This year Eleanor Roosevelt High School’s Muslim Student Association swept up the first place trophy for the first time at the annual DC Muslim Interscholastic Tournament (MIST), which took place from March 6 to March 8 at the University of Maryland, College Park. The Eleanor Roosevelt team will now be participating in MIST nationals from August 7 to August 9, which will take place in Houston, Texas.

MIST started in 2002 in Houston Texas,  and spread around the United States, including the DC area, in 2003 according to the Muslim Interscholastic Tournament website (http://www.getmistified.com). The DC regions MIST competition has attracted many teams from both public and private high schools to compete in different subjects ranging from knowledge of the Quran to art and basketball.

Participants said that there was a lot of competition and ebullience brought to this year’s MIST competition. “The competition itself was so much fun and informing. It felt amazing honestly seeing everyone on our team so happy and seeing our hard work gone to a victory,” said junior Muhammed Ahmed, a third year competitor.

Team Eleanor Roosevelt certainly did not take this year’s competition lightly. Team members said they were determined to bring home the first place trophy. “We prepared for about 5 months prior to the competition for hours at the Stamp Student Union at University of Maryland and were really prepared when we arrived at the competition,” said Ahmed.

Freshman and first year competitor Tasneem Mobarak believed the competition was an amazing experience and she was “filled with joy” when she came to know that her team had won first place.

Although not every member of MSA participates in the competition, they certainly do play a role in preparing for it. Sophomore Amina Mobarak, sister of Tasneem Mobarak, is one member who spent a lot of time helping competitors prepare for the competition as well as helping with the group projects. Both sisters said they were proud and thankful that their hard work payed off.

Team Eleanor Roosevelt’s excitement from their victory carried on into their biggest night, the awards ceremony. Junior Salma Tayel, a third year competitor, described the atmosphere as “well spirited,” including “loud cheering coming from all teams.” Tayel echoed Ahmed’s and Mobarak’s statements, saying “aside from the countless hours we spent preparing for ourselves, it was a remarkable experience and I look forward for nationals and next year’s competition.”