Fountain Valley High School’s Muslim Students Association (MSA) participated in the annual Southern California Muslim Interscholastic Tournament (MIST) at Chapman University from March 26 to March 27.

The tournament consisted of individual, group, and bracket competitions. Around 35 club members participated. Categories ranged from writing to basketball, social media, improv, community service, and many more.

As a club, they placed in about 21 out of 32 competitions and won first place overall as a school. About eight schools participated from Southern California, some coming from places such as Los Angeles and Irvine.

“This is probably the highlight of our year and it’s an event that everyone looks forward to ever year. It requires a lot of planning and every team member’s input is valuable because we get points for everyone that participates,” said senior Mahum Tahir, president of MSA.

According to Tahir, MIST posted the theme around January and all the categories which relate to the theme. The club slowly started planning it out from there, creating spread sheets, advertising, and talking about it during club meetings to pump people up and get ready.

“Our club performed very well. You can tell they had a lot of effort and everyone showed a lot of spirit that day and a lot of teamwork,” Tahir said. “Everyone wants to win on their own but we have to remember we are a team and we have to be there to support everyone.”

Senior Zainab Khan won the overall MIST individual award and received two round-trip tickets to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Out of the six competitions she participated in, she placed in the top three in five of her competitions. She had been working towards this competition for months.

“When they called my name up, I was so shocked. I never expected to win an award like this. Everyone around me was cheering and it was amazing,” said Khan.