By Ashley Bradley/reporter

Five NE Campus students walked away winners from the fourth annual Newbie Novice tournament Sept. 25-26. Five colleges from Texas and Louisiana attended including Southern Methodist University and Del Mar College in Corpus Christi.

Oladipo Oyediran and Whitney Huska took home first place in duo interpretation. They preformed a piece by Donald Margulies called Dinner with Friends.

“I was a bit nervous,” Oyediran said. “We still have a lot to work on, and we see many flaws, but we will get better.”

Oyediran also landed second place in programmed oral interpretation. This was his first tournament.

“It’s good to have help from three coaches,” he said.

Elizabeth Price won first place in prose interpretation.

She said the difference between prose and duo interpretation is the material being spoken. Though Oyediran and Huska used dialogue from a play, Price performed the short story Night Glow by Holly Wilson.

She said the best way to interpret a story with more than one character is by changing facial expressions and stances when changing characters. 

“I have taken classes in high school and a couple of acting classes, so this was right up my alley,” she said. “I was definitely excited to win, and it helped bring me back in the flow of tournaments and things.”

The forensics team is coached by speech faculty Lisa Benedetti, Anne Fleischer and Ilknur Ozgur.

Previous experience is not a requirement for participation. For more information on joining the team, contact Benedetti at 817-515-6986.