A Tribe Called West, Niles West’s Poetry Slam team, competed in their first bout of the 2013 Louder Than A Bomb competition and won last Sunday.

Even though the team will be advancing to the second bout, there are mixed feelings about their first performance.

“I know that we can do a lot better than we performed, but I’m happy with the way [the team] won,” coach and English teacher Paul Bellwoar said.

“It was an awesome experience,” senior Cody Inglesby said. “Our poetry was our best and the scores reflected that.”

“[The competition] wasn’t as strong as the poets we saw at Louder Than A Lawnmower, but it was still amazing,”  sophomore Stephanie Nahhas said.

If the team wins the second bout, they will advance to semi-finals which will run this Sunday from noon to 4:30 p.m. at Lincoln Hall (2424 North Lincoln Avenue) and Victory Gardens Theatre (2433 North Lincoln Avenue.)

“We expect stiffer competition, and with another week of practice, we’ll do better and have fun as the outcome,” Bellwoar said.

“I believe we’ll get first place, because our poems are pretty good, and we have a good week to practice,” Inglesby said.

“[We want people] to come out and watch, because we’re dope,” Nahhas said.

The second bout will take place Friday, March 1 at 10 a.m. at 1104 S. Wabash.