The answer came quickly.

“She will,” students Bailey Higgins and Taylor Townsend said as they pointed to ninth-grader Morgen Griess.

They expect Griess’ drawing to win first place.

Griess disagreed.

The Decatur Heritage students are among 87 competing in the school’s art competition.

They’ll have to wait until Sunday to know who’s right. That is when the Masterpiece Guild will showcase the entire fine arts program at Decatur Heritage.

The guild is the booster club for fine arts.

“We have so many gifted students, and we wanted to do something to showcase their talents,” guild President Laura Hellard said.

The program — “A Masterpiece Showcase” — will feature drama, forensics, art, music and band. It starts at 2 p.m., and admission is $2 for non-guild members.

Perhaps the most anticipated announcement will be the art competition winners.

Art teacher Amy Tubbs praised the paintings and drawings. “I think they are phenomenal,” she said.

Although Decatur Heritage students are required to pass one credit of fine arts to graduate, Higgins, Townsend and Griess said they had an interest in the arts before reaching high school.

The trio is competing at the high school for grades 9-12. Higgins and Townsend said they expect Griess’ pencil drawing of a girl and her pet cat to win because the drawing looks better than the original picture.

“Look at the eyes,” Higgins said. “There are so many details in this drawing.”

Griess had as much praise for Higgins’ three-dimensional painting of a crying face.

Part of the face he created with tar paper, and the tears are wax. The entire painting is covered with a glaze and “conveys no particular message,” Higgins said.

Townsend’s most intriguing work is a faceless woman wearing a dress made of burlap. She got the idea for the painting while visiting an art studio in Florida.

Deangelo McDaniel can be reached at 256-340-2469 or deangelo@decaturdaily.com.