About 900 students dressed in togas and laurels poured into Rossview High School Friday morning to participate in a contest of academic and physical spirit at the state's Junior Classical League annual convention.

Students from middle and high school competed in events ranging from spirit chants, costume and oratory contests and the certamen — a Jeopardy!-like game centered on Latin history.

The convention, hosted for the second consecutive year in Clarksville, is the group's 50th annual celebration.

Ninth-graders Alex Park and Hunter Keane were attending the convention for the first time. They represented Southern Baptist Education Center, a South Haven, Miss., school attending the Tennessee state conference because the Mississippi conference was canceled following Hurricane Katrina.

"It's just cool to come here and see other Latin students," Alex said. "We're not the only ones around."

Hunter said he just plain likes Latin.

The two were excited to see a fellow student compete in the 200-meter track race.

Seventh-graders Eleanor Hudson and Caroline Allen, from Harpeth Hall in Nashville, also were participating in the convention for the first time.

"We just got started taking Latin," Eleanor said. "It's been fun — it's been really different."

Eleanor decided on Latin — rather than French or Spanish — because it's the base of much of the English language.

"I chose it because I wanted it to help me with vocabulary in English," she said.

Shannon Sloan, a league volunteer and event co-chair, said the event is educational and a good opportunity for socializing.

"We believe — because our laws are based upon classics — it's important for students to know about and learn about classics," she said. "It's hard to find clubs that are doing good things."

Sloan said the Junior Classical League is the second-largest national organization.

Thirty-four schools were represented at the convention, and students from Austin Peay State University's Eta Sigma Phi classics fraternity also helped supervise the events.

"It's something to see all these kids here," said Kaye Warren, Rossview High School Latin teacher who was participating in the event for the 41st time.

"A lot of future teachers come out of here."