27 (HS-3)
· 2nd place, Mottoes, Quotes, Abbreviations, Madelynn Lee ‘29 (HS-1)
· 2nd place, History, Arthur Sparks ‘29 (HS-1)
· 2nd place, Sight Latin Reading, Lauren Levine ‘29 (HS-1)
· 2nd place, Vocabulary, Jasper Kim ‘29 (HS-1)
· 2nd place, History, Annie Zhou ‘28 (HS-2)
· 2nd place, Vocabulary, Natalie Song ’27 (HS-3)
· 3rd place, Daily Life, Jasper Kim ‘29 (HS-1)
· 3rd place, History, Max Diaz ‘29 (HS-1)
· 3rd place, Geography, Arthur Sparks ‘29 (HS-1)
· 3rd place, Academic Pentathlon, Natalie Song ‘27 (HS-3)
Sage Hill School
A college preparatory independent day school for grades 7-12.
20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657
Phone: 949.219.0100 | Fax: 949.219.1399
20402 Newport Coast Drive, Newport Coast, CA 92657
Phone: 949.219.0100 | Fax: 949.219.1399
Sage Hill School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other School administered programs.