Nine students traveled to Princeton High School over the weekend to compete in their first UIL tournament.

The journalism UIL team won a total of five medals at the Princeton invitational Saturday, Jan. 11. They medaled in every event.

Junior Brooke Vincent competed in headline, feature and news writing.

Vincent won first in news writing and fourth in feature writing.

“I want to pursue a journalism career so this invitational was really helpful and a great achievement,” Vincent said.

Junior Madison Jennings competed in and won medals in headline writing and news writing.

“I honestly didn’t expect to win.  It was a wonderful surprise,” Jennings said.

Jennings placed second in headline writing and fourth in newswriting.

“This was my first invitational so next time I’ll be more prepared,” Jennings said.

Senior Carley Rogers placed second in editorial writing.

The journalism team competed against over 40 students from other high schools in each event. The team consists of Vincent, Jennings, Rogers, Junior Kyleigh Anderson and senior Cassidy Ensley.

Senior Brooke Lopez also attended the invitational and competed in the debate competition.

Lopez proceeded to the semifinals.

“I’ve improved so much from last year so this invitational was a great experience,” Lopez said.

Freshman Cameron Nardiello competed in social studies.

“The hardest part about the competition for me was the geography portion of the test,” Nardiello said.

The UIL teams will compete again Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Melissa invitational. Jessica Taylor and Casi Thedford coach the UIL teams.

“I feel like we are really a team now,” Vincent said. “Even though some of us compete against each other, we all want at least one of us to succeed.”