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Mastering words is a way of mastering the world. And students at Chávez High School have proven such mastery by winning the first annual Vocabulary.com Vocabulary Bowl.

The nationwide competition challenges students to sign up and play vocabulary games. For each word a student masters, his or her school receives a point. The competitive aspect spurred Chávez students to accumulate an impressive 303,387 points.

To celebrate the victory, Chavez invited ABC13 news anchor Elissa Rivas to emcee a special ceremony on May 15, at which 100 students who learned the most vocabulary received medals and the top three students, José Reyes, Richer Pham, and Travaurus Smith, earned a trophy.

The event also featured a special proclamation from the Texas State Senate, presented by Patricia Harrington from the Houston Mayor’s office, and Houston Astros pitcher Collin McHugh delivered the keynote speech.