Matthew Meyers and Colin Williams became best friends over a semantic argument about the word “homicide” in a freshman history class.

Three years later, the wiry-thin, floppy-haired seniors at Sprague High School in Salem, Ore., remained inseparable when they competed as a pair in Constitution Team, a debate-style contest where teams answer questions about constitutional law.

In January, they won second place at the state-level competition, earning themselves a spot at the national finals.

Occasionally, an undersize team of nine to 15 students reaches nationals, where the average team size is 21 students. But a team of two had never made it, much less won, according to the Center for Civic Education, which organizes the event, formally known as “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals.”

It would be like a baseball team winning a game with four players.

And yet, for four magical days, Mr. Williams and Mr. Meyers basked in the glow of that improbable achievement.

On Friday night, after three days of dazzling the judges with their answers to penetrating questions about the Articles of Confederation and obscure Supreme Court decisions, the young men sat at the award ceremony with tempered expectations.