The Langley Forensics team is not, as some people might think, a group of students who go around solving crimes using DNA evidence.  Rather, it is a team that meets on Mondays and Wednesdays to practice public speaking.  The team competes in tournaments about once a month.  Students can compete in a variety of categories, such as Original Oratory (a self-written, ten minute speech on any topic), Storytelling, Poetry, Humorous Interpretation (a presentation of a humorous scene from a book, movie, or play,) Extemporaneous (a speech made up on the spot about a current issue, using newspapers articles as sources,) or Impromptu (a speech on a mystery topic, drawn right before the speech is to be given.)

On Wednesday, Feb. 3, all of the hard practice finally paid off for the Forensics team when they placed 1^st at the Liberty District tournament, beating out TJ, Stone Bridge, McLean, and several other schools in the area. The team members each earned a patch for their accomplishment, and a plaque was given to coaches Christopher Rademacher and Gifford Krivak.

Not only did Langley take first overall, many individual team members took home awards and will be moving on to the regional tournament in a few weeks. Sophomore Mujtaba Wani, who took 2^nd place in Extemporaneous Speaking, said he was “nervous about the results, but pleasantly surprised [to find out that he won.]”

Captains Sam Kobor, Ashley Kwon, and Sabrina Khan played a big part in bringing the team to its victory at districts.  The three juniors worked tirelessly since the beginning of the year, listening to the team members’ speeches each week and offering pointers.

The team is already hard at work preparing for the regional tournament, which will take place on Feb. 23 at Westfield High School.  From there, the winners will move on to the state tournament in Harrisonburg.

Extemporaneous Speaking

Sophomore Mujtaba Wani (2^nd place)

Junior Andrew Havasy (3^rd place)

Original Oratory

Junior Sam Kobor (3^rd place)

Impromptu

Sophomore Becca Dworak (2^nd place)

Storytelling

Junior Dylan Kriz (2^nd place)

Sophomore Rachel Stone (3^rd place)

Dramatic Interpretation

Junior Holly Dodd (2^nd place)

Humorous Interpretation

Junior Aisha Samaila (1^st place)

Duo Interpretation

Sophomores Jenny Ryoo and Meenakshi Parashar (2^nd place)